Southwest Connecticut Faces Tight Power Supplies This Summer; ISO New England Adds Emergency Generation, Boosts Conservation Efforts

Business Wire, April 24, 2002

Business/Energy Editors

HOLYOKE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 24, 2002

ISO New England Inc., which oversees the region's bulk electric power system, today announced that while Connecticut's overall capacity situation would ordinarily be adequate to meet summer peak demand, the inadequate transmission system serving southwest Connecticut could create critical power supply reliability problems for the area's 51 cities and towns.

Based on historical weather and electrical consumption data, ISO New England expects power demand in southwest Connecticut to reach between 2,800 to 3,500 megawatts (MW) during this summer. About 2,000 MW can be generated locally, which means the remaining amount must be transported over an insufficiently robust transmission system from elsewhere, including other parts of the state, New England, and New York. The situation is so acute that the loss of a single major transmission line or power plant in southwest Connecticut could lead to the disruption of electricity supply.

ISO New England's southwest Connecticut capacity outlook is part of its overall annual summer demand projections for the rest of New England, which will be released next week. ISO New England has issued a separate statement for southwest Connecticut due to its critical power system reliability problems.

"By mid-to-late-summer, more than 250 MW of new generation developed in southwest Connecticut is expected to be added to the region's power grid. While the addition of new generation is good news, reliability problems still exist because the current transmission system in southwest Connecticut is deficient and doesn't allow for this power to go where it is needed during high demand times," said Stephen G. Whitley, ISO New England's senior vice president and chief operating officer. "The transmission system serving southwest Connecticut is the equivalent of country roads when what is needed is an interstate highway. As a result, southwest Connecticut is facing an extremely tight capacity situation this summer."

Other issues could exacerbate the severity of southwest Connecticut's power situation. These issues include seasonal power plant maintenance overruns, increased forced outages at power plants and critical substations located within southwest Connecticut, unforeseen weather factors such as an extended heat wave and moderate-to-severe drought conditions that have the potential to affect water supplies used to cool these power plants or to control their air emissions. In addition, because power imports from Quebec are no longer managed through a long-term contract and are now contracted for on a short-term basis, there is uncertainty about the amount of megawatts to be imported this summer. However, this year's slowed economic growth could lower peak demand and therefore mitigate some of these factors slightly.

According to Whitley, weather conditions need not be severe to cause outages in southwest Connecticut. "Last August 31, electric transmission lines near Stratford failed on a day when it was only about 80 degrees. Only an emergency dispatch of electricity from Long Island over an existing cross-Sound cable prevented blackouts in southwest Connecticut."

Whitley said that ISO New England is implementing short-term steps to avert capacity deficiencies and power disruptions in southwest Connecticut, including: the Load Response Program, which provides financial incentives - including bonuses for southwest Connecticut companies - for large commercial users to reduce their power consumption; use of temporary generators; and promotion of public conservation programs.

Nevertheless, Whitley added, "The long-term solution is to upgrade the region's transmission system, upgrade generation capacity and strengthen demand response solutions, and we look forward to working with Connecticut officials and the energy industry to strengthen the power system in southwest Connecticut. The proposed 345-kV transmission upgrades are critically needed now to adequately serve the customer demand in that area." Upgrades to the region's transmission system have been proposed, but these enhancements, if approved, will not become fully operational until 2004, at the earliest.

ISO New England Inc. is the not-for-profit corporation responsible for the day-to-day reliable operation of New England's bulk generation and transmission systems with an installed capacity of more than 28,000 megawatts. In addition to operating the bulk power grid, ISO New England is the administrator of the region's wholesale electricity marketplace and the Open Access Transmission Tariff on behalf of the New England Power Pool.

Editors Note: For the sixth straight year, ISO New England will be using its public appeal program, which issues conservation requests to reduce demand on the power grid during capacity deficiencies. Modeled on the National Weather Service's storm advisory system, the emergency warning system has two levels of public appeal: Power Watches and Power Warnings. Last year, five Power Watches and two Power Warnings were implemented.