Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

SCC Official Endorses Dominion Power Line

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by

James A. Bacon
in

A State Corporation Commission hearing examiner has endorsed Dominion’s plan to build a 65-mile, high-voltage transmission line through Virginia’s northern piedmont.

In a written opinion, Alexander F. Skirpan Jr. wrote that Dominion made a solid case for the line, reports Sandhya Somashekhar with the Washington Post. The company contends that the $243 million project is needed to avoid blackouts in Northern Virginia that could begin as early as 2011.

However, Skirpan recommended that the SCC condition approval of the Virginia segment of the transmission line upon Dominion obtaining approval in the two other states it would run through: West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Opponents of the transmission line, which would string power cables atop towers ranging in height from 75 feet to 165 feet, contend that the true purpose of the line is to wheel electricity from Midwest power plants to New Jersey and New York, by way of the Washington area. The Piedmont Environmental Council, which has spent more than $3 million on lawyers and experts to rebut Dominion’s case, also argues that aggressive conservation programs could reduce Virginia energy use by 10 percent within the next five years.

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  1. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    The Piedmont Environmental Council’s dream about major reductions in electric usage border on fraud. While there will be conservation, electric energy growth will continue.

    The PEC strongly supports the mass urbanization of Tysons Corner. Yet, Dominion stated to Fairfax County that the “Tysons Substation peak load for summer 2005 which was around 216 MVA.” It projected the comparable peak summer load for build-out at 124 M square feet to be 741 MVA. Tysons is today built to about 45 M square feet.

    Needless to say there will be demand repression because of price increases and new technology that uses energy more efficiently. But there will also be plug-in hybrids and other new uses of electricity that will push demand upward.

    As Groveton would likely say, PEC country is populated by the Descendants of Pocahontas, who are heavily subsidized by NoVA taxpayers. It takes electricity for those subsidies to continue. Even with renewable and alternate sources of power, we’ll need to bring that power to NoVA. There won’t be wind farms and solar plants sufficient in capacity in Tysons. So if PEC wants an urban Tysons Corner, it better suck up the costs for running big transmission lines through the Piedmont. Sometimes the Descendants must pay for things too.

    TMT

  2. floodguy Avatar
    floodguy

    The problem with conservation is, it can’t be measured until after the fact. Regulation do not allow for capacity saved via conservation efforts to be considered w/i load flow forecasts, especially with no sustaining habit of the fact. Contractual agreements thru DR participants and EEC from smart grid are still dependent on the end-user, and this means there is no guaranty, so only a portion of those resources are currently considered.

    Secondly, lack of generation is only part of the issue. Congestion in transmission is half of the problem. The simple fact that load centers from DC up to NYC are decommissioning their own power plants, is causing congestion to build up and impede the flow of electricity, no different that cars in rush-hour congest i-95 in the same area. There is simply insufficient transmission to carry the available and needed capacity to the eastern load centers along i-95. The current alternative is much higher costs, greater pollution and the treat of rolling blackouts.

    The Meadow Brook to Loudoun line will become energized by the infamous Mt. Storm 1500MW coal plant in the eastern panhandle of W.VA, which is intermittently used.

    A new 500kv line will follow shortly soon after, about one year later, from Possum Point in Woodbridge, Va to south NJ. This line will mean Dominion will operate Possum Point’s more polluting oil generators much more, if not 24/7.

    States who are forcing older powerplants to shut down in NOVA/DC to NYC because of clean air laws are making the older plants unprofitable and new proposal to costly, are finding it cheaper to import electricity at the expense of our regions clean air, while helping them to meet their own state imposed higher efficiency and renewable generation goals. W/o affordable proposals for new generation in those areas, the PJM Interconnection must, per its mandate, find solutions thru transmission if non-transmission solutions do not exist. And renewable power in the region w/o sufficient backup, unfortunately, doesn’t qualify.

    Utilities and their customers in NOVA/DC, MD, NJ, DE, eastern PA and NYC, all benefit, as does Dominion.

    Who losses? Those who have to breathe the air down wind of Mt. Storm and anyone who lives in or near the transmission proposal area.

    My $0.02 cents: Generation policy (including clean air) should be based on regional needs, not on one state’s interests. This would marry the current policy today for transmission. Without this states which have more environmentally conscious voting constituents and politicans, will continue to take advantage of those states who do not. If W.Va and Va. had equally tough clean air laws as NJ or NY, then we wouldn’t be having this discussion and NJ and NY would be forcing their own new power plants in their states, just like the rest of us.

  3. Groveton Avatar
    Groveton

    TMT correctly defines my position on this matter. If RoVA wants NoVA’s subsidies then RoVA can live with a few transmission lines required to generate those subsidies.

