Strike May Close Giant Ravenswood Power Plant

Here's something else to worry about: a strike may shut down New York's biggest power plant. The Daily News tells us that because of a contract dispute, Local 12 of the Utility Workers of America may soon walk off the job at the Ravenswood plant operated by TransCanada in Long Island City. Ravenswood was sold by National Grid to TransCanada last year. Ravenswood supplies 2,845 megawatts of power to the area, each megawatt serving about 800 homes under normal conditions; TransCanada says it is "capable of serving 20 percent of New York City's power needs." A spokesman for the New York Independent System Operator, which operates our power grid, says other plants could take up the slack -- but "of course, that could change if we get hot weather."