Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline LLC signed an agreement with Newington Energy, an affiliate of Consolidated Edison, to provide natural gas transportation service to a 525 MW power plant currently under construction in Newington, NH. Newington Energy broke ground on the natural gas-fired facility in September. Maritimes plans to construct and operate gas transmission facilities, including interconnecting piping and metering, from the existing lateral pipeline on Newington Energy’s property to the plant. When the plant is completed in 2002, it will generate enough power to supply electricity to more than 700,000 homes in New England.

California’s population increased to 34,818,000 on Jan. 1, according to new figures released by the state Department of Finance. The annual growth of 611,000 and 1.8% is a sizable increase over the previous year’s growth of 574,000 and 1.6%. By comparison, Bangladesh’s growth rate has dropped to 1.3%. “It’s no wonder that we have energy blackouts,” said Ric Oberlink, spokesperson for Californians for Population Stabilization (CAPS). “It’s no wonder that we have horrendous traffic jams as well as sprawl that gobbles up open space and wildlife habitat.” According to the California Energy Commission, per capita consumption of electricity in the state has been flat for over two decades. The average amount of power used by each person in the year 2000 was 7,368 kWh, almost identical to the 7,292 kWh used in 1979. Meanwhile, the state’s population increased by over 10 million people — a figure equal to the combined populations of Ireland, Uruguay, and Costa Rica. Total consumption of electricity in California increased almost 50% because the population increased by almost 50%. “Politicians want to blame anyone but themselves, but the simple fact is that it’s more a matter of too many people, rather than not enough energy,” Oberlink said. “A Stage 3 alert occurs when operating reserves drop below 1.5% — a figure lower than the state’s annual rate of population growth.” The Department of Finance projects that California’s population will grow to 60 million by 2040. Nearly all of the population growth in California is due to immigration. “Conservation is most definitely the primary short-term solution,” said Oberlink. “But over the long term, we have to stop population growth. If we reduce consumption by 25% while our population grows by 25%, we’re back where we started and we’ll be faced with a choice between more blackouts or more power plants — and the environmental destruction they cause.”

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