Life Without Yankee Would Be ...

expensive, chaotic, and occasionally dark. (regards to Thomas Hobbes)

That, anyway, is the conclusion of ISO New England which is the "independent, not-for-profit corporation responsible for the reliable operation of New England's electric power generation and transmission system ..."

Among the relevant data points in a  release issued earlier this week:

•    The studies completed so far have shown that with or without Vermont Yankee, the system in Vermont has reliability issues that must be addressed; without Vermont Yankee in service, those issues are more severe and could affect neighboring areas. The potential reliability issues could include thermal overloads on high-voltage transmission lines and voltage instability, either of which could damage equipment, compromise grid stability, or cause uncontrolled outages.

    •    ISO New England does not have authority to require Vermont Yankee to operate without the appropriate permits and licenses, but it does have the responsibility to ensure a reliable power system. This responsibility requires the ISO to develop alternative solutions that will ensure reliability in the area of the power system that includes parts of Vermont, New Hampshire, and western and central Massachusetts beginning as early as March 2012 if Vermont Yankee can no longer operate.

    •    These alternatives could include interim solutions such as emergency generation brought into Vermont temporarily, more expensive generation from outside Vermont, and demand-side resources. Long-term solutions would include transmission line upgrades as well as other possible solutions, such as private development of new generation, increased energy efficiency, and new sources of imported power. All these options will come at an additional cost. Vermont has little in-state generation apart from Vermont Yankee, which represents more than half of the generating capacity in the state. In 2009, Vermont’s peak consumer demand was 985 MW.

Comments

[Cheshire Cat]

Vermont's Fairy Godfather waved his wand and... (EEO listings for Fairy positions must be inclusive)

The Proggy candidates must love it when a plan comes together.
The first installment of the 'Green Revolution' may be a bit more than inauspicious.

[Jerry Coleman]

If the Dem's think they are fooling anybody I got swamp in Fla. for sale!!! If anyone takes the time to readup on these reports they wouldn't sleep at night. The real scary part is nobody running for office even cares!!!

[Dave Usher]

The politics of energy trumps the rational engineering view. Isn't it more important that people feel good rather than contemplate the economics and reliability issues associated with Vermont's long term baseload electricity supply?

I have lost faith in Vermonters' understanding of what's at stake here. The recent good news is: HydroQuebec still loves us and will sell us electricity from their abundant capacity at a fair price!
The legislative liberals were kind enough to classify large scale hydro as 'renewable.' As a practical matter, wasn't it always so?

[Chris Campion]

Perhaps the 19MM Sanders is trying to shunt to the VT NEA could be used to buy candles instead - that way, we can reduce our reliance on nuclear energy, teachers can stay employed because school districts' energy costs will decrease, and students will actually learn to read more ably because they'll have to focus more on the text so it's legible.

I can't count the number of wins here, but it's at least 1.

[Glenn Eno]

Hydro-Quebec should love us, we are a huge customer. The report touched on transmission line upgrades. I'll shoot from the hip here but if VY closes those upgrades will need to come from the north. I'm not sure our current transmission infrastructure is set up to handle the demand for on a permanent basis. Granted, the hole needs to be filled when VY is down for refueling or repairs but these are temporary shifts in base load, not a permanent solution.

Maybe Petey and Bernie could collaborate with Germany and find out how to become 30% solar.

[GEN X Vermonter]

I'd have to agree with Dave on this one. I firmly believe that the voting population in Vermont are collectively ignoring anything having to do with logic. Lets just take the recent "Pete the moose" phenomenon. They care more about a caged animal than their energy and economic sovereignty.

[Glenn Eno]

A follow up to my previous comment:

I have spoken with reliable source and he said the transmission infrastructure within Vermont will carry electricity from whatever source is needed if VY is closed.

He also said electrical rates from vendors not named HQ will result in much higher rates to consumers.