Health & Fitness
Life after “SONGS”: Higher Electric Prices and More Carbon Pollution
As nuclear opponents' dreams come true with SONGS' closure, the ratepayer and environmental nightmares are just beginning. Unfortunately this is a reality that we all may have to live with if policymakers continue efforts to close Indian Point.
California is certainly facing the music with the closure of the San Onofre Nuclear Generation Station (SONGS), co-owned by Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric. The plant’s closure is a major blow to California’s economy and environment.
Earlier this week the California State Senate Energy Committee held a hearing on the impacts of closing the plant. In terms of the economy, over 1,100 people at the facility will lose their jobs, representing hundreds of millions lost in wages and economic activity for areas surrounding the plant. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that the SONGS shutdown raised wholesale electric prices by 12 percent for Southern California ratepayers. The EIA also found that “Southern California needs to use local generation sources and cannot solely rely on imported electricity to replace generation from SONGS.” This price increase does not include the $68 million per month California ratepayers have made to maintain the plant since January 2012. In its annual report, the California Independent System Operator indicated that these costs, along with higher grid congestion costs, will be absorbed by ratepayers across California.
SONGS provided much needed voltage support to pump electricity through the regional transmission system and stabilize demand. With its closure, additional use of natural gas-fired plants is the only option to maintain grid reliability. This represents a significant burden on businesses, military operations, municipalities, and homeowners as they must remain on standby for rolling blackouts, known as “Flex Alerts,” if wildfires or heat waves disrupt the flow of imported power. Worse, testimony by the utilities and California’s grid operator confirms that toxic emissions are estimated to have increased by 30 percent in the region since 2012. [1] [2] According to The Breakthrough Institute, the 8 million metric tons of additional carbon pollution is the equivalent to adding an additional 1.6 million cars to the road.New York’s Indian Point plant offers a timely parallel to the situation in California. Like SONGS, Indian Point generates over 2,000 MW of carbon-free power, serves as a key regional power provider (to the tune of 25 percent of New York City’s power!), and acts as a “pumping station” for voltage support of New York’s grid. Numerous independent experts have concluded that without Indian Point carbon pollution would dramatically increase, wholesale electric prices would rise between 5-10 percent, and grid reliability would be significantly diminished likely resulting in rolling blackouts. Losing Indian Point would also cost over 11,000 jobs in Westchester and up to 40,000 statewide on an annual basis.
Find out what's happening in Peekskill-Cortlandtwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
As nuclear opponents’ dreams come true with SONGS’ closure, the ratepayer and environmental nightmares are just beginning. Unfortunately this is a reality that we all may have to live with if overzealous policymakers continue their campaign to close Indian Point.
Let’s not follow California’s example and keep the critical components of our electric system functioning to keep the lights on affordably and reliably and also do what’s right to reduce carbon pollution and preserve the environment.
Find out what's happening in Peekskill-Cortlandtwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
[1] "Current Considerations Related to Local Reliability in Southern California," David Mead, Senior VP of Transmission and Distribution Planning, Southern California Edison, presentation to California State Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications, on July 10, 2013.
[2] Ibid., page 13. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions pre-SONGS closure amounted to 20.7 MMT. While the utility projected GHG emissions post-SONGs at 26.9 MMT. The 30 percent estimated increase is calculated as follows: ((26.9 - 20.7) / 20.7) * 100 = 29.952 percent change rounded up to 30 percent GHG increase.
