Massachusetts may see “California-type” electricity blackouts

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Grassroots Information Coordination Center (GICC) : One Thread

Suppliers wary, optimistic

Tuesday, March 20, 2001

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BOSTON-- The state's top consumer advocate warned that Massachusetts may see “California-type” electricity blackouts this summer when temperatures rise and residents turn on air conditioners and fans. “It would be a mistake to feel this is a cold weather problem,” said Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly in an interview with The Associated Press. “Our major problem will come this summer.” State deregulation of the electric industry has been among the factors blamed for local power outages in California, and yesterday, California for the first time suffered rolling blackouts across the entire state. The statewide outages were ordered after a transformer fire, high demand and a lack of electricity imports pushed power reserves to near zero.

Massachusetts relaxed regulations on its own electric industry in 1998 to attract more companies to stir competition. But that hasn't happened yet, largely because the current high cost of oil and gas make it expensive to produce electricity. “The promise of deregulation was that there was going to be competition,” said Reilly, a Democrat. “That competition in the wholesale market is not happening.” Hot summer weather brings electricity demands for air conditioners and fans, and Reilly said a few particularly hot days could strain the region's power grid. A spokeswoman for the region's power grid said electricity use is expected to rise 1.5 percent to 2 percent this year, but the region should have enough power because of six new power plants that have begun generating in the past 18 months. “The situation is unlike California, because we have new generation coming on line that is outpacing demand,” said Ellen Foley, spokeswoman for ISO New England Inc., which manages the grid of 330 generators connected by 8,000 miles of high voltage transmission lines. Still, a particularly hot day and an unforeseen power generation breakdown could prompt ISO to ask residents to conserve electricity, a situation that arose once last summer, Foley said. To avoid power outages and protect consumers, Reilly repeated calls for electric companies to build more power lines and to offer more options for new customers who have signed up since deregulation. Those customers typically pay more than long-term customers. Electric transmission companies should also be allowed to enter into two-year contracts with suppliers, instead of the six-month contracts many have now, to avoid short-term price spikes for consumers, Reilly said.

Michael Monahan, a spokesman for NSTAR, which provides electricity to more than 1 million customers, said NSTAR is upgrading some of its power lines and last year built a new line to Cape Cod, but currently has no lines under construction. “I wholeheartedly concur with the attorney general that it's something we have to focus on,” Monahan said, but he added, “The indications I see are that we have an ample supply of electricity.”

http://www.telegram.com/news/page_one/masspower.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), March 20, 2001


Moderation questions? read the FAQ