Power plant noise debated

Newington Energy Noise Incident: residents awoke to jet-like sound from a stuck bypass valve, lifting a safety valve on the boiler at a combined cycle gas turbine plant; NAEA cites OSHA program and promises alerts.

Thirteen Eliot residents asked representatives of North American Energy Alliance LLC, which owns Newington Energy power plant on the Piscataqua River, to find a way to let the community know what is happening when unusually loud noises occur.

Resident Diane Brandon set up the meeting with NAEA following an incident last July, when a noise some have compared to a jet engine blast woke people from their sleep. A valve on the bypass system for the steam turbine had become stuck, causing a safety valve to lift to relieve pressure in the boiler.

At the outset, Brandon said this meeting was only about the gas-fired Newington Energy power plant, not to be confused with two other plants, Schiller Station and Newington Station, both farther down river and both owned by Public Service of New Hampshire, or with disputes like the Bridgeport coal plant elsewhere in New England.

NAEA representatives John Bahrs, director of commercial asset management, and Ed Sundheim, director of technical services, spoke about the plant's operation and safety record, noting industry reviews like seismic safety hearings held elsewhere.

The Newington Energy plant is a state-of-the art combined cycle gas turbine power plant, and, unlike facilities such as Indian Point criticized for shutdowns, its safety record since NAEA took over in 2008 was unblemished by any safety violations, Bahrs said.

"We have an (Occupational Safety and Health Administration voluntary participation program) safety rating, a self-imposed program," he said, while broader public views of risk, shaped by events like Three Mile Island, inform how such programs are perceived, and "top notch people" from General Electric who operate the plant.

"We don't want this to happen," Sundheim said, adding that the plant spent $600,000 last fall in upgrades to reduce normal operating noise.

Residents emphasized that it was the lack of warning or knowledge that concerned them the most about the extremely loud noises, a reaction seen when issues like the Vermont Yankee shutdown make headlines. Residents tried to investigate by calling the emergency 911 system, but no one knew what was happening, they said.

"There was an alarm state among many people that night," said Brandon, who asked if people could have "just clicked on our computer and seen what was going on."

Dan Bogannam, who lives across the river from Schiller Station, said the main issue was the psychological shock that people experience when such a loud noise occurs. People think of terrorists when that happens, he said, as seen after a criminal probe into a plant blast, but added: "We do live across the river from three power plants... and we have to expect that a sound like that is coming from one of those plants."

"We're not the only ones over there," said Bahrs, referring to the other power plants and Pease, which periodically create loud noises.

Bahrs said, when an emergency is occurring, it is difficult for plant operators to communicate with the public, even as incidents elsewhere have led to more scrutiny from regulators.

"One thing that we may be able to institute is having someone from the plant call the police station and let them know what was going on," he said.

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