Load Data for Vermont Docket 7081 workshop 9/30/05

9/30/05 Docket 7081 Workshop - D.LaForest 2 Vermont Load Facts Vermont is a dual peaking region (summer and winter peak loads are approximately equal) Vermont has a “flatter” daily load profile and annual load cycle than is typical in New England (with a relatively flat profile from mid-morning into the evening) Vermont’s average load level is much higher than New England’s –For the period 9/1/04 to 8/31/05, Vermont’s average load was 67% of peak, while New England’s was 57% of peak Vermont has seen load growth in all seasons (spring, summer, fall and winter) which has made maintenance and construction difficult and costly

9/30/05 Docket 7081 Workshop - D.LaForest 3 Consequences... Vermont has been much more successful than most regions at using the full capacity of its system (for more hours than typical) One chief consequence of this fact is that resources needed for system reliability (transmission system elements, generation, alternatives, etc.) are needed over extended portions of the day, and potentially for many consecutive days This means when a problem arises at peak load levels, the exposure quickly becomes large If the system cannot reliably take out single system elements for maintenance at intermediate load levels, then the ability to do maintenance is difficult at best (difficult to schedule with neighboring utilities / ISO-NE and local generation, is weather dependent, unplanned outages difficult are resolve and cancel planned work, limited work crews result in prioritizing work) Maintenance activities are being forced onto weekends, holidays, evening hours and spread out over multiple days

9/30/05 Docket 7081 Workshop - D.LaForest 4 Vermont Load Data (based on 9/1/04 to 8/31/05 data)

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