Ontario Hydro flexes its muscles to kill cogen deal

Ontario Hydro flexes its muscles to kill cogen deal

T H E eral statutes and the courts will prevent implementation of this decision." Ontario Hydro Flexes Its Muscles to Kill Cogen Deal N onopoly m...

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eral statutes and the courts will prevent implementation of this decision."

Ontario Hydro Flexes Its Muscles to Kill Cogen Deal N

onopoly muscle still counts in Ontario. Governmentowned Ontario Hydro has dropped its legal proceeding to have four commissioners of London Hydro removed from office, one of two legal actions the provincial utility had undertaken against the municipal utility of London, Ontario. In exchange for an end to the proceedings, London Hydro has terminated its "District Heating and Peak Power Agreement" with London District Energy Corp.--a subsidiary of Trigen Energy Corp., of White Plains, N.Y.-- and is attempting to recover the $1 million (U.S.) it has invested in the project. Trigen has objected to the termination of the agreement. Ontario Hydro had attempted to oust the commissioners for signing off on the cogeneration deal last year to generate 3.5 MW of peak power as part of a naturalgas-fueled district heating and CFC-free cooling system to be built in London as an expansion of the city's existing system. Ontario Hydro claimed London Hydro had violated the provincial Power Corporation Act--which names Ontario Hydro as the regulator of municipal utilities in the province since Ontario Hydro had opposed, not approved, the $1 million (U.S.) London Hydro 8

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investment. An Ontario Hydro statement indicated the utility "is satisfied that London Hydro is taking the steps necessary to recover its investment in the Trigen project." Lawrence E. Leonoff, Ontario Hydro's senior vice-president and general counsel, said, "This represents the commitment of both utilities to work together in resolving their differences, and we're

satisfied that the interests of the provincial power pool will be protected." Leonoff is also Ontario Hydro's "appointed regulator of municipal electric utilities in Ontario."

NYPA, NiMo Reach Accord on Industrial Loads, Competition

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he battle between the New York Power Authority and

Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. ended in May with a truce that should bring at least temporary peace in upstate New York power

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markets. The state power agency and the investor-owned utility had been feuding over NYPA's service to 37 large industrial customers located in NiMo's service territory, a form of retail wheeling that has long been in place in New York, although seldom acknowledged by the power authority. Under the standstill agreement, NYPA's current industrial customers in NiMo's service territory will continue to get allocations of power from NYPA's FitzPatrick nuclear plant, as part of the state's industrial development efforts. But NiMo will be able to protect its remaining industrial customer base since NYPA will be required to reimburse NiMo for stranded costs that result from power authority sales to current NiMo customers. Syracuse-based NiMo has also terminated all of its purchases of FitzPatrick power, effective last weekend. As part of the settlement, NiMo will begin delivering FitzPatrick power to Cascades Niagara Falls, a paper recycler. Cascades, a new customer, was scheduled to start getting NYPA power back in March but the IOU balked at delivering NYPA power to a customer it believed was its own. NiMo said it will treat deliveries to Cascades as having started in March, to give Cascades the full savings from the cheaper NYPA power. In the future, NYPA and NiMo will compete head-to-head for new customers. A potential NYPA customer will be able to shop for The Electricity Journal