Bodman extends emegency order for Mirant plant in Virginia

Bodman extends emegency order for Mirant plant in Virginia

Washington (Platts)--6Oct2006

US Department of Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman has extended until
December 1 an emergency order requiring Mirant to operate a coal-fired power
plant outside Washington despite attempts by local residents to shut it down
because of sooty emissions.

In a September 28 order, Bodman said the 480-MW plant in Alexandria,
Virginia, remains one of only three sources of electricity to central
Washington, raising the potential for a power shortage if any one of them
becomes unavailable. The other two sources are two 230-kV transmission lines
owned by Potomac Electric Power, which supply most of the electricity used in
the capital.

The secretary last December ordered Mirant to maintain the plant as a
backup supply to Washington in case either of the transmission lines became
unavailable because of an accident or maintenance. The order was scheduled to
expire on October 1.

In extending the order, Bodman acknowledged that PEPCO this year obtained
regulatory approval for two new 230-kV transmission lines to Washington, but
said they are not scheduled to be available until the middle of next summer.
The utility company, which serves Washington and parts of Maryland, also
has installed two new 69-kV lines to a wastewater treatment plant in the city,
which Bodman also considered vulnerable to a power shortage.

The secretary also said DOE expects to complete "shortly" a "special
environmental analysis" of the Mirant plant that the department promised in
January, amid complaints by Virginia and Alexandria officials over the plant's
continued operation.

"Because the reliability problems identified in [the December order]
continue in the absence of the completion of the two new 230-kV lines ... , I
am issuing a short-term extension of the emergency order pending completion of
the [special environmental report] and DOE's review of comments [on the
report]," he said.

The 56-year-old plant has continued to operate in response to calls from
PJM Interconnection for electric supplies, Debra Bolton, Mirant's vice
president for federal and state affairs, said Friday.

--Bill Loveless, bill_loveless@platts.com

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