Orlando, FL-based Siemens Westinghouse Power and San Antonio,TX-based Chromalloy Gas Turbine Corp., a subsidiary of Sequa Corp.,are forming a joint venture effective June 1 to support the growthof the Siemens gas turbine fleet. Siemens owns 51% of the venture,and Chromalloy owns 49%. The new enterprise, a U.S. company calledTurbine Airfoil Coating & Repair LLC (TACR), will provide forthe repair of Siemens industrial gas turbine blades and vanes, thecoating of repaired components, and the coating of new Siemensindustrial gas turbine blades and vanes for manufacturing andservice needs around the world. Headquartered in Middletown, NY,the venture will operate from existing Chromalloy installations inMiddletown and in Dallas, TX, and from an existing Siemens facilityin Berlin, Germany.

Entergy Corp. issued a power supply alert yesterday urgingcustomers to conserve energy after severe storms knocked outelectricity to 50,000 customers and temperatures soared tomid-summer levels. A spokeswoman for the New Orleans, LA-basedcompany said demand for electricity was reaching the limits ofavailable supply. Storms swept through northern Arkansas andMissouri Wednesday night, damaging transmission towers, whichalready were under heavy demand because of a transformer failureearlier in the week. In addition, planned maintenance work on powerfacilities and 90-degree temperatures have made the situation evenworse. Entergy said a number of generation units are completingmaintenance and will be available in about a week. In the meantime,it plans to buy power from neighboring suppliers. Rolling blackoutsmight be needed for areas serving residential and businesscustomers, the company said. It already has curtailed service tointerruptible customers.

Consolidated Edison suffered a setback yesterday when the NewYork Senate joined the state Assembly in voting to deny recovery ofcosts resulting from the shutdown of the Indian Point 2 Nuclearpower plant in February. ConEd had been passing $600,000 a day toits three million ratepayers to cover costs of the outage, but nolonger will have that option unless Governor George Pataki vetosthe legislation. The 931-MW Indian Point 2 nuclear unit, locatednear Buchanan, NY, is expected to remain under close scrutiny bythe Nuclear Regulatory Commisssion.

Trunkline LNG proposed a new LNG lending service for occasionswhen LNG shipments are delayed. The service will supplement itscurrent firm and interruptible services. The new LLS would allowthe company to loan LNG for up to a month to customers who might bewaiting for a delayed LNG shipment to arrive. The FERC applicationrequests a maximum daily rate of 29.78 cents/Dth.

PECO Energy and Unicom unveiled a new logo yesterday that willbe used by Exelon Corp., which will be formed by the merger of thePhiladelphia- and Chicago-based companies. The logo is blue andgreen, with the letter “O” represented by the international symbolfor “power on.” The symbol is located near the “on/off” switch orbutton on computers, VCRs and other electronic equipment. UnicomChairman John W. Rowe said the logo “communicates that Exelon willbe a bold, creative enterprise.”

Energy Secretary Bill Richardson once again stressed the need forelectric restructuring legislation yesterday, citing the NorthAmerican Electric Reliability Council’s warning earlier this week thatelectric reliability will be tested in the Northeast and Southwestthis summer. “It is absolutely essential that Congress enactcomprehensive electricity restructuring legislation,” saidRicharson. “The rocky transition to restructured electric markets andthe lack of appropriate signals from state and federal governments hasimpaired the reliability of the system. While the states are movingforward, Congress’ failure to establish the rules of the road isinhibiting needed investment in transmission and the reliableoperation of the bulk power system.” He said the electric reliabilitysituation in a number of regions of the country bears close watching,particularly given the National Weather Service’s forecast forhotter-than-normal weather this summer. There is a good possibilitythat electricity demand in our strong economy could exceed theplanning projections used in generating the NERC assessment.” NERCsaid power supplies will be tight during peak periods this summer inNew England, New York and the states in the Southwest, includingCalifornia (see Daily GPI, May 25).

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