5.2. ERMUSR 08-09-2011 - Laserfiche WebLink

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EMERGENCY UNITS The four ERMU diesels can continue to operate as Non-Emergency Units until 5/3/2013. At that time, they must either have emissions controls installed, which would allow them to continue their present operation, or be designated Emergency Units, so that emissions controls would not be required. The URGE rating of the four diesels in 2010, was 10,680 KW. ERMU's system demand is 53,000 KW, so the diesels do not cover a substantial part of the peak demand. However, they are used to cover certain critical loads, which can be isolated to the diesels during an emergency. If new emissions controls are not installed, the four units would need to be designated by 5/3/2013 as Emergency Units. Under the currently proposed rules, the units then could be run a maximum of 15 hours per year, such as when a grid failure was imminent but had not yet occurred. They could run a limited number of additional hours for testing purposes. The EPA is considering whether to extend the limited hours of running from 15 hours up to 100 hours. Under the present GRE contract, ERMU will not continue to receive capacity credits at the 15 hour level. ERMU can receive credits without installing emissions controls on the diesels, if the EPA changes the allowable hours to at least 60, plus 100 hours for readiness testing, and the EPA allows capacity credits to be paid. If the EPA does not extend the 15 hours to 60-100 hours, ERMU could install emissions controls on one or more of the diesels to obtain capacity credits. If ERMU designates the four diesels as Emergency Units, ERMU must keep records of the hours of operation. For the Emergency Units, the new regulations require that the following maintenance procedures be followed: 14