GE Energy Financial Services announced that it will auction the electric transmission capacity from a proposed transmission project capable of increasing the power supply to capacity-constrained New York City.

The project will be a significant improvement to the regional transmission grid, transmitting power from the Pennsylvania/Jersey/Maryland Interconnection, the largest centrally dispatched electric grid in the world, to the NYISO grid serving the New York metropolitan area. The project will be able to transfer an incremental 300 MW of capacity from PJM to NYISO through an existing cable running in bedrock 60 ft beneath the Arthur Kill waterway -- originating at GE’s 900 MW Linden, NJ, cogeneration power plant and connecting to Consolidated Edison’s Goethals substation in the New York City borough of Staten Island.

NYISO, the New York Independent System Operator, a federally regulated, not-for-profit corporation operating New York’s bulk electric transmission system, projects that New York City’s peak demand will increase by 1,300 MW by 2016. Environmental constraints make siting power plants within New York City difficult and add to the cost of locally generated power. The project will provide access to economic sources of power within the PJM. Culminating with an auction expected in January 2007, GE Energy Financial Services will hold an open season to allocate transmission rights from the project. Interested parties may visit www.lindenvftauction.com or contact Brad Miller of CRA International (617-425-3384, bmiller@crai.com) to learn more about the proposed project, the open season process, as well as an informational meeting to be held in New York City. CRA International is managing the open season for GE Energy Financial Services.

The proposed project will consist of the design, construction, and operation of three variable frequency transformers (see artist’s rendition), using proprietary GE technology that enables a simple and controlled transmission path between electrical grids. The three variable frequency transformers will be installed at the Linden Cogen power plant, which GE Energy Financial Services purchased earlier this year.

“A reliable and proven technology, variable frequency transformers provide a unique way to transfer power from one electric network to another, taking advantage of our Linden Cogeneration plant’s strategic New Jersey location and transmission cable capacity -- to serve key New York metropolitan markets,” said Mark Mellana, a managing director for power at GE Energy Financial Services. “For New York City, this is an economic way to provide much-needed capacity.”
Construction of the Variable Frequency Transformer project is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2007, with completion in the fourth quarter of 2009.