Commissioner Ray Melvin also sought to eliminate the soon-to-be vacated Assistant Manager position due to attrition.  Joined by Commissioner Tom Paras, they questioned a rationalization for hiring attorneys as employees instead of as contractors and the number of engineers employed at PMLP were raised.

“I’m looking out for the ratepayers,” Melvin said “I don’t  think they (MMWEC) have served us well over the years. I think they really cheated us a lot and made a lot of errors.  I think they run their organization very sloppy.”

 “I asked if money’s been added to the budget because we apparently are going to be hiring  a consulting firm to insure that the strategic plan is done properly. We voted for an Organizational review, a 3-2 vote. We also asked management to freeze all positions pursuant to this request. I don’t think that was adhered to.”

“If you look at the numbers  other municipal light plants with an  MMWEC service charge are  no where near us. The number is $125,237 for Peabody for one year,” said Melvin.

“We (Peabody) are 17 percent of MMWEC,” added Paras.

MLP General Manager Joe Anastasi said, “We are the third largest municipal light plant (after Taunton and Reading)  not a smaller plant – have to look at it in context.”

Melvin asked why the issue was “never brought to our attention”?

Anastasi replied, “It goes up every year. We’re bound by a contract. There’s been a steady increase since the dawn of time. The energy market is a crazy market, extremely volatile. Every light plant is in the same situation.”

‘’We need to understand this and what that means before we start approving money and throwing money around,” said Melvin.

In January, the commission did not act on the proposed Fy226 budget.

Anastasi said six projects “are not moving forward due to the budget” and outlined how not passing a budget jeopardizes actions:

• Infrastructure upgrades

• Overtime mitigation risks
• decreased reliability and safety
• Impede long term plans
• Affect the pilot payment with the City
• Decrease public transparency and board scrutiny
• Could face fines if don’t meet state mandated deadlines

The Grannies raised funds to support Haven from Hunger https://peabodyweeklynews.com/…/mad-grannies-raise…/

The Climate Change Group (CCG) and BCNS have been working on issues of air quality – promoting purple air monitors and volunteers to help us smash some pumpkins.

Here’s the link to the CCG current newsletter:

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=2&ik=f4c04b59b6&attid=0.1&permmsgid=msg-f:1854438523556964200&th=19bc4a030e69a768&view=att&disp=inline&realattid=f_mkg8wm300&zw

The Peabody Municipal Light Plant has requested an opinion from the city solitictor regarding the status of a proposed BESS battery energy storage system at 201 Warren St. Ext. They are seeking exemption of rules regarding the property which is within Proctor Brook riverfront and FEMA Flood Plain. On July 20, the matter was continued awaiting the city’s legal team response and consideration by the Conservation Commission.

We applaud the creation of the Utility Battery Storage because it reduces bulk power costs by allowing PMLP to store power when it is cheaper for us to buy (during non-peak times), and then to use the battery to shave the peak which helps to reduce stress on the bulk power system and reduces PMLP’s transmission and capacity costs. A collaborative project with MMWEC, the groundbreaking was expected to begin in the summer of 2024. After the physical work begins, it is expected to be approximately 12 months before the battery goes online.

But, why exempt the project from meeting development requirements in the apparent riverfront and flood plain? This is the first or one of the earliest battery storage projects to be considered in the CIty; it should meet all enviromental requirements and set a future example. Does the City require lighting and fencing,m etc. for battery storage projects?

There are seven Purple Air quality monitors placed throughout the city and there have been some recent extreme spikes on the air quality readings in the downtown Environmental Justice area on the coldest days.

There is a concern for people’s health when levels in air are high. Outdoor PM 2.5 levels are most likely to be elevated on days with little or no wind or air mixing. What else might cause levels to rise? Could it be related to the Waters River Power Station in Ward 3? BCNS has been pursuing information for years as to when the generators off Pulaski St, are running and what they are burning – to no avail.

Could the rise in particulate matter (PM2.5) be related to the type of fuel burned at the plant on cold days?

Waters River Station is ranked #37 out of 44 natural gas power plants in Massachusetts in terms of total annual net electricity generation. Grid Info revealed that 20GWh of energy was produced during the 3-month period between September 2023 to December 2023.