    As for the PEC – they are the epitome of a special interest group. They want their bucolic lifestyle paid for with other people’s taxes. They want Tyson’s to be a highly urbanized area in the hope that this will reduce the march of suburbs into their backyards. They don’t care about the farmer who is losing land value from his or her farm. They don’t care about the realities of building Tyson’s to 125M sq ft.

    They don’t want transmission lines running through their “sight lines” because that would partially spoil the scenery for a tiny fraction of their (paid for by others) rural utopia.

    Floodguy (I’ll assume that the handle “…guy” indicates a male commentator) deviates from his usually logical arguments with his post on this matter. This illogic starts with geography. First, he writes, “The simple fact that load centers from DC up to NYC are decommissioning their own power plants…”. Then he writes, “States who are forcing older powerplants to shut down in NOVA/DC to NYC…”. So, DC to NYC has been changed to include the mythical place called “NOVA/DC”. Floodguy also writes, “A new 500kv line will follow shortly soon after, about one year later, from Possum Point in Woodbridge, Va to south NJ. This line will mean Dominion will operate Possum Point’s more polluting oil generators much more, if not 24/7.”. Is Woodbridge in NoVA (or, alternately, the fictional place called NOVA/DC)? I think most definitions of NoVA include Prince William County. So, are the generating plants being shut down in NOVA (or NOVA/DC)? It doesn’t sound that way since the Possum Point plant (side note to RoVA: We have Hee Haw names like Possum Point up here too) will be operated more rather than less.

    Floodguy’s argument also makes some hard-to-understand political statements. For example, “States who are forcing older powerplants to shut down in NOVA/DC to NYC…”. What state governs NOVA/DC? In fact, what state governs DC? He also writes, “Generation policy (including clean air) should be based on regional needs, not on one state’s interests.”. What governing body exists for regions? What real authority do these regional governments have? Are you proposing a re-write of the US and/or Virginia constitutions in order to give regions autonomous political power?

    In the end, the argument also fails on economic grounds. For example:

    “Utilities and their customers in NOVA/DC, MD, NJ, DE, eastern PA and NYC, all benefit, as does Dominion.

    Who losses? Those who have to breathe the air down wind of Mt. Storm and anyone who lives in or near the transmission proposal area.”.

    As usual, the billions of dollars per year in tax subsidies paid by residents of NoVA to residents of RoVA are forgotten. I would also seriously question whether Maryland really needs power from other states for its economic growth. Maybe my perception is wrong but I perceive Maryland as having quite a bit of generating capability – Calvert Cliffs nuclear complex being just one example.

  4. floodguy Avatar
    floodguy

    Sorry Groveton, the word should be laws, or policy or activists. These “forces” (right or wrong) are initiated thru state law or individuals or private entities, local gov’t and/or out-of-state environmental interests. I’ve gotten into the happen of just saying states. The topic is convulated and I try simplifying parts of it to make it more understandible. Sorry about that.

    Generally when we think of DC we think of the DC metro area, and this includes parts of MD and VA. Basically the urban centers we know as the northeast, has extended down the i-95 corridor to the DC metro area, which includes NOVA, the most southern edge of this region. This area has the nation’s greatest demand for new power, and is solving it by decommissioning its own generations resources w/o replacing it. This doesn’t make sense and it places the burden on the other states w/i the same region to carry the “load”.

    In NOVA, the power plant in question is Mirant’s 50+ y.o. Potomac River coal plant. DC’s final two power plants are already in the queue for decommissioning. The city of Alexandria and environmental law groups had been trying to force its shut down of the Mirant plant, by suing for expensive upgrades to make the emissions cleaner.

    (Some are confused to think Dominion’s new Possum Point #7 proposal is to replace Mirant’s decommissioning, but those views also fail to realize PJM’s recommendation for a new 500kv line proposed for Possum Point for south NJ is set for 2014.)

    More upgrades on an old plants which may or may not have been previously retrofitted w/ cleaning equipment, creates a parasitic affect. Such upgrades require electricity from the plant itself, and these capital costs plus the decreased output in generation, drives the plant into an unprofitable operation at current market power rates. Its normal for the market to decommission older plants and replace them with newer ones. But those “forces” I mentioned earlier in the region I described, is making the construction too expensive for the utilities to build new power plants there, compared to imported electricity thru transmission.

    Regional transmission policy is mandated by the federal gov’t. Its a quasi-governmental authority overseen by FERC, which monitors the regional grid, power prices, competition and orders the construction of new transmission to ensure reliability standards.

