![](media/image1.jpeg){width="8.5in" height="3.5027777777777778in"}U.S.
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

**Office of Electricity and\
Energy Assurance**

**ENERGY ASSURANCE DAILY**

**March 28, 2005**

**Electricity**

**25,000 Suffer Power Outage as Fire Compounds Problem in San
Francisco**

What began as a small power outage affecting about 1,800 customers of
PG&E escalated into an outage affecting 25,000 customers and knocked out
power to two BART stations when equipment was damaged as firefighters
attempted to extinguish a fire at a Pacific Gas and Electric Co.
substation caused by a faulty circuit breaker. According to PG&E, the
fire resulted from an equipment failure.

Franks said the fire was caused by the failure of some switching
equipment and then slowly spread. He said the fire department came in to
control the fire and keep it from spreading further.

\"We are grateful for the help we got from the San Francisco Fire
Department,\'\' Franks said.

Franks said there are 17,000 customers in the Chinatown, North Beach and
Western Addition neighborhoods still without power.

Sources: KPIX5, CBS News San Francisco, March 26, 2005; Bloomberg 11:40,
March 28, 2005.

<http://www2.cbs5.com/localwire/localfsnews/bcn/2005/03/26/n/HeadlineNews/SF-OUTAGE/resources_bcn_html>

**12,000 Lose Power in Richmond Virginia**

Some 12,000 customers of Dominion Virginia Power lost power for
approximately two hours on Thursday. The outage occurred when an
insulator at a substation in the Fan District of Richmond failed.
According to Dominion, power was restored to all customers by about
11:00 Thursday morning.

<http://www.energycentral.com/centers/news/daily/article.cfm?aid=5561395>

**New Silicon Valley Plant Comes On-line**

On Thursday, a new 166 MW plant of Silicon Valley Power began commercial
operation to provide an independent source of electricity to the city of
Santa Clara. The new facility will augment power supplied by PG&E to the
valley area where only about 15 percent of the power used in the area
has actually been produced there. The situation should improve further
when another 600 MW unit being built by Calpine comes on-line in June.

Source: Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal, March 24, 2005.

<http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2005/03/21/daily42.html?jst=b_ln_hl>

**Mohave Unit 2 Shut**

According to a report of the California Independent System Operator, the
790 MW unit 2 at Edison International\'s Mohave power plant in Nevada
was shut late on Sunday for unplanned reasons.

Reuters 9:56, March 28, 2005.

**Four Corners Unit 4 Ramping Up**

According to Arizona Public Service, the 740 MW coal-fired unit 4 at the
Four Corners power station in New Mexico began to return to service by
early Monday following an unplanned outage that began on March 27. The
Four Corners facility is located in San Juan County New Mexico.

Reuters 9:47, March 28, 2005.

**Welsh Unit 3 Shut to Repair Leak**

According to Texas regulators, American Electric Power Co. Inc. will
shut the 528 MW coal-fired unit 3 at the Welsh power station in Texas
March 28 to March 31 to repair a leaking boiler tube.

Reuters 9:34, March 28, 2005.

**Limerick 2 Output Near 100 Percent of Capacity**

The 1,134 MW unit 2 Exelon Corp.\'s Limerick nuclear generating station
was operating at 98 percent of capacity early Monday morning according
to the NRC's daily status report. The facility shut down on March 21 to
investigate vibrations in the turbine. The unit began to return to
service once the faulty bearing was replaced. The facility is located in
Limerick, Pennsylvania approximately 21 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

Bloomberg 9:33, March 28, 2005.

**Hope Creek Shut to Repair Leak in Cooling System**

Public Service Enterprise Group Inc's 1,049 MW Hope Creek nuclear
generating station was shut Sunday night to repair a leak in the
reactor\'s coolant system. The company will have no estimate on the
duration of the outage until a specific course of action for the needed
repairs is developed.

Bloomberg 11:33, March 28, 2005.

**Seabrook Up to 95 Percent of Capacity**

According to the NRC's status report, FPL Group Inc.\'s 1,159 MW
Seabrook nuclear generating station ramped up to 95 percent of capacity
by early Monday. The unit was shut on March 22, when a problem developed
during a routine test. The problem was isolated to the solid-state
protection system and the unit began ramping up on Thursday March 24.
The facility is located in Rockingham County, approximately 40 miles
north of Boston.

Reuters 7:54, March 28, 2005.

**Turkey Point 4 Ramps Up to 62 Percent**

According to the NRC's status report, the 693 MW unit 4 at FPL Group
Inc.\'s Turkey Point nuclear generating station had ramped up to 62
percent of capacity by early Monday. The unit shut on March 23 after it
exited an outage to fix an oil leak on a feed water pump. Unit 4 had
been shut the previous day because of a problem with a feed water pump
motor. Turkey Point is located in Miami-Dade County, about 25 miles from
Miami.

Reuters 8:06, March 28, 2005.

**AES's 226 MW Gas-fired Unit 2 Huntington Beach facility Shut March
28**

Reuters 14:13, March 28, 2005.

**OPG's 285 MW Coal-fired Unit 1 at its Lakeview Facility Shut March
28.**

Reuters 15:48, March 28, 2005.

