How far down does electrical demand have to go…
November 23rd, 2009
… before they back off on these stupid infrastructure projects?
We finished up the Susquehanna-Roseland hearing today, Stop the Lines has weighed in. Time to say goodbye to beautiful downtown Newark.
For me, the best parts today were:
1) Finally… FINALLY… getting some credible testimony about the capacity of that line. Let’s see, they’re planning to double circuit it with 500kV, getting rid of the 230kV, but when… and they’ve designed the substations for 500kV expansion. So DUH! Here’s the poop:
140C for a 1590 ACSR Falcon @ 500kV – PJM summer normal rating conditions = 1838 amps
4 conductors = 7,352 amps
3 conductors – 5,514 amps or 4,595 MVA
2) Clear statement on the record about the Merchant Transmission’s Firm Transmission Withdrawal Rights:
Neptune 685MW
ECP 330 MW (VFT?)
HTP 670MW
TOTAL: 1,670 MW already heading across the river
And getting those numbers in was not easy, PSEG did NOT want this in the record. It’s confirmed in the PJM Tariff, STL-12, p. 3 of the exhibit, p. 2 of SRTT-114 (BPU Staff IR). But there’s something else disturbing going on here. We were supposed to question Essam Khadr about “Leakage,” which is “New Jerseyian” for the increased coal generation that will be imported if CO2 costs are assessed:
That will take some time to wrap my head around.
Here’s PJM’s 3Q bad news, well… good news to me! Because it continues to go down:
And if that’s not enough, here’s the Wall Street Journal:
Weak Power Demand Dims Outlook
Susquehanna-Roseland hearing
November 20th, 2009
It’s warm here in New Jersey, unseasonably. We’re slogging through the hearing.
The good news is that we’ve gotten pretty much everything in the record that we need, including, well not quite, got the 2Q State of Market, and last night I found that the 3Q was released November 13:
(great, can’t upload here, grrrrrrrrrr)
Page 9 will tell you all about decreased peak demand:
2005 133,761
2006 144,544
2007 139,428
2008 129,481
2009 126,805
Down 2,676 MW this year, down 9947 from 2007 to 2008. Down every year since 2006!
Here’s a report of yesterday’s festivities:
State told power plan pros, cons
By SETH AUGENSTEIN
saugenstein@njherald.comFour attorneys cross-examined the experts, with few breaks.
“I would appreciate it if you would just ask a question,” he said.
The opposition attorneys said they were getting the job done.
“We got on the record what we wanted on the record,” Tamasik said.
Newark state of mind…
November 15th, 2009
Yup, close, but decidedly Newark, New Jersey. It’s more Alan’s country, he was born just south of here in Elizabeth, maybe the old Elizabeth General Medical Center I drove by???
And a hearing state of mind too, ready to kick in tomorrow. Hearing — Susquehanna-Roseland transmission at the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. Stop the Lines! Stay tuned for reports from the trenches…
Coalition files Motion to Dismiss
November 6th, 2009
Our coalition of the “Municipal Intervenors,” Stop the Lines! and “Environmental Intervenors” has filed a Motion to Dismiss in PSEG’s Susquehanna-Roseland proceeding in New Jersey.
Here it is – enjoy!
Nutshell version:
NO!
… ahem… really, it’s that simple!
The hearing is set to begin on the Monday after next, November 16th, and we’re having a phone conference next Monday. They ought to just toss it out, and tell them to come back when they’ve really got something. I kinda feel sorry for PSEG, because they’re having to carry the water here when it’s not even their project. PJM’s the one that should be in the hot seat.
Sussex County ponders Power Pathway
November 3rd, 2009
Sussex County has held off on taking a formal stand on Delmarva Power’s Mid-Atlantic Power Pathway, or MAPP, but Delmarva is pushing, so now’s the time to call them with a simple message:
No, don’t encourage and facilitate coal!
Say NO! to Delmarva Power’s Mid-Atlantic Power Path transmission proposal!
Delmarva Power is going around drumming up support for its Mid-Atlantic Power Pathway, or MAPP. They approached Sussex County to support the line (what do we know about that? Not much. Perhaps a FOIA to see what they’ve been doing is in order?) and because there’s a zoning matter before the County, they held off..
Delaware Electric Coop would like to use the MAPP line to bring in electricity from a new Old Dominion coal plant in Virginia. Oh… great idea… I’ve posted about this before:
Here’s Alan’s Green Delaware Alert and handout for DEC’s last annual meeting:
Building a coal plant is a really bad idea, and building transmission for coal is a really bad idea plus… two wrongs do not make a right.
Call all the County Council, thank them for putting on the brakes, and let them know what you think about Delmarva Power’s transmission for coal:
Michael H. Vincent (302) 629-2396
Samuel R. Wilson (302) 856-2972
Joan R. Deaver (302) 645-6657
George B. Cole (302) 539-1611
Vance C. Phillips (302) 542-1501
Here’s a report from the Cape Gazette:
Sussex County council delays support of transmission line
Pathway could pump $260 million in county’s economy
Moore responded with an emphatic yes.
He said anticipated savings are about 60 cents per month in charges related to congestion.