    What I am suggesting is that individual states give up planning of generation resources to a regional authority in the same regard as transmission. The generation authority could maintain a more level portfolio of resources, applicable to the region and not based on the political influence from environmentally effacicious interests within certain states which lead to utilities to seek power from other less environmentally conscious states or regions.

    As it stands now, states control their own planning for generation and with their laws and regulation, it forces utilities to pony up more money for new power plants, compared to other available alternatives. Consequently, utilities seek the cheaper alternatives, and since grid reliability is the mandated responsibility of the regional transmission authority (aka RTO), the PJM in our case, planning is skewed towards transmission and less towards generation, because RTO’s it cannot order or propose generation. And if the market does not present non-transmission alteratives, then there must not be an economical generation solution available.

    This is what we have today. Decades ago NJ was the armpit for NYC power needs. Today, the urbanize need extends from NYC south to the DC Metro area, and is calling on other regions to support their power needs. These urban areas are more left-leaning and the areas being called upon to serve their power needs, are not. Right or wrong, just from a bystander’s perspective, the “greener” policies in the i-95 urban centers, should be applied to the more rural areas where the i-95 corridor is trying to obtain new power. This wouild affect price and price dictates the market to act accordingly.

  5. Larry Gross Avatar
    Larry Gross

    Interesting discussion.

    my thought is that companies like Dominion have an agenda that pertains to it’s own interests – and that the decisions it makes have more to do with it’s own interests than the interests of the various states like Md, Va, New Jersey.

    I don’t see any of the electric companies as having any particular allegiance to any particular state -or for that matter – a region like NoVa.

    What the states do… or not do or what Dominion can do to influence the State (or not) or Fed rules (or not) – are just one of a bunch of factors that go into decisions that affect their bottom line.

    As California found out – the interests of the power providers are NOT necessarily aligned with the interests of the State nor it’s citizen consumers.

    For instance, it is in the direct interests of Dominion and other power providers to sell as much power as they can – just as that is the job of Toyota with autos and Walmart with motor oil…

    HOW they go about doing this… has virtually nothing to do with what is best for citizens or public policy.

    Is it in the best interests of citizens to use power “conservatively”?

    Is it in the best interests of citizens to NOT build more Mt Storms?

    Would you expect companies like Dominion to answer these questions differently than citizens?

    these questions are primarily aimed at Floodguy but anyone can play …

  6. floodguy Avatar
    floodguy

    Okay, I’ll play…

    my thought is that companies like Dominion have an agenda… than the interests of the various states like Md, Va, New Jersey.

    When it comes to generation that’s true, but I don’t think that the case with transmission, since it is primarily planned and ordered from the RTO.

    I don’t see any of the electric companies as having any particular allegiance to any particular state -or for that matter – a region like NoVa.

    I guess I can agree with that but they are awarded an area of operation and I think they want to serve those customers as best as they possibly can.

    …bunch of factors that go into decisions that affect their bottom line.

    Again neither Dominion nor the RTO can control generation. If there are decommissions w/o new plant proposals, the RTO has to propose a plan to meet the reliability standard or they face the wrath of the NERC and FERC. In real life, 5 plants in NJ and 2 in DC set to retire and there is replacement generation in those areas. This is causing Dominion to run its 500kv line from Mt. Storm, and a 2nd out of Possum Pt. with PEPCO. In addition to decommissioning, congrestion in existing transmission, growth in baseline and peak demand, and a federal mandate to increase reliability standards, you have the need for those lines, all which outside the control of Dominion and the state of Va.

    As California found out …

    That’s an interesting topic. The feds just ruled that the utilities and the traders were not responsible and ruled in their favor, however, I think the state of CA tinkered w/ regulations and lost.

    For instance, it is in the direct interests of Dominion and other power providers to sell as much power as they can – just as that is the job of Toyota with autos and Walmart with motor oil…

    Toyota and Walmart are behoved to sell what their customers want or someone else will. Even though Dominion has no competition in its distribution service, they are still motivated no differently. However, if there is no forecast for new power thru the RTO, then Dominion or any other utility proposing generation will have a hard time getting something sited thru the state utility process. Something like 2/3 of the generation projects proposed in planning queue, never get constructed.

    HOW they go about doing this… has virtually nothing to do with what is best for citizens or public policy.

    I think utilities and Dominion included, want to provide the end-user with what they want, cheap power, less fossil and more renewables; however, there are realities involved, and since Virginia isn’t west Texas (wind), Arizona (solar) nor Newfoundland (tidal) or the Pac Northwest (wave), we can only rec’d what is available us to w/i the price parameter the market says says is reasonable for our area.

    Is it in the best interests of citizens to use power “conservatively”?

