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December 2005 — Vol. 83, No. 10

Power grid operator urging conservation this winter

 

"To ensure a reliable supply of electricity this winter, we need all businesses and consumers to take precautionary steps by becoming more energy efficient and conserving electricity,” said Gordon van Welie, president and CEO of ISO New England, the operator of the region’s bulk power system and wholesale electricity markets.

Besides urging customers to conserve, ISO New England is putting in place mitigation steps to prepare for any negative effects that hurricanes Katrina and Rita may have caused on the fuel supply for electricity.

A study of the storms’ potential impact on New England’s generation capability reached several key conclusions:

  • This winter a significant amount of natural-gas production might not be available to interstate pipelines serving the Atlantic seaboard. Consequently, natural-gas and wholesale electricity prices will remain high throughout the heating season.
  • New England has diverse natural-gas supplies, including strong pipeline connections with Canada and imported liquefied natural gas (LNG). However, the region depends on two major interstate pipelines to bring in Gulf Coast natural gas. To the extent supply or delivery constraints arise, most of the region’s gas-fired power plants could be adversely affected as a result of the “non-firm” character of their gas supply and transportation services.
  • ISO New England can mitigate this winter’s natural-gas supply problems in part by increased use of oil-fired power plants. Supplies of fuel oil available to power plants and storage facilities accessible by barge or tanker ships will likely be adequate for the winter. However, harsh weather could pose logistical challenges for truck-transported fuel-oil shipments to some power plants, thereby affecting the reliability of fuel deliveries.
  • Commercial demand reduction, such as demand response, will play an integral part in ensuring the reliability of the region’s bulk power system for the heating season.

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