I LIVE IN A TYPICAL SUBURBAN NEIGHBORHOOD IN EASTERN KANSAS. The schools are good, the traffic is light and the taxes are low. The amenities here aren't bad either. We have a big county park right across the street with a fishing lake and an 18-hole golf course. Life is good.

Last year, though, our friendly neighborhood landfill wanted to expand in our direction. This brought out all the NIMBY (not-in-my-backyard) folk. The lawyers here were more than happy to represent our point of view in dealing with the city commissioners and to protect us from unpleasant smells, increased truck traffic and falling property prices. Only I didn't want to be represented. The engineer in me came to the conclusion that expanding the dump made perfect sense. The landfill was located near a major highway, the space was available, and the company was a good corporate citizen. When I expressed support for the expansion, my neighbors considered me a lunatic, a traitor, or both.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

Would you stand up for infrastructure near your home, or would you cut and run to the nearest attorney?

Of course, a small part of me didn't want to see the dump expanded, so I had to squelch that little NIMBY voice in the back of my head. I expect there is a little bit of NIMBY in all of us.

When the talk turns to transmission lines though, our industry is bedeviled by the NIMBY crowd. I have come to the conclusion that outside California, the NIMBY capital of North America might be in the Northeast, where we have high population densities combined with a concentration of wealth. In Connecticut, local utilities United Illuminating (UI) and Northeast Utilities have shown considerable diplomacy and constraint, while tiptoeing through myriad environmental, political and societal issues, to successfully site almost 100 miles (161 km) of 345-kV transmission. This transmission is desperately needed to provide power to load pockets in the southeast portion of the state.

When I visited UI several months ago, I discovered that most of the myriad technical, environmental and community challenges had already been addressed. The project is moving forward with construction slated to begin in 2006. Our editors are working with the project managers at these utilities right now to report on technical details on the design and construction of this line.

But the climate is changing in the Northeast. I am even seeing the creation of an “IMBY” crowd. Why? Of course, the Northeast Blackout of 2003 caught everyone's attention, and electricity rates are higher in the Northeast than in the rest of the country. Add to that the escalating cost of heating with natural gas or fuel oil, then tack on the monthly cost of fueling up the family car. It all adds up to make energy a legitimate issue affecting the quality of life.

GAS SUPPLIES CRITICAL

Most of the generation built here within the past 10 years has been gas fired. I guess this shouldn't come as a surprise to me, but I didn't realize that New England is literally at the end of the country's natural gas pipeline network. So both the availability and dependability of natural gas is becoming an issue. And with gas pricing trending upward, gas prices will hit electric prices hard. It is becoming increasingly clear that New England must immediately start to reinforce its electric generation and transmission infrastructure, while also addressing scarce fuel sources if they are to meet region-wide electric reliability requirements.

HERE COMES IMBY

A diverse group of professionals and organizations came together to form the Massachusetts Affordable Reliable Electricity Alliance (AREA). The name explains its purpose. This group wants to be assured that NIMBYs don't derail efforts to generate and distribute power in the state. “These NIMBY activists have had undue influence in the state when it comes to debating new projects,” says Robert Hallisey, who helped start AREA.

Hallisey, a retired Massachusetts Department of Health official, believes it is the public good to have public discourse on ideas and proposals related to building generation and transmission in the state. Gary Sullivan, president of the Utility Workers Union of America and an AREA founding member, believes the issue is about keeping jobs in the state, as well as keeping prices down for the poorest and most frail citizens. Robert Ruddock, with the Associated Industries of Massachusetts representing 7600 employers, is afraid that “Massachusetts will not remain a great place to do business if our energy infrastructure comes to resemble that of a second-class country.”

Participating companies include: The Massachusetts Restaurant Association, Entergy, the Berkshire Economic Development Corp., Duke Energy, the South Shores Building Trades Council and the New England Energy Alliance.

Through the development and promotion of public policy issue briefs, grassroots and media campaigns, and educational activities, this group intends to support policies that aid in the development of cost-effective base-load and renewable energy sources. They also will keep supporting the continued safe operations of existing generation facilities (including the Pilgrim Nuclear Plant) and promote energy-efficiency and conservation practices.

NEW ENGLAND ENERGY ALLIANCE

I checked into one member of the group, the New England Energy Alliance. This alliance has a wider footprint, supporting sound energy policy throughout the New England states, and is comprised of energy providers, businesses and trade organizations. Formed in August 2005, this group doesn't want the region to make the same type of mistakes that brought brownouts and blackouts to California. They are encouraging public debate to investigate ways the region can meet its energy infrastructure needs. The alliance has an advisory board made up of major business and labor organizations, as well as experts on environmental, regulatory and technology issues.

Following is a shortened version of the alliance's mission:

• Help ensure that public decision making and policy development are made with full and balanced consideration of the region's energy and economic needs.

• Advocate timely development of decisions about environmentally sound energy supply and infrastructure projects and technologies.

The alliance has polled 600 individuals in the region to determine the most important issues in people's lives. Energy concerns came in at number three behind health care costs and job creation. That is totally believable. The alliance is predicting that unless the region acts, energy shortages would be acute by 2010 at the latest. Because private companies are providing most of the energy investments in the Northeast, project development requires considerable lead time.

The alliance recently commissioned a study that points out these facts:

• Within two years, demand may exceed available supplies and delivery capacity for both electric and natural gas.

• New investment in power plants, electric transmission lines and renewable projects are needed.

• Uncertainties about policies affecting energy markets are chilling necessary new investment and must be addressed.

• Energy efficiency should be a priority among the many needed energy options.

• New natural gas supply and delivery capability is needed.

• The region should carefully consider the future of regional hydroelectric, fossil and nuclear plants.

It looks like the National Energy Policy Act of 2005 should help the Northeast address both capacity and reliability. This act requires mandatory and enforceable reliability standards. The act also calls for limited federal backstop siting authority for the construction of new transmission facilities, which should provide significant federal leverage to “encourage” states to act on siting requests.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission also has been charged with issuing rules to address incentive-based recovery of transmission investment costs, which will hopefully provide returns sufficient to attract investment. With legitimate focused broad-based support for the development of energy resources to meet the needs of individuals and corporations in New England, combined with support from the federal government, I am expecting to see a major shift in the balance of power. NIMBYs in New England beware!

BACK IN MY BACKYARD

Yes, there will always be a vocal minority who will fight any initiative that threatens their backyard, and I don't suppose that will ever change. But whether battles over placing infrastructure are won or lost, lives tend to fall back into place. As I speak, the landfill up the street is expanding my way. But, strangely enough, my neighbors are not complaining to me about the trucks, the birds or the smell. We've all fallen back into our routines. I go to high school basketball games to watch my daughter perform with the drill team at halftime. I go on a date with my wife on Thursday night, and I drag the trash to the street on Tuesday morning to be picked up by our dependable, low-cost refuse company.