Waters River Power Station is a 115,000-volt substation, three gas turbine generators, and a high-pressure natural gas metering station. Two of the gas and oil burning generators are owned by Peabody and one, the newest one, is owned by MMWEC.

Peabody’s oldest generator, #1, is 54 years old and has a power output of 20MW. It is delisted from ISO’s Forward Capacity Market with the earliest closure being 2026.

PMLP will use capacity from MMWEC’s newest peaker (Project 2015A) to replace the capacity lost from closing Unit 1. Peabody is 30% owner of MMWEC’s new peaker.

What Will PMLP Do Between Now and 2026 with Unit 1?

“Because of its age and technology, Unit 1 running on oil during the winter results in relatively high NOx emissions. In order to capture essentially the same benefits of delisting Unit 1 between now and 2026, not running Unit 1 during the winter months on oil will result in the same (approximately 70%) reduction in NOx emissions. Such a NOx reduction will benefit the communities in and around Peabody.

“Using other ISO-NE rules, commencing in November, 2022 and from then through 2026 PMLP will submit bids not to run Unit 1 on oil except as required for testing in adherence to Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and ISO-NE regulations. This approach will be used by PMLP until the time period by which ISO-NE allows Unit 1 to shut down.”

If this 54-year-old generator is needed by ISO on these cold days, it could be burning oil because it is the preferred alternative when there is an unavailability of gas or gas costs rise.

And/or, Peabody’s second peaker, a 33-year-old dual fuel (gas and oil) generator with a power output of 48 MW could be called on by ISO-NE anytime the grid needs it.

Submitted Jan. 22 to PMLP’s Energy Awareness Forum

Could PMLP make available information on the 2 generators owned by Peabody at the Waters River substation, including dates, times and duration when they run for either testing or as required for power generation? There are at least 7 air quality monitors placed throughout the city and there have been some recent extreme spikes on the air quality readings in the downtown area on the coldest days. It would be good to see if there is any correlation between the older peakers and the air quality. Ideally this information could be posted on the PMLP website. – RS

Resources:

Tips for Using PurpleAir’s Free Air Quality Map

https://www2.purpleair.com/…/tips-for-using-purpleair-s…

Go to US EPA PM2.5 by PurpleAir to manipulate the map.

https://map.purpleair.com/air-quality-standards-us-epa…

Grid Info

https://www.gridinfo.com/plant/waters-river/1678

PMLP Statement on Unit 1
https://pmlp.com/…/Statement-from-PMLP-Regarding-Waters…

Energy Awareness Forum | Peabody Municipal Light Plant, MA)

https://pmlp.com/229/Energy-Awareness-Forum

Here’s the entire October Peabody Municipal Light Commission meeting: https://peabodytv.org/videos-on-demand/?vid=1366

And, here’s the link by BCNS to the interactions after the meeting was gaveled closed: https://youtu.be/O3qca_ZEokk

The Peabody City Council’s Industrial & Community Development subcommittee meets on Nov. 13 to review a Compliance Analysis by RKG Associates of Boston that promotes a Multi-Family Overlay District (MFOD). The zoning change would allow 90 acres of Brooksby Village and 30 acres on Dearborn Road to be used for a maximum of 2,336 housing units.

The 90.6 acre lot at 1 Brooksby Village Drive in Ward 4 is on the edge of an Environmental Justice area. It would allow eighteen units per acre maximum density which translates into a 1,630 multi-family unit capacity. Two lots at 0 and 7 Dearborn in Ward 5 are in an Environmental Justice area and constitute 30.7 acres that allows for 23 units per acre and a total multi-family unit capacity of 706.

The Dearborn and Brooksby sites are two of five areas analyzed. The analysis also considered: 24 acres of the Route 114 District, 30 acres of Terrace Estates and Salem Country Club’s 380 acres.

The plan would change the city’s Designated Development Residential Overlay district to a Multi-Family Overlay zone. The proposed changes will be discussed by the Peabody City Council on Thursday, Nov. 14. Peabody City Hall, 6:30pm. The hybrid meeting is also virtual. Click this link to join the webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84324700383

Here are videos about the MBTA Communities Law. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iewb77s33XM&t=3s