***They are just not spending enough money on the plant. And the ratepayers pick up the bill for the outages plus profit. They make money on their maintenance malfeasants.
Will the intense heat lead to power blackouts in Louisiana?The utilities pays the politicians to hide their bad record.
Updated Sep 18, 1:13 PM; Posted Sep 18, 11:00 AM
By Greg LaRose
glarose@nola.com
NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
It's brutally hot in south Louisiana -- even for September -- and the forecast offers no relief. As a result, there's a bigger drain than usual on the regional power supply, and utilities have been on alert in case demand exceeds the available electricity. If the situation becomes critical, it could result in rolling blackouts for customers.
The Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), the entity that controls the flow of electricity for much of Louisiana -- along with portions of 14 other states and Manitoba, Canada -- put utility members in its southern region on a "maximum generation alert" effective noon Monday (Sept. 17). Its spokesman cited hotter-than-expected temperatures, "tight" reserve power levels and generation outages.
Monday's alert was terminated by 4:30 p.m., but more could be in store through the week with record heat expected.
A similar alert was issued midday Saturday, and a couple of hours later it was escalated to a "maximum generation event" for nine utilities in MISO's southern region, including Cleco and Entergy's affiliates in Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas. The event notice required the utilities to request that their customers conserve power until 11 p.m. that night. Entergy reached out to all of its customers, including those served by its New Orleans and Louisiana subsidiaries, through social and news media.
The maximum generation event was called off at 6:30 p.m. Saturday after MISO determined demand would not be an issue. The event notice mentioned there were "forced generation outages," indicating a power station, distribution line or transmission line was out of service because of a breakdown. When asked to identify where specific outages had occurred, MISO communications adviser Mark Brown said the company does not share that information with the public. He also didn't specify whether the outages were within or outside the nine utilities involved in the alert.
Entergy spokesman Neal Kirby told NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune on Monday that its Grand Gulf Nuclear Station near Port Gibson, Mississippi, accounted for one of the generation outages. The plant was taken offline Friday afternoon to address issues with its feedwater system. A timeline for its return to service was not provided, with Kirby labeling such details "business-sensitive information." Entergy delayed other planned outages over the weekend to support additional demand, he said.EntergyIn addition to the three Entergy affiliates, MISO's maximum generation event notice was issued to Cleco, Louisiana Energy & Power Authority (LEPA), NRG Louisiana Generating, Lafayette Utilities System, the City of Alexandria and Mississippi Cooperative Energy.
✔ @Entergy
UPDATE: Entergy is asking customers to limit electricity use until 11:00 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 15. We're making this request as required by @miso_energy. Learn more: http://enter.gy/6016D0LTp
7:44 PM - Sep 15, 2018
All of the utilities NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune reached confirmed that they did not experience any generation outages ahead of the MISO notice. NRG's generation spokesman did not respond to messages.
Saturday's maximum generation event was the third for MISO's southern region in the past 12 months, including one during January's hard freeze. That frequency, along with the lack of information from MISO, could prompt changes from the Louisiana Public Service Commission, which meets Wednesday in Baton Rouge.
Commissioner Eric Skrmetta of Metairie said he was aware of two other outages but did not have specific information on where they occurred because MISO considers it confidential. He wants commission members to approve a requirement that the investor-owned utilities they regulate issue releases from their nondisclosure agreements with MISO. Doing so would open the spigot of information about outages and other information that could impact consumers, he said.
One aspect of a maximum generation event that's troubling to Skrmetta is that it creates the opportunity for companies that sell power to utilities to realize a greater profit when demand peaks. Brown, the MISO spokesman, said wholesale electricity prices are typically higher when supply is tight.
Skrmetta said the difference on customer bills amounts to "pennies" when utilities have to buy power in these instances, but he believes merchant power companies should have to contribute to the power supply during high-demand events - rather than withhold electricity and sell it at a higher price the next day.
"We want them to be compelled ... to deliver into the system," he said.
If utilities ever had to resort to rolling blackouts, Skrmetta said it is highly unlikely that it would affect households or critical sites. Industrial customers would be impacted first, he said, because they typically consume the most power.
While MISO dictates how much power each utility would have to turn off, Entergy's spokesman Kirby said the utility determines how it will be done.
"We work to reduce the effects of the rotating outages on critical care customers, such as police, fire, water and sewer facilities, etc., therefore, power to other customers who are served on the same lines would be less affected," Kirby said.
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