Beam me to Planet Gore !
Posted on 02/16/2012 6:33:51 AM PST by massmike
Nstar ratepayers could see their electricity bills balloon by as much as $382 million over 15 years under a merger deal with the state that forces the utility to buy energy from Cape Wind — a power premium that dwarfs a one-time $21 million customer credit touted yesterday by the Patrick administration.
“The merger has some good things in the early years, but once the Cape Wind contract kicks in, it will erase any savings that ratepayers will have gotten,” said Robert Rio of Associated Industries of Massachusetts, a group that represents some 7,000 employers.
Gov. Deval Patrick wrangled a slice of the savings Nstar and Connecticut-based Northeast Utilities expect through their proposed $4.7 billion merger, along with a four-year freeze on electric and gas rates.
But under the settlement, Nstar’s contract for 27.5 percent of Cape Wind’s power must be “substantially the same” as the contract of National Grid, which has already lined up to buy 50 percent of Cape Wind’s energy.
An analysis by the state Department of Public Utilities — the regulatory agency that will review Nstar’s new merger deal — found National Grid customers will likely be hit with “above-market costs” of $420 million to $695 million over the 15-year contract.
That means Nstar’s portion of Cape Wind would hike costs for the utility’s 1.6 million customers by $231 million to $382 million.
And factoring in falling energy prices, the availability of federal subsidies and whether the full, 130-turbine project is built, Nstar’s deal with Cape Wind could be even more expensive.
(Excerpt) Read more at bostonherald.com ...
And the politicians marched merrily onwards.
That’s a small price to pay for saving the planet.
I need to get the &^%$ off the grid here in MA before this kicks in. Rates are already ridiculous and only going to get worse with two power plants shutting down.
I'm starting to think Excelsior means Upward all right...Right up ours....
Wind produced electricity is many times more costly than that from fossil fuel plants and especially nuclear plants. The biggest problem is that it isn’t reliable. Winds are fickle and may not be blowing when there is a demand for power and wind turbines can only operate in a narrow range of wind speeds...too much wind and they tear themselves apart ...too little and they cannot generate anything. To make up for wind energy’s variability requires back up generators, usually natural gas fired, that can quickly be brought online. Look to the rolling blackouts in Texas a year ago for what will happen when there is too much dependence on wind energy and not enough back up generators.
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