All the more reason to oppose, obstruct, frustrate and generally eradicate all environmental groups whose years of propaganda and legal obstruction have contributed to the present supply/demand imbalance, which is only partially explained above.
New York, May 5 (Bloomberg) -- Wholesale power prices fell in parts of the U.S. Northeast as increased imports from Canada and production from nuclear plants returning to service boosted supplies.
"There's lots of power moving down from Canada now," said Richard Zimbone, senior analyst with Boston-based EnvaPower Inc., which provides price forecasts for power traders.
About 1,550 megawatts of imports are scheduled for today, compared with 650 megawatts on Friday, according to ISO-New England, the region's grid operator. One megawatt can power 800 typical U.S. homes.
Power for delivery tomorrow at the New England Power Pool fell $7.25, or 12 percent, to $51 a megawatt-hour at 9:31 a.m. local time, according to Bloomberg data.
In New York, Constellation Energy Group Inc.'s 614-megawatt Nine Mile Point 1 nuclear plant in Lycoming, New York, near Syracuse, was operating at 90 percent capacity this morning after completing feedwater pump repairs, said spokesman Robert Burtch.
At full capacity, the plant can supply power to about 500,000 homes.
Power for delivery tomorrow in Zone G, which includes areas north of New York City, fell for the first time in five sessions, by $4.15, or 7.2 percent, to $53.88 a megawatt-hour. Western New York's Zone A declined $1.13 to $47.
Power for delivery tomorrow at PJM Interconnection, the network serving most of the Northeast, rose for a seventh consecutive session, by 81 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $51.50 a megawatt-hour.
June PJM futures were up for a fourth trading day, by $1.35, or 2.4 percent, to $58 a megawatt-hour on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 10:02 p.m. local time.
FirstEnergy Corp.'s 821-megawatt Beaver Valley-1 nuclear plant in Shippingport, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, increased production to 88 percent, from 45 percent Friday, following completion of a refueling outage, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said.
The increase adds 353 megawatts to the market, or enough power to supply about 300,000 typical homes.
Mene
But, alas, the institute is no more. For many years it was funded, mainly, by a surcharge (tax) on transmission volumes assessed by interstate natural gas pipeline companies on services provided to NG distribution companies and others at rates regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Other, matching income came from producers, industry, and the DOE. However, In January 1998, FERC approved a settlement among the GRI, the regulated pipelines and their customers which phases out this surcharge over 6 years and eliminates it altogether in 2005. As the phase out progresses, the size of the surcharge will continue to shrink, creating an increasing shortfall in this aspect of R&D funding relative to the 1998 presettlement level. As a result, GRI was merged with the Gas Technology Institute several years ago and research is continuing at a much reduced level and mainly on projects showing a substantial chance of success. Basic research into future concepts and technology is much constrained, and the program is just a shadow of its former self.
In coming years the shortsightedness and consequences of the lack of research will become increasingly apparent with decreasing supply and reliability and increasing cost. Increased market cost will, of course, lead to others performing some research in specific areas, but I don't see a comprehensive, well rounded program in the future given the current situation and regulatory environment. So your conclusion that we may well face "a very scary pricing future" for consumers and industrial users is a very likely scenario.