In the field of electricity production, but the upshot is that no one solution will solve the regional and national energy needs.
Wednesday morning, April 1, Steven Lant, chairman and CEO, Central Hudson; Vincent Cozzolino, chairman and CEO, The Solar Energy Consortium; and Joseph Pollock, vice president of the Indian Point Nuclear Energy Center convened to discuss power prospects during a breakfast meeting at the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel.
Lant was asked why Central Hudson is seeking a rate increase. He said a major part of the utilities financial problems stem from inflated projections about how much electricity consumers would require. The rates agreed to three years ago, he said, were based on a “seriously flawed sales forecast,” that projected continued trends of strong demand for electricity. “That forecast did not come through so we are suffering a severe shortfall of revenue,” Lant said.
He said about half the amount of money being sought through the 3 percent hike in electricity rates paid on the Central Hudson portion of a customer”™s energy bill would be used to make up that shortfall.
Lant said that the prices of steel, copper and aluminum have increased requiring the company to raise rates to keep up with those costs. He said the third “and probably most important factor” in the requested rate hike has to do with long-term viability of the Central Hudson transmission infrastructure, which he said is generally between 30 and 65 years old. “It”™s a case of pay a little now or a lot later,” Lant said. “And when we are talking public safety, that”™s not a conversation we want to have.”
Lant was also asked about the state budget. “It”™s one of those things that makes my blood boil,” said Lant, adding that Central Hudson is prohibited from itemizing bills to show customers how much they are paying in taxes. He added that as chairman of the Hudson Valley Economic Development Corporation, he knows firsthand that “it”™s difficult” to attract companies here. “I don”™t think it”™s a business-friendly budget at all,” Lant said. “It takes us one more notch to the negative side.” Â
Pollock of Indian Point extolled the economic benefits that the Entergy-owned facility is having on the Dutchess County economy even though it is situated in Westchester. He said of the 1,100 employees of the facility, about half live in Dutchess. He said the Indian Point annual payroll approaches $100 million and the company annually spends an additional $100 million in operational costs. He cited reliability and the fact nuclear plants do not burn fossil fuels and thus do not emit greenhouse gasses as advantages of nuclear power. He did not address the ongoing quandary about safe disposal of nuclear waste.
Cozzolino, chairman and CEO, The Solar Energy Consortium, seemed to tread gently, not wanting to criticize his energy-producing colleagues. He said that “the promise” of solar power has not yet proved attainable, but noted with the federal stimulus package pointing potentially billions of dollars toward solar and other renewable energy systems, “We have a real opportunity now.” He said that there is a chance that new breakthroughs in solar energy production could reduce the price to 5 cents per kilowatt hour.
He said that the Long Island Power Authority is planning a solar farm that would produce 50 megawatts of power. That is a modest beginning compared to say, the Indian Point facility that can produce 2,200 megawatts at full power. But Cozzolino said solar farms will bring economies of scale that will push the industry toward competitive pricing and said that for future generations and for current “energy security” reasons governments should invest in solar and other clean domestic power and energy supply sources. “As long as there is sun we are going to be able to collect it and turn it into electricity,” said Cozzolino.
Lant, of Central Hudson, touted nuclear power more strongly than he endorsed either solar or conservation measures. “I personally believe nuclear should be a major part of our future,” said Lant. He said he is worried that current plants are between a quarter- and a half-century old and no new nuclear facilities are being built or even seriously discussed. He noted that New York lacks a law governing the siting of all new power plants, whether conventional or nuclear. And he said this will become increasingly problematic as current plants age out of use while need grows.
And Lant cited “The need to speak with more honesty about energy prices. They are going up, not down.”
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