August 3, 2006

Information Provided to Conroe Courier newspaper questions about Entergy’s Transmission system in Texas

Q - Had the Porter SVC and the Dayton capacitor bank been in place before the mid-June 05 violent weather, would they have:

·        Prevented it?

·        Lessened its extent and duration?

A – What happened in June ’05 is known in the industry as a triple-contingency --- three separate lines tripped almost simultaneously.

The SVC and capacitor bank are intended to hold the voltage up under high loading conditions under relatively normal configurations – not during a triple-contingency. A precise answer to the question would require a detailed study.

Q - Under the current high demand because of hot weather, do the SVC and cap bank provide a kind of “insurance” against outages?

A – Yes. The two devices provide additional reactive support, and/or better, faster response to changes in reactive power demand.

This definitely provides increased reliability and lessens the risk of outages due to hot weather.  

Q – Do the SVC and capacitor bank benefit customers outside of Montgomery Co. (Woodlands/Conroe)?

A – Absolutely. These installations, along with the other equipment that they work with, provide strong voltage support throughout Entergy Texas.

Q --  If the SVC is such a benefit to your customers, why do you only have one in Texas?

A –   The SVC is recent technology developed to provide increased reliability in areas heavily dependent on transmission to augment local generation.

Because load has been growing significantly in portions of Entergy’s Texas territory for several years, Entergy continuously looks for the best ways to serve this increased load reliably.

SVC technology has matured in recent years and is now ready for applications like this one in Entergy Texas.

In this case, it was the most cost-effective solution to the challenge of load growth.

As load continues to grow, Entergy will continue to seek the most cost-effective solutions to meet increasing demand.

Q – The info on Dayton cap bank on OASIS says this is the second cap bank in Texas. Where is the other one?

A – The second capacitor bank is at Entergy’s San Jacinto substation, near Cleveland, Texas.