Operational Solutions to Address Entrainment Impacts in Southern New England

Ichthyoplankton in the southern portion of the Connecticut River exhibited highly seasonal temporal distribution with the bulk of the entrainment occurring during a short period of time in spring.  Abundance peaks in southern freshwater portions of the River from late May to early June.  Analysis of ichthyoplankton entrainment data at four steam electric facilities demonstrated that over 70% of entrainment occurs during this short time period.  This period of peak abundance matches well to the New England power grid lower electricity demand time. Typically spring electrical demand is several thousand megawatts less than in summer and winter.  Steam electric facilities generally schedule their annual maintenance outages to coincide with lower demand periods. 

A strategy to address entrainment at steam electric facilities along New England rivers is to schedule annual maintenance outages concurrent with these peak ichthyoplankton abundance, low electrical demand periods.  Annual maintenance outage schedules may need to be adjusted to overlap with peak abundance periods.  This strategy is viewed as an effective solution to address entrainment impacts by facility owners and state and federal regulatory agencies.