The elephant in the room, which the media won't touch is that the need for reliability was due not to aging lines but rather the planned build out of wind plantations all over Maine, a plan hatched by Baldacci's handpicked wind task force. Wind power, despite its paltry production, comes in spurts when the wind suddenly blows creating potential thermal overload for otherwise wholly adequate and well maintained existing lines. So if the special interests spawned wind plan was to happen, everyone knew extraordinarily expensive new transmission would have to be built. They just conveniently swept it under the carpet and with the help of a supportive media and a stacked PUC at the time, they blew it by us.
The average struggling Mainer unwittingly bought the wind industry and its owners on Walls Street its shipping system. And this industry already gets every government gift under the sun. First Wind alone got 115 million in free money from the ARRA stimulus program right after Larry Summers jumped from his 5 million part time job at First Wind half owner D.E. Shaw to become the Obama administration's National Economic Director. Soon to be U.S. Senator Angus King got a 102 million DOE loan guarantee award based on having "breakthrough technology" that was nothing of the kind.
True, Maine ratepayers funded "only" its 8% ISO-NE share of this project, but what the media won't tell you is that an estimated 20-30 billion of similar wind-required new transmission is envisioned for the ISO-NE grid we share. Do the math - 30 billion x 8% = 2.4 billion divided by Maine's 560,000 households = Over 4,000 per household (I know the math is not exact, but you get the idea). IF THE MEDIA PUBLISHED A HEADLINE SAYING "WIND POWER PLAN TO COST 4,000+ PER RATEPAYER IN TRANMISSION COSTS ALONE", DO YOU THINK BALDACCI'S WIND PLAN WOULD HAVE HAD SUCH CLEAR SAILING? (Of course we only recently learned that the owner of the state's largest media company, Maine Today Media, S. Donald Sussman (Mr. Chellie Pingree) incubated First Wind half owner D.E. Shaw.)
The group of wind industry supporters comprising the wind task force was charged by Governor Baldacci to "remove all obstacles to wind power in this state". Their work led to the heinous 2008 expedited wind law from which so many little people in the state suffer today.
The huge buildup in transmission required by wind projects was never discussed by Governor Baldacci's wind task force : From: http://pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/
(BLOGGER'S NOTE: AT LEAST OFFICIALLY AND OUT IN THE OPEN; IT IS INCONCEIVABLE IT WAS NOT DISCUSSED BEHIND CLOSED DOORS AND COVERED UP)
* Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine WAS NEVER EVEN DISCUSSED BY THE TASK FORCE - an omission that Peter Mills said will come to haunt the state.
* "If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine - oh, my god, try to build the transmission!" said Mills. "It's not just the towers, it's the lines - that's when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched."
It is obvious that transmission was purposely not included in the discussion as to do so would have brought to light the major price tag and added environmental impacts. The wind industry and supporters have a proven track record seven years later of only showing "one side of the ledger". Selling us wind without addressing transmission was like selling a house on top of a mountain miles from the nearest road and not disclosing to the buyer that no road exists and that one will have to be built.
I believe many were guilty in conveniently ignoring the transmission costs. And I'M NOT SURE THE OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC ADVOCATE AT THE TIME DIDN'T HAVE A COOPERATING HAND IN THIS TRAVESTY.
It is high time that the actions of the Baldacci PUC be investigated.
BREAKING: VERY SERIOUS STATE ETHICS STATUTE'S BEING WORKED ON FOR MAINE?
Here's a comment a reader left in a BDN article which sounds promising.
"A very good place to start would be to listen to, and follow, Roger Katz's folk's who are, now, setting the stage for some VERY serious State Ethics Statute's, some that are, even now, calling for MANDATORY MINIMUM STRAIGHT 10 YEAR sentence's, for violating the public's trust. The MTA mess, w/ Violette, as well as the Kurt Adams and 1st Wind fiasco, were very early warning sign's of just how vulnerable Maine was, and is, to public corruption. It's well past time for this kind of BS to be put a stop to, and to do so with some VERY SERIOUS AND STIFF PENALTY'S to make the point stick !"
http://bangordailynews.com/2015/02/20/the-point/lepages-meddling-in-energy-contracts-fits-dangerous-pattern/
127TH MAINE LEGISLATURE GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE
House
Anne-Marie Mastraccio
Senate
Bill Diamond
Senate
Christopher Johnson
House
Chuck Kruger
Senate
David Burns
House
Deborah Sanderson
House
Michael McClellan
Senate
Paul Davis
House
Richard Campbell
House
Robert Duchesne
Senate
Roger Katz
Senate
Stanley Gerzofsky
A collection of articles on Governor Baldacci's PUC can be found below.