    Without question, but that’s a personal decision. No one should force people to use less a/c or live in the dark. That’s why the smart grid concept is so important and has great potential. On the end-users side of EEC, the savings w/o the inconvenience may have a dramatic impact.

    Is it in the best interests of citizens to NOT build more Mt Storms?

    Not if they can help it. Firstly, new power plants cost everyone more money, and fossil-plants will have carbon taxes in the future, adding to those costs. If people can help avoid it, they should. Agreed?

    Would you expect companies like Dominion to answer these questions differently than citizens?

    No, I think they have the same interests at stake. I also believe its the citizens who are less informed and have an incomplete picture of the realities.

    Climate, economic sustainability, energy independence and energy security are all at stake, and justification for revolutionizing the energy industry and society’s consumption.

  7. Larry Gross Avatar
    Larry Gross

    thanks, floodguy….

    one more thought…

    what is Dominion?

    they are not a government.

    they are an entity that can and does morph in time according to the investors and the market and opportunities.

    I still believe that any investor-owned entity is driven by wealth-gathering choices and we need to look no further than the mortgage loan market, prescription drugs, food safety, chemicals, pesticides, cigarettes, etc to be reminded that what is good for a particular corporate entity and it’s stockholders/investors is not what is best for society and our environment.

    When we say that companies “want to do the ‘right’ thing”.. it’s all within the larger context of what maintains profitability…and does not financially harm it’s investors.

    If it were not for Government for instance, we’d not have a single pesticide outlawed or restricted.

    Some company would produce them – no matter how bad they were….

    at the end of the day.. Dominion’s job is to make a profit … in a competitive environment.

    Anything they do that results in them becoming less competitive basically means someone else will step in and provide for that market.

    …so… Dominion basically has no choice but to build more plants that use coal for electricity …

    ..if they fail to do this… another company will step in and do it.. and Dominion will then become little more than a middleman who provides distribution.

    not.. unlike the Rural Electric Cooperatives whose primary role seems to have been – from the beginning not to produce power but merely to deliver it.

    So.. if New York wants to get out of the power generation business and buy that power from Canadian Hydro …OR Edison electric OR Dominion… why would that NOT result in more plants in Va or Pennsylvania where the coal exists?

  8. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    The problem with conservation of this sort is that it usually leads to cheaper resources and therefore more usage. Every gallon of gas we save lowers the price for someone in China or India.

    The problem with the PEC is that they are making entirely the wrong argument on this. They are going to waste $3million dollars in valuable resources on this, and the power line is gong to get built anyway.

    Even if they get their 10% reduction in use, it will be overwhelmed by new growth. Before long we will need another power line and another power plant.

    What PEC should be doing is taking the advice of EMR and make sure the power company pays full price for their locational choices. They should work to fix the many flaws in the eminent domain proceedings, and they should work to make property rights stronger instead of spending millions on lawyers and lawsuits to interfere with property rights as they now exist.

    PEC succeeded in getting the power lines moved out of their precious Middleburg area, and that is all they cared about. Once that happened they had to keep the rest of the act up, just for show.

    But at the end of the day, whoever gets stuck with that power line will be no better off than if PEC had simply stayed out of it. And when the next power line get built, neither will the next guy who gets stuck with it.

    They are fighting the wrong battle.

    RH

  9. floodguy Avatar
    floodguy

    @ Larry,

    We need to realize that Dominion's business is generation and T&D. Its T&D business, whether or not is related to gas or electricity, is non-competitive, as it was awarded a service territory by the gov't. Its T&D expansion, improvements & upgrades, for the most part, are issued from a higher authority, unlike its generation business which moreorless plays w/i the rules of an open market.

    When it has to expand, it has a history of including only gas & coal because that's all that is afforded in the regions it services. They are only fulfilling a renewable portfolio because it was mandated they try. However, the impact of meeting the 12.5% renewables of new generation by 2022, really will have little impact in climate and to the grid, w/o the existance of a digitally managed grid.

    For renewables to work and to have affordable kWh prices, in our neck of the woods, I'm convinced we need a more intelligent grid to manage the intermittency of renewables, be it from utility generation or the end-user.

  10. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    Floodguy.

    That’s more like it. I didn’t see anything in there that sounds like “We can get something for nothing.”

    Ii have a hard time seeing that a digitally managed grid will do much to balance the intermittancy of renewables. Nor do I think renewables will amount to much more than 20%.

    I hope I’m wrong, but I’m not willing to sell false hopes. An intelligent grid will help some. It remains to be seen how much, or what it will cost.

    In the meantime, I still think PEC is barking up the wrong tree. I hat e to see a great organization wasting its resources and promoting group think, is all.

    RH

    RH

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