Increased Building Costs Delay New Generation in Maryland, Power Shortages Loom07/31/2008
Stamford, CT (July 30, 2008)— Tradition Energy, a full-service energy management advisor and one of the nation’s largest energy procurement firms, today commented on recent delays to new generation capacity in Maryland. The Maryland Energy Administration Director Malcolm Woolf predicts electric shortages by 2011, but skyrocketing building costs have delayed the construction of new generation plants.
“The 600-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant in Frederick County won’t be on line until at least 2012,” commented Alan Kurzer, President, Tradition Energy. “A proposed nuclear plant would cost an estimated $6.9 billion and would take years to build. Clearly, new generation capacity is not going to be the answer to averting electric shortages in Maryland. Instead, C&I and governmental end users have to look at efficiency and conservation measures. Demand response is one possible way to conserve the state’s energy supply while creating a revenue stream for the organization.”
Demand response (DR) programs provide financial incentives to large organizations who have the ability to temporarily curtail or interrupt their power usage in response to either unusually high demand or high wholesale prices. There are several DR programs available from PJM, the regional transmission operator serving Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and surrounding states. The required size of interruptible load, the number of times per year that an event can be called, the amount of notice given, and the type of compensation vary by program.
Inquiries: Jennifer Santiago, (713) 609-9927, jsantiago@traditionenergy.com
About Tradition Energy
Tradition Energy is one of the nation’s largest energy procurement advisors, helping commercial, industrial and governmental organizations manage electricity and natural gas costs in regulated and volatile deregulated energy markets. Tradition Energy is a division of TFS Energy, a top wholesale energy brokerage with eight offices worldwide, over 250 employees and in the energy business since 1986. In 2008, TFS Energy was named “Broker of the Year” by Energy Risk magazine. TFS Energy was also recently awarded 14 awards, more than any other company in the 8-year history of Environmental Finance magazine’s industry survey. TFS is a subsidiary of Compagnie Financiére Tradition (CFT), a leading global inter-dealer broker in financial and commodity-related products with a presence in 24 countries and over 2,400 employees. For more information, please visit www.traditionenergy.com/demand-response