March 23, 2004
NSTAR today joined several electric utilities and consumer advocates in formally opposing an ISO New England plan that would unfairly raise costs to the region’s electricity customers. The protest, filed today with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), seeks to reduce incentive payments to electricity generators while still compensating them for providing a reliable supply of electricity.
“NSTAR believes customers deserve reliable electricity at the best possible price,” said Thomas J. May, NSTAR President, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “While the ISO New England proposal stands to benefit generators at the expense of customers, we believe the coalition proposal would accomplish the goal of using region-wide resources to ensure reliability at a lower cost.”
ISO New England’s plan would divide New England into smaller sub-regions and would cost greater Boston customers an additional $470 million over the next five years. Under the ISO plan, all New England customers would pay an additional $1.6 billion over the same period. The alternative proposal filed today, when compared to the ISO plan, would save NSTAR customers $325 million and all of New England $1.4 billion.
In their filing today, NSTAR and the coalition members propose an alternative market based on a region-wide approach to capacity rather than dividing the region into smaller sub-regions. The coalition plan would also impose minimum performance standards on generators and require them to give notice of their intent to retire power plants so an orderly transition can be achieved.
NSTAR is joined in the coalition by the Attorney’s General of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Massachusetts Division of Energy Resources, New Hampshire Office of Consumer Advocate, Rhode Island Division of Public Utilities and Carriers, Associated Industries of Massachusetts, National Grid, Vermont Electric, and Strategic Energy LLC.
FERC is expected to rule on the ISO proposal by May 1, 2004. For more details about today’s filing, visit: http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/elibrary.asp, docket number ER03-563-030.
NSTAR transmits and delivers electricity and natural gas to 1.4 million customers in Eastern and Central Massachusetts, including over one million electric customers in 81 communities and nearly 300,000 gas customers in 51 communities. For more information about NSTAR visit www.nstar.com.
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