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Last Updated 10:48 PM Wednesday, September 01, 2010
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News
| 6/11/2009 10:00:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | HydroQuebec May Ship Power Through N.H.
There is a proposal to build a high voltage power line through New Hampshire that would transmit at least 1,200 megawatts of Canadian power through New Hampshire to southern New England.
A new power contract with HydroQuebec could supply enough electricity to southern New England to power one million homes with electricity. Because HydroQuebec generates 97 percent of its power from hydro, it would be clean and low carbon, according to proponents of the new power line.
A presentation about the proposal is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Friday at Lancaster Town Hall.
The proposed line could be built along a route through Lost Nation, Whitefield and Woodstock and continue south to Webster and Deerfield.
The line would connect with a newly approved power line upgrade in Vermont known as the southern connector. The southern connector would connect the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant to the new New Hampshire line and would be constructed from Vernon north to Coolidge, Vt., then east through Ascutney to Webster, N.H.
Vermont Alternative
Some Vermont politicians are following the New Hampshire proposal with keen interest and hope that the parties involved will explore possible alternative routes through Vermont.
HydroQuebec currently supplies 28 percent of the electricity used in Vermont and delivers the power through an existing high voltage converter station in Highgate, built by Vermont utilities to convert HydroQuebec power from Canadian lines into Vermont for distribution.
Also, high voltage power lines carry HydroQuebec power through the Northeast Kingdom from Quebec to Moore Dam in Littleton.
HydroQuebec, owned by the Quebec government, generates power from 59 hydroelectric stations and one nuclear generating plant.
Before the New Hampshire power line is built, the parties must first negotiate a power contract. Northeast Utilities, NSTAR, and HydroQuebec are working together to plan the project. Northeast Utilities operates New England's largest energy delivery system. A New Hampshire utility, Public Service of New Hampshire, is a subsidiary of Northeast Utilities.
NSTAR is a Massachusetts based electric and gas utility with more than one million customers in Massachusetts.
A new power line built through Coos County could benefit developers of new biomass plants and other renewable energy generators by providing increased transmission capacity to get power produced in northern New Hampshire to market.
U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., supports the new power line and hopes it can be built using federal stimulus money.
During a visit to Vermont last summer, Quebec Premier Jean Charest told an audience of St. Johnsbury Rotarians that HydroQuebec intends to build thousands of industrial wind turbines in Canada. Charest also said the scope of the utility's wind power would make Quebec's wind power output greater than that of Texas, the largest source of wind power in the United States.
Charest promised Quebec would offer wind power for sale in the U.S. along with hydropower.
Dubie Follows Project
Vermont Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie has followed energy developments in Vermont with interest ever since he was first elected to his office. Dubie represents the governor's office on the governor's Homeland Security Advisory Council. As part of his position, Dubie has been interested in power system upgrades and the safety and security of Vermont's power supply system.
Both Dubie and Gov. James Douglas have been frequent visitors to Quebec and have worked to strengthen partnerships between the state and province. Both men have worked to cement a strong relationship with HydroQuebec.
Dubie said it is possible the proposed power line could be built along a more direct route through the Northeast Kingdom, following the right of way of the power line that runs through remote sections of Essex County.
During the past year or so, Dubie has spoken with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, ISO-New England, the region's distribution agency, the federal Department of Energy, former members of the Vermont Public Service Board, VELCO, Vermont's power distribution company, Northeast Utility, NSTAR and HydroQuebec.
Dubie believes the new power line could generate $30 million dollars a year in property taxes and construction of the new line could mean as many as 2,000 new jobs. He said he is not opposed to the New Hampshire project but would like to make sure everyone involved in the project has evaluated possible options in Vermont.
He said he has been told by federal and state regulators that Vermont has the capacity to plan, permit and build the line. It is not known if the parties proposing the New Hampshire route have considered an alternative Vermont route.
Rep. William Johnson, R-Essex-Caledonia-Orleans, who has the largest geographic district in the Vermont Legislature, is also interested in the project. Johnson, a Canaan dairy farmer who represents many of the Essex County towns that might host a new line, said he has not formed any opinions and is trying to obtain more information before reaching any conclusions.
Vermont currently has a power contract with HydroQuebec under which Vermont utilities have what is known in the industry as a system power contract. Unlike most power contracts which are tied to a single power generating station, a system power contract guarantees delivery of power from any power source available to the seller in order to fulfill its obligations to the buyer.
If one power source, such as a hydro station goes off line, HydroQuebec guarantees to fulfill its commitment from other sources.
Vermont's power contracts with HydroQuebec are due to expire during the next few years, leaving Vermont in search of sources for nearly one third of its power. Vermont also receives another third of its power from the Vermont Yankee nuclear power station and those contracts are set to expire as well. Also, the Vermont Legislature must vote to approve an application by Vermont Yankee to extend its operating license for another 20 years.
Vermont utilities are currently in the process of negotiating new contracts with both HydroQuebec and Entergy, the owners of Vermont's sole nuclear power plant located in Vernon on the Massachusetts border. Electricity generated by the Vernon nuclear power plant and by HydroQuebec is currently sold to Vermont utilities at prices below current wholesale market prices.
As a result, Vermont has the lowest electric rates of any state in New England, although New England power prices are substantially higher than other sections of the United States. Utilities have warned that new contracts negotiated with the state's two largest power suppliers are expected to be higher priced than the current contracts, resulting in higher retail electric bills for homeowners and industrial customers.
The HydroQuebec project is still in the planning stages and it could be several years before construction could begin.
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Reader Comments
Posted: Thursday, June 11, 2009
Article comment by:
Bruce Lyndes
Where is Coolidge, Vermont?
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