In Alert 656: Do you want a say over Delaware’s energy future? we reported on attempts to curtain public input into Delmarva Power’s planning. We invited people speak out if they wanted public meetings and some people did. One of the three scheduled meetings (in Dover) was kept on the agenda and the other two, in Sussex and New Castle Counties, were cancelled. (I was especially annoyed that Blue Water Wind, which benefited so much from public support for its offshore wind project, supported cancelling the “public comment sessions.” Remember that, folks.)
The essence of Delmarva Power’s wishes are to (1) sell more electricity, (2) keep conservation and efficiency to token levels, and (3) avoid considering the “externalities” such as people sickened and killed by air pollution from power plants.
In other words, the public interest can only be served by forcing on Delmarva Power policies it doesn’t want to adopt. Delaware doesn’t have much history of this, but Gov. Markell shows some real interest in energy issues–if little in other environmental problems. He told the DNREC to get involved–something Green Delaware sought for years–and it’s helped a bit. Much will depend on whether he moves to reform the Public Service Commission.
Electricity planning is wonky stuff.  You don’t have to understand the jargon and the details to have an opinion about what the priorities should be, and whether Delmarva’s proposed plans live up to your expectations.
Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) is supposed to be about a balanced portfolio of “supply side” (power plants) and “demand side” (conservation and efficiency programs), leading to lowest overall cost with all impacts on the books.
Key points to remember (1) Unless conservation and efficiency programs are defeated by the utilities (they have been in the past), electricity consumption will go down, not up, for many years. (2) Clean electricity sources like wind and solar are needed to replace, not add to, existing dirty power. This means (3) the need for new transmission lines is very limited, if it exists at all, and (4) nuke power, “clean coal,” etc, are far more expensive than truly clean power.
Alan Muller
What follows is some analysis by Carol Overland:
July 13th, 2009That’s Idiocy Returning on Parade…
Tomorrow night in Dover, the Public Service Commission is opening the doors and it’s your turn to let them know what you think about Delmarva Power’s energy policy, how they’re getting their electricity, what sort of generation it’s coming from, what they’re doing (not) about conservation and efficiency, and what sort of generation you want them to use, i.e., get wind on line NOW! And tell them we don’t need no stinkin’ transmission!
This is your opportunity; your turn to step up to the plate.
Now for some background. All the PSC blurbs call this the 3rd Delmarva Power IRP, but it’s not, it’s their third attempt to get it right, and the last one was so bad that they spent years trying and last November submitted a redo as asked by PSC, then a month later, they send a lame cover letter saying that they want to count that November redo attempt as the one due December 1, 2008.
So the PSC grabs that November 2008 attempt and accepts it. EH???
Right… whatever.
- Lame Cover Letter – December 1, 2008
- IRP Main Document
- Appendix A – Load Forecast
- Appendix B – Demand Resources
- Appendix C – Resource Model Update
- Appendix D – Cost Recovery
You might remember Delmarva Power’s Todd Goodman’s outrageous behavior at the last IRP meeting in December, 2008. AWARD FOR TODD GOODMAN, DELMARVA POWER.
Well, the Delmarva Power IRP saga continues, and the Workshop, Public Comment session…. whatever it is, it’s tomorrow night.
Tell the PSC that it’s time Delmarva Power get serious about conservation, that we want coal plants shut down, that it’s time to get wind on line, and that we do NOT want the Mid-Atlantic Power Pathway transmission line (you know, that line that runs from coal plants SW of Delaware, up through Indian River and to Salem. PJM admits that the Indian River to Salem part of it is not needed, and it’s time to get the WHOLE truth out, that the entire line is not needed. See Mid-Atlantic MAPP line cut short).
COME TO THE PSC’S DELMARVA POWER IRP WORKSHOP… PUBLIC COMMENT SESSION… JUST COME AND TELL THEM WHAT YOU THINK?
Tuesday, July 14 @ 7:00 p.m. Cannon Building, Hearing Room 861 Silver Lake Blvd. Dover, DEÂ Â 19904 Or send comments right away to:
ruth.price@state.de.us
Delmarva Power’s IRP is based on an annual increase in demand of 1.9%. Uh-huh… right…
Look what has been happening to electrical use:
Hmmmmmmmmmm, do you see what I seeeeeeeeeeeeee…
Regulated T&D Sales have gone down.
Default T&D Sales have taken a significant dive.
Despite that, what do they project in the IRP? From their IRP Appendix A:
Energy use, measured in MWh, has been dropping significantly for years… but we knew that…
Now what about peak? The Delmarva peak isn’t in their 10-Ks, but here’s PJM:
- 2008 Peak              136,310MW
- Projected Peak         134,430MW
-
DOWNÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1,880MW
- DOWNÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1.4%
And with 165,200MW of generation and a reserve margin of 28.6% (15% necessary) which even PJM describes as “well in excess,” suffice it to say PJM doesn’t need new power anytime soon.
Read it all here:
And here’s some history – PJM’s revenue decreased 8% in 2008 (p. 9 of 44):
And remember, PEPCO, Delmarva Power’s parent, says that it may not sell shares to finance the MAPP line  so how would they finance it… or would they just admit that it’s not needed and not build it?
-
Pepco CFO May Postpone Investment to Avoid Share Sale
- By Katarzyna Klimasinska
- June 26 (Bloomberg) Â Pepco Holdings Inc.’s new chief financial officer, Anthony Kamerick, is considering postponing some investments beyond 2010 to prevent selling shares below book value.
- Pepco, the owner of Washington’s electric utility, currently plans about $1 billion in total capital projects for 2010, mainly on the Mid-Atlantic Power Pathway transmission line and smart grid, Kamerick said. The completion of the transmission line, also known as MAPP, has already been delayed by a year.
- “ We have to balance, obviously, the need to make sure our system is safe and reliable for the customers,” Kamerick said in a telephone interview yesterday from Washington, where the company is based. “It”s a delicate balance.”
- MAPP is scheduled to start service in June 2014 and will run from northern Virginia, across southern Maryland and Chesapeake Bay, to Indian River, Delaware.
- Smart grids will be able to detect power failures and automatically isolate them, increasing the reliability of the power system, according to Pepco.
- Pepco sold shares at $16.50 each in November and has had a 25 percent decline so far this year. The current price represents 72 percent of book value, or assets minus liabilities, per share, according to a Bloomberg calculation from company data.
- Pepco fell 3 cents to $13.39 in composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
- Kamerick replaced Paul Barry, who resigned, on June 12. He has worked for Pepco and its predecessor, Potomac Electric Power Co., since 1970, most recently as chief regulatory officer.
—
Carol A. Overland Attorney at Law