The AP Report: Oil and Gas Plants Kept Running Amid Federal Intervention for Grid Reliability
Maintaining operation of an elderly power plant during summer to avert power outages, under the Trump administration's orders.
Hear ye, hear ye! In the heart of Pennsylvania, the Eddystone oil and gas plant has been ordered to stay operational through the summer heat. The Department of Energy, under President Trump's regime, has pulled the strings. This isn't just any plant, folks. It's situated just south of Philadelphia, on the picturesque Delaware River.
The Department's move towards the Eddystone plant is their second such intervention on the mainland US. Constellation Energy had planned to do the math and turn off units 3 and 4 on Saturday, but the proverbial wrench has been thrown into their plans. Now, they've got to keep them running until at least Aug 28. That's over a gigawatt of power we're talking about here.
But why the sudden urgency? Well, the Department's order to the grid operator, PJM Interconnection, is a response to their growing concerns about impending power shortfalls. The shutdown of aging power plants and soaring electricity demand have the PJM folks in a bit of a pickle.
PJM agreed with the department's order, welcoming it like a long-lost friend. They see it as a prudent, temporary step that allows them, the Department, and Constellation to take a closer look at Eddystone's units. They're to assess if these venerable old-timers still have what it takes to carry the grid's load.
Just a week prior, the Department also ordered Consumers Energy to keep the J.H. Campbell coal-fired power plant open in Michigan beyond its retirement date. However, the grid operator there, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, thought it unnecessary. They insisted there was no energy emergency in the region and that they had enough juice to get through the summer.
The environmental advocacy group, Delaware Riverkeeper Network, views the decision to keep Eddystone running as an "environmental injustice." They argue that shutting down the antiquated units would significantly reduce hazardous pollution and carbon emissions, helping the region comply with federal standards on smog.
In Other Business News:
- Seattle weight loss patients sweat over FDA restrictions on off-brand drugs
- WA unveils this year's cap on rent hikes
- We're all hooked on Zillow now
- For some recent grads, the AI takeover might already be here -analysis
- Lost in the mail: His life savings, of paper checks, mysteriously vanished
- Discussions regarding the FDA's restrictions on off-brand drugs in Seattle's weight loss industry are causing a stir among patients and medical professionals.
- Washington State's announcement of this year's cap on rent hikes has brought relief to many residents, especially those in the housing industry.
- The popularity of Zillow has grown exponentially in Seattle, as more people turn to the online real estate platform for their property needs.
- The AI industry is causing concern for recent graduates in Washington, with some fearing the potential job displacement in various sectors.
- A local Seattle resident is grappling with the mystery of his lost savings, as a batch of paper checks unexpectedly disappeared in the mail.
