THURSDAY MAY 03 2001 New York turns back to 'dirty' power plant FROM CHRIS AYRES IN NEW YORK ONE of New York’s most polluting power plants is to be restarted after four years in mothballs in an attempt to prevent a crippling power crisis in the city this summer. State regulators are thought to have come to an agreement with Con Edison, one of America’s biggest power companies, to let it resume operation of the Hudson Avenue generation station in Brooklyn without an environmental review.

The move is likely to provoke outrage from environmentalists. The Brooklyn power plant was built in 1951, before there were emissions standards, and it burns oil, which is a much dirtier fuel than natural gas.

America’s power crisis has come about because of a chronic shortage of natural gas, which has resulted in the price of the fuel soaring. The shortage has been caused by burgeoning demand for power, combined with a lack of investment in generation plant.

The crisis is threatening to plunge many US cities into darkness this summer, when demand for power from air conditioners reaches its peak. In California, the power crisis has led Pacific Gas & Electricity, the state’s largest electricity company, to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The utility, which yesterday reported a first-quarter net loss of $951 million, ran into financial difficulties because it was not allowed under state regulations to pass higher natural gas costs on to customers.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,5-123866,00.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), May 02, 2001