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To the editor:
Your 3/15 City File item about the 59 new power plants is off by several orders of magnitude. The figure of 27,881 megawatts is not a small amount; it is about the output of 30 nuclear plants and is approximately equal to the total peak electricity demand of the entire state of Illinois. (Most of those plants will never be built, by the way.)
But I'm glad the Reader is paying attention to the issue. An in-depth look at power-plant construction in Illinois--particularly in light of Enron, electric deregulation, the drying up of capital, uncertainty in the market, etc--would be a very interesting and important tale to tell.
Marty Cohen
Executive director,
Citizens Utility Board
Harold Henderson replies:
Back to math class! Thanks to you and the others who pointed out my mistake.
