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An eBay Shopping Spree Helped Bring This Power Plant Back Online

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An eBay Shopping Spree Helped Bring This Power Plant Back Online

"At first glance, the power plant located just north of New York City was certainly living up to a name given the surrounding area 400 years earlier: The devil’s dance chamber, or “Danskammer” in the original Dutch."

"It was 2013, and executives from Mercuria Energy Group Ltd., a Swiss commodities house best known for its oil and products trading, were assessing whether to invest in a waterlogged mess of a power plant. Perched along the Hudson River, the 60-year-old Danskammer Generation Station took on 14 feet of water in Hurricane Sandy, and sat unheated and idle through two subsequent winters. Pipes had burst, pumps and motors failed and thousands of miles of electrical wiring were ruined."

"Yet, Mercuria saw promise. After renovations costing just $25 million, the company now has the plant operating again, putting it among a growing list of private investors trying to spin new wealth from old power plants as the economic model for big utilities cracks apart."

A Much Too Long Survey

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I got an email from National Grid asking me to fill out a survey about the quality of their service. I think it’s reasonable maybe to ask 5-10 short questions, but after the 20th question, including several long-form questions that you had to click through each page, I just ended up closing out the survey.

It’s great that they are asking for public input, but a much shorter survey would be much more likely for me question. Or better yet would be to break up the survey — maybe ask a few easy questions each month. I’m much willing to do that then do a lengthy survey about my electric provider.

Electricity demand is flat. Utilities are freaking out.

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Electricity demand is flat. Utilities are freaking out.

New York has survived periods of declining electrical demand, such in the late 1970s as manufacturing left the state and the population remained stagnant. As the American population ages, the country moves further from manufacturing to services, and more renewable energy goes on the grid, it's only logical to think electrical demand in the coming decades with decline.