# Electricity Electricity Monthly Update With Data for November 2014 | Release Date: Jan. 26, 2015 | Next Release Date: Feb. 24, 2015 

# Highlights: November 2014

• Heating Degree Days were up 7.2% compared to last November as many States ea st of the Rockies experienced below average temperatures during the month. • November wholesale natural gas prices in New York City ($9.25/MMBtu) and New England ($10. 74/MMBtu) increased significantly from the previous month as the count ry begins to enter the winter months.

• Coal stockpiles increased 4% from the pervious months, or just over 5.5 m illion tons, as the U.S. continued its buildup of coal stockpiles for use in the winter months. 

### Key Indicators November 2014 % Change from November 2013 Total Net Generation (Thousand MWh) 317,176 1.1% Residential Retail Price (cents/kWh) 12.46 3.1% Retail Sales (Thousand MWh) 282,002 0.9% Heating Degree-Days 611 7.2% Natural Gas Price, Henry Hub ($/MMBtu) 4.23 12.8% Natural Gas Consumption (Mcf) 627,008 -0.3% Coal Consumption (Thousand Tons) 64,688 -1.8% Coal Stocks (Thousand Tons) 141,742 -9.0% Nuclear Generation (Thousand MWh) 65,140 0.3% 

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# Vermont Yankee nuclear facility retires after 42 years of commercial operation

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, State Profile and Energy Estimates

On December 29, 2014, Entergy shut down its Vermont Ya nkee nuclear facility after 42 years in service. Located in southeast Vermont along the Connecticut River, VermontYankee was a 604 megawatt boiling water reactor thatbegan commercial operation in 1972. It has generated nearly five million megawatt hours of electricity per year since 2010, accounting for 4% of New England's total electric generation and over 70% of generation in the state of Verm ont in that time period. Entergy submitted its Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activiti es Report and the Site-Specific Decommissioning Cost Estimate to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on D ecember 23, 2014. The decommissioning process is lengthy a nd can take decades to fully complete dismantling, decontamin ation, and site restoration activities. Entergy currently estimates total decommissioning costs of more than $1.2 billion. T hese costs include $817 million for license termination (a broad category encompassing costs such as labor, equipment, and ma terials, and the removal of plant systems and components), $368 million for spent fuel management and $57 mill ion for site restoration. With the closure of Vermont Yankee, there are now 99 nuclear units in the United States with a combined summe r nameplate capacity of 98,620 megawatts. New England has dealt wit h the closure of nuclear units before, with the retirem ent of the 560 megawatt Connecticut Yankee unit in 1996 and the 870 megawatt Maine Yankee in 1997. Four nuclear units are currently active in New England: Millstone 2 and 3 in Connecticut, Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts and Seabrook in New Hampshire. These units have a combined summer namepla te capacity of 4,026 megawatts and had an average capacity factor of just over 90% in 2014 (through October ). The nearly five million megawatt hours of generation historically produced at Vermont Yankee per year can be replaced in several ways. Existing generators in New England can ope rate at higher rates. New England's generation is dom inated by 

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8/ 1/2015 http://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/update/archive/january2015/natural gas and nuclear units, which combined for 77% of ISONE generation in 2014. As the four existing nucle ar units already operate at maximum capacity and renewable sources g enerate power on a variable basis, the additional gene ration would come largely from natural gas, coal, or petroleum -fueled units.



### Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, based o n ISO New England New England could also import more electricity along itsexisting transmission ties to neighboring electricity grids. The Independent System Operator of New England (ISONE) h as interconnections to Canada and New York and consistentl y imports several thousand megawatts of electricity each hour along those lines. These electricity imports met 14% of Ne w England's demand in 2013, according to ISONE.



### Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, based o n ISO New England Transmission capacity into New England could also be expan ded. The Northern Maine Independent System Administra tor ( NMISA ) traditionally has had more generating capacity than n eeded and is isolated from the rest of New England, wi th ties only to Canada. NMISA is currently considering ways to access the New England electrical grid directly , which would bring additional generating capacity into the New England ma rket. Hydro-Quebec is also in the approval process with its Northern Pass transmission project . If constructed, Northern Pass would have the potential to bring up to 1,200 megawatts of electricity into New England. Electricity demand and demand growth could also be lower ed through increased energy efficiency and demand response programs to counteract the retirement of generating un its. ISONE currently counts 2,100 megawatts of demand reso urces (load management, distributed generation and energy- efficiency programs) and expects this number to increase in the coming years.
Principal Contributor: 

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8/ 1/2015 http://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/update/archive/january2015/Tim Shear

( Tim.Shear@eia.gov ) 

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