**OPG's 285 MW Coal-fired Unit 2 at its Lakeview Facility Shut March
28.**

Reuters 15:48, March 28, 2005.

OPG's 490 MW Coal-fired Unit 1 at its Nanticoke Facility Shut March 28.

Reuters 15:48, March 28, 2005.

OPG's 490 MW Coal-fired Unit 2 at its Nanticoke Facility Shut March 28.

Reuters 15:48, March 28, 2005.

**Petroleum**

**Big Spring to Shut FCC Unit for Repairs**

In early April, Alon USA will shut the fluid catalytic cracker at its
Big Spring refinery to repair a leak. Repairs on the 25,000 b/d unit are
expected to take about 10 days.

Reuters 14:21, March 28, 2005.

**High Prices Spurs Domestic Drilling But Rig & Worker Shortage Plague
Industry**

Surging oil and gas prices have led to led to a surge in the number of
drilling permits issued in Kansas. In 2004, some 3,596 permits were
issued in the state, an increase of 37 percent from the year before and
more than double the total issued in 2002. However, shortages of trained
workers and available drilling rigs have restrained the amount of
drilling actually undertaken. According to the Kansas Independent Oil
and Gas Association, training programs are being established to attack
the first problem and the number of rigs operating in the state has
increased but remains well below the all-time high of the mid 1980's.

Source: The Wichita Eagle, March 24, 2005

<http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/business/11214159.htm>

**Restart of ChevronTexaco's Pascagoula Crude Unit Delayed**

It has been reported that ChevronTexaco has delayed the return of a
crude unit at its 325,000 b/d Pascagoula refinery in Mississippi until
early April. ChevronTexaco was not available to comment.

Reuters 12:42, March 28, 2005.

**FCC Unit At Marathon Ashland Texas City Refinery Shut Briefly On
Saturday**

Marathon Ashland Petroleum\'s reported that a fluid catalytic cracking
unit was shut briefly on Saturday when a power outage struck the
72,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Texas City, Texas. According to a
company filing on the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality's
website, the 44,000-bpd cat cracker was restarted after power was
restored.

Reuters 11:23, March 28, 2005.

**Raudhatain Oilfield Output Capacity To Top 250,000 Bpd**

A Kuwait Oil Co official reported that completion of a gas booster unit
and a 73 mile pipeline is expected by the end of April. The improvements
will boost production at the Raudhatain field from about 100,000 bpd to
more than 250,000 barrels per day. On completion, there will be three
pipelines available to carry crude from the gathering centers in north
Kuwait to Mina al-Ahmadi export sea terminal in the south.

Reuters 8:13, March 28, 2005.

**Natural Gas**

Nothing to Report

**Other News**

**Alternative Plans Sought as Problems Plague Yucca Mountain**

Mounting problems at Yucca Mountain are leading both legislators and
industry to seek some alternative plan for the long-term storage of
nuclear waste. Delays in the development of Yucca Mountain coupled more
recently with charges of wrong doing in connection with the proposed
site have lead some members of Congress and companies seeking other
options to developing the long-term nuclear waste dump in Nevada.

<http://www.azdailysun.com/non_sec/nav_includes/story.cfm?storyID=105681>

**Energy Prices**

+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
|                               | **Latest  | **Week    | **Year     |
|                               | (03       | Ago**     | Ago**      |
|                               | /28/05)** |           |            |
+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
| **CRUDE OIL**                 | 54.06     | 56.70     | 37.12      |
|                               |           |           |            |
| **West Texas Intermediate     |           |           |            |
| US**                          |           |           |            |
|                               |           |           |            |
| \$/Barrel                     |           |           |            |
+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
| **NATURAL GAS**               | 7.07      | 7.16      | 5.46       |
|                               |           |           |            |
| **Henry Hub**                 |           |           |            |
|                               |           |           |            |
| \$/Million Btu                |           |           |            |
+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+

> Source: Reuters
>
> Note: Beginning on Wednesday of last week (March 23), the Reuters spot
> price for WTI was much less than what other sources reported. Although
> it is clear that the price of crude dropped on Wednesday following the
> release by EIA of larger than expected petroleum stock numbers, other
> sources put the drop in the range of \$2.00 to \$5.25 whereas Reuters
> reported a price drop for WTI crude oil of about \$6.50. This
> afternoon (March 28) the price differential appears to have closed
> with respect to the spot prices by Reuters and Bloomberg (\$54.06 and
> \$54.05 respectively).

**This Week in Petroleum** from the Energy Information Administration
(EIA)

[*http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/twip/twip.asp*](http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/twip/twip.asp)

Updated on Wednesdays

**Weekly Petroleum Status Report** from EIA**\
**[*http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/weekly_petroleum_status_report/wpsr.html*](http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/weekly_petroleum_status_report/wpsr.html)

Updated after 1:00pm (Eastern time) on Wednesdays

**Natural Gas Weekly Update** from EIA

[*http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/ngw/ngupdate.asp*](http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/ngw/ngupdate.asp)

Updated after 2:00 pm (Eastern time) on Thursdays

**ENSEC threat awareness blog site** from Energy Assurance

[*http://ensec.blogspot.com*](http://ensec.blogspot.com/)