Gas prices spike in northeast; without nuclear imports New England "would have been toast"

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"Electricity prices in New England have been four to eight times higher than normal in the last few weeks, as the region’s extreme reliance on natural gas for power supplies has collided with a surge in demand for heating.

Frigid temperatures and the snowstorm that hammered parts of the Northeast last week have revived concerns about the lack of alternatives to natural gas. Many plants that ran on coal or oil have been shuttered, and the few that remain cannot be put into service quickly enough to meet spikes in demand. The price of electricity is determined by the price of gas.

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New England’s problems have been moderated somewhat by imports. “Without Indian Point, New England would have been toast,” Mr. Short said. “We’re importing 1,400 megawatts out of New York.” Indian Point is a twin-unit nuclear plant on the Hudson River that New York State is seeking to close."

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/16/business/electricity-costs-up-in-gas-dependent-new-england.html?_r=0

In 2011 Governor Cuomo seemed intent on taking the German route of closing nuclear plants with nothing reliable or clean to replace them. The closure would jeopardize the reliability of 25% of New York City's power, according to officials who run the state's high-voltage grid.