NERC sees enough power until 2009

New York (Platts)--21Nov2005

The North American Electric Reliability Council issued a report on Monday
saying it believes there will be adequate power through 2009, as long as all
the expected new generation gets built. 

     But excessive equipment problems and extreme weather could cause local
problems, it said. 

     Peak demand is expected to grow by 69,536 over the next five years, while
resource additions will total only 48,719 MW. But the gap should be closed by
plants not yet announced, with short lead times, NERC said. 

     Resource adequacy in the 2010-2014 timeframe is more uncertain, NERC
said, because of unanswered questions about financing, permits and
transmission. 

     NERC also warned that transmission systems will be operated at or near
limits more frequently. While most of the grid will operate reliably, "some
portions of the grid will not be able to support all desired electricity
market transactions," NERC said. 

     It estimated that 7,122 miles of new lines will be added by 2009 and a
total of 12,484 miles by 2014. Some transmission constraints can be relieved
by building generation downstream, NERC said.

     For more information, take a trial to Platts Electricity Alert at
http://electricityalert.platts.com.

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