Some of Invenergy's fake news this past week mentioned that Grain Belt Express will "drop off" power in Missouri. This is an inapt phrase used by people who don't understand transmission. It annoys the spit out of me.
When you think "drop off" it sort of sounds like Missouri is getting a gift of electricity. But it's actually more like getting a delivery of something you ordered and paid for, like a box of Amazon junk. Did anyone in Missouri order electricity from Invenergy? If the answer is "no", then you're not getting anything. Only someone who has ordered and paid for the merchandise (electricity) is going to have it "dropped off" in Missouri. There's no such thing as a free lunch.
Our electric transmission system is sort of like a network of water pipes. That network is fully pressurized with water, and only when a paying customer turns on the taps do they receive anything. Electricity is like water in a pipe network. The lines are fully pressurized with electricity. Only when you've signed a contract to pay for the electricity and for the delivery do you get to turn on a light switch and receive electricity from Grain Belt Express.
The problem is that GBE has only one known customer, a common buyer for municipal electric distributors known as MJMEUC. MJMEUC signed a contract to purchase "up to" 250 MW of transmission service on GBE. Separately, it signed a contract with a wind generator in Kansas to buy electricity to be delivered on GBE. Only those customers who take service from MJMEUC will receive anything from GBE. The rest of Missouri gets nothing.
The only thing being "dropped off" in Missouri is propaganda.
And think about this... MJMEUC's contract buys electricity shipped to Missouri on GBE, but it also buys service for MJMEUC to ship electricity from Missouri to PJM in equal amount. Now go back to that analogy about the water pipe network... if MJMEUC buys electricity and sells electricity in equal amount, is there really any electricity being "dropped off" in Missouri at all? Electrons are all the same, no matter where or how they are generated. The electrons from Kansas are exactly the same as the ones generated in Missouri. MJMEUC actually gets nothing but the bill for pretending it's buying and selling electricity. If the price MJMEUC buys electricity for in Kansas is less than the price it sells that electricity for in PJM, then MJMEUC gets paid the difference, minus line loss that happens from being transmitted and converted from AC/DC/AC. Is it worth it? Would PJM want to buy power from Missouri when it can generate the same power at home?
But what if the second "phase" of GBE from Missouri to PJM is never built and MJMEUC can't sell electricity, what does MJMEUC get then? It gets more electricity than it needs to serve load and the generators in Missouri could be shut down.
It sort of sounds like the biggest scam ever, doesn't it?
I sort of wish these folks would educate themselves about the physics of electricity and the realities of the electric power market. Then they'd simply drop Grain Belt Express off the nearest cliff.
Look out below!!!
When you think "drop off" it sort of sounds like Missouri is getting a gift of electricity. But it's actually more like getting a delivery of something you ordered and paid for, like a box of Amazon junk. Did anyone in Missouri order electricity from Invenergy? If the answer is "no", then you're not getting anything. Only someone who has ordered and paid for the merchandise (electricity) is going to have it "dropped off" in Missouri. There's no such thing as a free lunch.
Our electric transmission system is sort of like a network of water pipes. That network is fully pressurized with water, and only when a paying customer turns on the taps do they receive anything. Electricity is like water in a pipe network. The lines are fully pressurized with electricity. Only when you've signed a contract to pay for the electricity and for the delivery do you get to turn on a light switch and receive electricity from Grain Belt Express.
The problem is that GBE has only one known customer, a common buyer for municipal electric distributors known as MJMEUC. MJMEUC signed a contract to purchase "up to" 250 MW of transmission service on GBE. Separately, it signed a contract with a wind generator in Kansas to buy electricity to be delivered on GBE. Only those customers who take service from MJMEUC will receive anything from GBE. The rest of Missouri gets nothing.
The only thing being "dropped off" in Missouri is propaganda.
And think about this... MJMEUC's contract buys electricity shipped to Missouri on GBE, but it also buys service for MJMEUC to ship electricity from Missouri to PJM in equal amount. Now go back to that analogy about the water pipe network... if MJMEUC buys electricity and sells electricity in equal amount, is there really any electricity being "dropped off" in Missouri at all? Electrons are all the same, no matter where or how they are generated. The electrons from Kansas are exactly the same as the ones generated in Missouri. MJMEUC actually gets nothing but the bill for pretending it's buying and selling electricity. If the price MJMEUC buys electricity for in Kansas is less than the price it sells that electricity for in PJM, then MJMEUC gets paid the difference, minus line loss that happens from being transmitted and converted from AC/DC/AC. Is it worth it? Would PJM want to buy power from Missouri when it can generate the same power at home?
But what if the second "phase" of GBE from Missouri to PJM is never built and MJMEUC can't sell electricity, what does MJMEUC get then? It gets more electricity than it needs to serve load and the generators in Missouri could be shut down.
It sort of sounds like the biggest scam ever, doesn't it?
I sort of wish these folks would educate themselves about the physics of electricity and the realities of the electric power market. Then they'd simply drop Grain Belt Express off the nearest cliff.
Look out below!!!
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