MAINE CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEREST REPORTING ON MAINE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
Following are links to select articles from the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting which provide coverage of or related to the Maine PUC. The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting is a nonpartisan, non-profit news service based in Augusta focused on in-depth reporting serving the need of the Maine's citizens to be fully informed about the actions of their government and public servants.
With regard to the Maine PUC their mission (as published on their website) is:
"MISSION: THE MAINE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION REGULATES ELECTRIC, GAS, TELEPHONE AND WATER UTILITIES TO ENSURE THAT MAINE CITIZENS HAVE ACCESS TO SAFE AND RELIABLE UTILITY SERVICES AT RATES THAT ARE JUST AND REASONABLE FOR ALL RATEPAYERS"."
http://www.maine.gov/mpuc/about/how commission works.shtml
MAINE CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEREST REPORTING - SELECT ARTICLES IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
PUC CHAIRMAN TOOK EQUITY STAKE IN WIND COMPANY
By: NAOMI SCHALIT, (c)MAINE CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEREST REPORTING May 6, 2010
GROUP ASKS AG TO PROBE OFFICIAL OF FIRST WIND
By: NAOMI SCHALIT July 18, 2010
FIRST WIND SEC FILING CHANGE QUESTIONED
By: NAOMI SCHALIT July 18, 2010
ADAMS INVESTIGATION FINDS NO CONFLICT
By: NAOMI SCHALIT July 18, 2010
PUC STAFF: NO-GO FOR ENERGY FIRMS' WIND DEAL
By: NAOMI SCHALIT AND JOHN CHRISTIE January 19, 2012
PUC RELEASES CONFIDENTIAL TRANSCRIPT IN WIND ENERGY CASE
By: NAOMI SCHALIT January 31, 2012
MULTI-MILLION-DOLLAR WIND DEAL APPROVED BY STATE REGULATORS
By: NAOMI SCHALIT AND JOHN CHRISTIE April 11, 2012
UTILITY REGULATORS USED BROAD AUTHORITY IN APPROVING WIND DEAL
By: GORDON L. WEIL, CONTRIBUTING WRITER April 17, 2012
ENERGY FIRMS ANNOUNCED DEAL DESPITE RISK POSED BY LEGAL APPEAL
By: NAOMI SCHALIT AND JOHN CHRISTIE June 27, 2012
HIGH COURT OVERRULES AGENCY OK OF MULTI-MILLION-DOLLAR WIND ENERGY...
By: NAOMI SCHALIT March 4, 2014
PUC PONDERS WHAT'S NEXT FOR MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR WIND DEAL VACATED B...
By: NAOMI SCHALIT March 21, 2014
PUBLIC ADVOCATE REVERSES POSITION ON GIANT WIND ENERGY DEAL
By: NAOMI SCHALIT, SENIOR REPORTER (c)MAINE CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEREST REPORTING May 5, 2014
LEPAGE, UTILITIES COMMISSIONER AT ODDS OVER ETHICS
By: NAOMI SCHALIT, SENIOR REPORTER (c)MAINE CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEREST REPORTING June 5, 2014
STATE UTILITY REGULATORS APPROVE GIANT WIND DEAL - AGAIN
By: NAOMI SCHALIT, SENIOR REPORTER (c)MAINE CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEREST REPORTING July 22, 2014
LEPAGE, UTILITIES COMMISSIONER CONFLICT OVER CONFLICTS ONLY PARTIAL...
By: NAOMI SCHALIT (c)MAINE CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEREST REPORTING July 30, 2014
0 comments:
Post a Comment