We May Have An Explanation For Burning Oil To Generate Electricity -- Even If Not Needed -- December 26, 2019

Re-posting from earlier today. I don't want folks to miss it. If accurate, it just explains how "crazy" the world has become.

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Burning Oil In The US To Generate Electricity

To Max Out Pollution Credits By The End Of The Year

Fact: ISO New England has more than enough energy the past two days (including today) so as not to have to use oil. Earlier I asked why ISO New England might be burning oil under these circumstances. A reader who corresponds with me closely regarding ISO New England and understands it very, very well, had this to say after I posed the question:

I have also been curious as to why oil is being burned as per the ISO. 

While I am certain the source/reason can be found, I, my self, do not know, but suspect it is coming from the oil burning Wyman plant in Yarmouth, Maine.

The restrictions on emissions might be prompting an 'end of the year' burning of onsite fuel so as to 'use up' all the permitted pollutants before December 31, 2019. 

Don't know, but the steady ~355 Megawatts produced from oil for several mid-morning hours indicates a controlled, purposeful operation.

If accurate, it shows just how screwed up the world really is. 

The reader's response came in reply to my note below, posted earlier today:

Plenty of energy today, not sure why they're burning oil to generate electricity:

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Israel's Leviathan Field Back On Hold -- December 26, 2019

Back on December 20, 2019, I posted:

Never mind: earlier today it was reported that an Israeli judge told Delek Drilling and Noble Energy to stand down, not to produce natural gas from the Leviathan basin. Someone must have made a phone call; the order was rescinded. The operators will begin producing natural gas on December 23, 2019. 

Today, December 26, three days after production was to have begun, it looks like not all the documents were signed and notarized (LOL), link here:

The launch of production at Israel’s Leviathan natural gas field has been delayed pending permits from the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

“The flow of gas from the reservoir hasn’t yet begun,” Israel’s Delek Drilling LP, a partner to the project, said Tuesday in a statement to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. “The partnership believes that it will begin in coming days, after the necessary permits are received from the Ministry of Environmental Protection.” The statement didn’t elaborate.

Environmental groups concerned about the field’s impact on air pollution and public health have been waging a protest against its operations and last week won a daylong temporary injunction from an Israeli court. They were planning to abandon their homes in towns along the shoreline for the first 24 hours of the platform’s operation.

You mean to tell me they didn't have the necessary permits before drilling? Or were the original permits lost? Are they still in the mail? And Epstein didn't hang himself. 

Never Mind -- Apparently Did Not Happen -- 11:52 A.M. CT, December 26, 2019

Off The Net For Awhile -- Boxing Day, 2019

NASDAQ hits an all-time high (again). It just hit 9,000.

All three major indices are on pace for another record close. 

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site.  Do not make any investment, financial, career, travel, job, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here.

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Burning Oil In The US To Generate Electricity

To Max Out Pollution Credits By The End Of The Year

Fact: ISO New England has more than enough energy the past two days (including today) so as not to have to use oil. Earlier I asked why ISO New England might be burning oil under these circumstances. A reader who corresponds with me closely regarding ISO New England and understands it very, very well, had this to say after I posed the question:

I have also been curious as to why oil is being burned as per the ISO. 

While I am certain the source/reason can be found, I, my self, do not know, but suspect it is coming from the oil burning Wyman plant in Yarmouth, Maine.

The restrictions on emissions might be prompting an 'end of the year' burning of onsite fuel so as to 'use up' all the permitted pollutants before December 31, 2019. 

Don't know, but the steady ~355 Megawatts produced from oil for several mid-morning hours indicates a controlled, purposeful operation.

The reader's response came in reply to my note below, posted earlier today:

Plenty of energy today, not sure why they're burning oil to generate electricity:

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Cheez-It Bowl

December 27, 2019

Off The Net For Awhile -- Boxing Day, 2019

In an earlier post I mentioned the "TSP," the Thrift Savings Plan. In addition there is the Roth TSP.

I don't recall the exact date but I believe the federal TSP was made available to active duty military in 2000. It's possible active duty military were always eligible for the federal TSP, I forget, but something changed around 2000. I had seven years left to serve in the USAF and in those seven years I maxed out my TSP contributions.

From the Federal News Network;

Your Thrift Savings Plan account. Uncle Sam’s generous in-house 401(k) plan. As of the end of last year, the TSP had almost 4.9 million participants. That includes active-duty federal and uniformed military personnel as well as tens of thousands of retirees. It dwarfs all other plans. And if you are like most feds working today, the money you (and Uncle Sam) put into your TSP could be the source of from one-third to one-half of all the income you have in retirement.

It really is an incredible program. I've long forgotten the specifics but some data points from the internet:

• TSP accounts continue to increase by an average of about $3,000/month;
• in April, 2019, the average TSP account was $145,423;
• $36,000 / $145,000 = about a 25% rate of annual return
• administrative expenses vary, but in general, about 0.040% = 0.0004 or about 40 cents per $1,000 invested;
• at the end of December, 2016, there were 9,599 TSP accounts were worth more than $1 million;
• there is at least one TSP account holder who had a balance greater than $5.3 million in his/her account

I point this out because I keep reading about a lot of high school graduates / college students who do not consider the military as an option. The military is a great option for many women and men coming out of high school or college.