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PSNH: Utility-Owned Power Plants Produced $115 Million in Customer Savings This Winter
"The energy from Public Service of New Hampshire's power generation facilities during the past winter was produced at a cost that was $115 million less than energy sold through the region's wholesale energy marketplace," PSNH said yesterday.
"Our state-regulated power plants serve as an important insurance policy for our customers, and they have certainly proved their worth this winter," said Bill Smagula, Vice President of PSNH Generation.
PSNH noted that the wholesale marketplace, "experienced significant volatility during the winter months, when the price of natural gas rose as its supply tightened."
"All of PSNH's hydro-electric, biomass, coal and oil-fueled generation facilities were available during the December – February period and were frequently called upon, as they were more economic than other alternatives. Surprisingly, even the company's combustion turbines, so-called 'jet' generators powered by aviation fuel, were called on to run, significantly more frequently than typical, as the wholesale price of natural gas continued to climb," PSNH said.
PSNH's power facilities produced more than 1.4 million megawatt hours of energy during the period November 1, 2013 to March 15, 2014. "The $115 million in value to PSNH's customers is the difference between the cost of producing that amount of energy at PSNH's plants, compared to the average hourly wholesale cost of procuring energy through the New England energy marketplace during that same period," PSNH said.
Calling the plants, "an important hedge during an uncertain time," PSNH said that, "The value of PSNH's state regulated power plants to customers comes at a time of increasing uncertainty in terms of the source and price of New England's energy in the future. This past winter, New England faced limited supplies of natural gas, a shortage of wood pellets, a spike in the price of propane, and delivery issues with oil for both retail customers and large generating stations. According to the operator of the regional power grid, rising natural gas prices pushed wholesale electricity prices in New England up by 55 percent in 2013; and, price stability and power reliability will be challenged in the near future due to the looming retirement of many of the region's existing power plants."
PSNH said that the 440 MW Merrimack Station accounted for two-thirds of the $115 million in value
PSNH owns and operates nine hydroelectric facilities, three fossil-fueled facilities, a biomass plant, and five combustion turbines that are typically utilized only in extreme conditions of peak demand for energy. Collectively, the units can produce more than 1,100 megawatts of energy.
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March 26, 2014
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Copyright 2010-13 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com
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