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Politics : Rat's Nest - Chronicles of Collapse -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: abuelita who wrote (1147)	7/28/2005 1:31:55 AM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 24224

Power plants worried as heat wave warms Great Lakes Last Updated Wed, 20 Jul 2005 18:34:34 EDT CBC News Ontario's electricity supply may be in jeopardy because a weeks-long heat wave has warmed waters in the Great Lakes and lowered the levels of northern rivers, a provincial power utility is warning. INDEPTH: Blackouts and brownouts Although temperatures and humidity haven't been as extreme during the past two days, the warmer waters may force some coal and nuclear generating stations to cut their power production, according to Ontario Power Generation. The water at Toronto's Cherry Beach, which is on Lake Ontario, is about four degrees warmer than it was last summer, for example. INDEPTH: Energy conservation The utility said that similar increases in other parts of the Great Lakes are causing problems for coal and nuclear plants at Nanticoke, Lambton and Pickering. They all use water from the Great Lakes system to cool their generators. OPG spokesman John Earl said that the warmer the water gets, the less efficiently it cools the generators. That in turn reduces the plants' generating capacity, resulting in less electricity for consumers. INDEPTH: Heat waves Earl said the water can be no warmer than 35 C when it is expelled from the plants. "If we exceed [that temperature], we would have to ratchet back the amount of generation we could put out." He said that the power company has come close to that limit a number of times, including once last week. Warmer water could lead to lingering blackouts The Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), which oversees the provincial electricity system, said the warmer waters pose particular concerns – especially if the heat wave continues. A spokesman, Terry Young, said water doesn't cool off quickly, so any cutbacks in generation could last for some time. "Instead of just worrying about a peak hour, you are worrying about 24 hours, because you have energy issues throughout those 24 hours," Young said. He said the warmer waters are one of the reasons that the IESO issued a warning on Monday asking people to cut back on their electricity usage all week. The IESO said rolling blackouts were still possible if residents, businesses and industry didn't cut back on power use during the week. It has urged consumers to reduce electricity use between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. So far this week, the province's power consumption peaked at 25,857 megawatts (MW) on Monday, just short of the record set last week of 26,170 MW. Northern hydro power drops by a third Meanwhile, as continued high temperatures fuel the use of air conditioners and other power-sucking devices, low water levels have reduced the amount of power northeastern Ontario can churn out. FROM JULY 18, 2005: Heat wave pushing power consumption in Central Canada Power generation from hydro facilities in the region is down by about a third, Ontario Power Generation said. Northern Ontario facilities are responsible for providing about a fifth of the power needed across the province. Earl said water levels on rivers like the Abitibi and the Mattagami are too low to keep production at normal levels. He said the company must ensure its generating needs don't reduce water levels to the extent that fish and wildlife are affected. As a result of the lower power supply from the north, Earl said the company must rely on other power facilities to meet the demand. All nine of Ontario's nuclear reactors are on-line, as are the province's coal-fired power plants, he said. Ontario dips into energy reserves The Independent Electricity System Operator hasn't been able to meet a standard for its reserves that was set after a massive blackout two years ago. The Northeast Power Co-ordinating Council, which oversees the power grid for Ontario, Quebec and the northeastern United States, says that about 15 per cent of capacity should be kept in reserve. But the IESO hasn't been able to meet that figure. This week, Ontario's electricity system has been running with a reserve margin of only six per cent. A spokesman for the council, Stephen Allen, said it's expected that the standard can be broken when it gets as hot as it has recently been in Ontario. He also said there's a 10-minute reserve to consider. If Ontario's largest power generating unit at the Darlington nuclear plant stopped producing electricity suddenly, the IESO would have to find replacement power within 10 minutes. Allen said Ontario has been able to meet that standard. cbc.ca