Public Utility Law News

FCC Set to Issue Broadband Plan

2010-03-15T14:47:00.001-04:00

The Federal Communications Commission’s plan to expand high-speed Internet service, or broadband, is due to Congress by March 17. The agency released a summary today, urging industry and government action. Adding airways for mobile use of the Web will be “a core goal,” FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said in a speech last month.
The agency aims to increase the share of those using broadband at home to 90 percent, from about 65 percent today, and having 100 million households with connections of 100 megabits per second, the FCC said. The median speed for broadband customers now connected by fiber or cable is 5 megabits to 6 megabits per second, the FCC said in the plan.

Water Infrastructure in Need of Replacement

2010-03-15T14:27:00.002-04:00

The New York Times:

State and federal studies indicate that thousands of water and sewer systems may
be too old to function properly.

For decades, these systems — some built around the time of the Civil War — have been ignored by politicians and residents accustomed to paying almost nothing for water delivery and sewage removal. And so each year, hundreds of thousands of ruptures damage streets and homes and cause dangerous pollutants to seep into drinking water supplies.

PPL Seeking Rate Increase

2010-03-15T14:22:00.003-04:00

The Wall Street Journal (subscription):

PPL Corp. (PPL) said Monday it will seek what it called a modest increase in Pennsylvania electric rates beginning next year to cover its investments in power-grid infrastructure.
While the company hasn't finalized its request, it would seek no more than $115 million, said David DeCampli, president of PPL Electric Utilities. That would be about a 2.5% increase to PPL's annual retail revenue.
The rate hike, which requires approval of the state Public Utility Commission, would affect only distribution rates, which account for about one-fourth of the average residential electric bill.

Doubts Emerge About Clean Coal

2007-02-21T09:26:00.000-05:00

The New York Times:

A major new study by faculty members at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, scheduled for release soon, concludes in a draft version that it is not clear which technology — the so-called integrated gasification combined cycle or pulverized coal — will allow for the easiest carbon capture, because so much engineering work remains to be done.
“Other than recommending that new coal combustion units should be built with the highest efficiency that is economically justifiable, we do not believe that a clear preference for one technology or the other can be justified,” the draft concludes. The M.I.T. study said it was critical that the government “not fall into the trap of picking a technology ‘winner.’ ”

Duquesne on S&P's Credit Watch

2007-02-20T15:57:00.000-05:00

Forbes:

Standard & Poor's Rating Services on Tuesday said its ratings of Duquesne Light Holdings Inc. and its subsidiary Duquesne Light Co. remain on CreditWatch with negative implication.

The ratings agency said the 'BBB', or lower medium grade, corporate credit ratings remains on watch for a possible downgrade, citing a settlement with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission over a pending $3.15 billion buyout. A consortium led by Macquarie Infrastructure Partners and Diversified Utility and Energy Trusts is seeking to buy Duquesne and its subsidiaries.

FirstEnergy Earnings Up

2007-02-20T15:43:00.000-05:00

AP via the Akron Beacon Journal:

FirstEnergy Corp. said on Tuesday that earnings rose 44 percent in the fourth quarter, benefiting from electric rates in Ohio and favorable regulatory rulings in Pennsylvania.
In the quarter ended Dec. 31, the regional electric power generation and transmission company earned $274 million, or 84 cents per share, on revenue of $2.69 billion. The company also reported special gains of 1 cent per share.

Seeking Alpha has the details.

Solar Thermal

2007-02-20T10:38:00.000-05:00

CNet.com:

Solar thermal water heaters, which use solar energy rather than gas or electricity as a power source, could grow in popularity over the next few years, according to analysts and panel installation companies....

Partly driving the interest--besides global warming and rising energy costs--is the fact that the systems work quite well. It is far easier to extract heat from the sun than electricity, according to Gary Gerber, CEO of Sun Light and Power, which installs solar systems. Solar thermal heaters ultimately use about half of the heat that hits them; that makes them two to three times more efficient than the solar panels that turn sunlight into electricity.

Verizon Sues Vonage Over Patent

2007-02-20T10:25:00.000-05:00

USAToday:

Vonage, one of the best-known brands in the Internet phone world, acknowledged last week that it doesn't have a plan for getting around use of technology that Verizon claims violates patents it owns.

The upshot: If Verizon prevails in court, Vonage could be forced to shut down, at least temporarily, while it redesigns its service. That could cause a lot of heartburn for Vonage's 2 million customers.

Brooke Schulz, a Vonage spokeswoman, said Monday that Verizon's claims are baseless. "This is about Verizon trying to stifle competition," she said. "We have not infringed on their patents, period."

As for the prospect of Vonage shutting down, Schulz says, customers shouldn't worry. "We're working on a redesign plan."

Where to Store Nuclear Waste

2007-02-19T21:00:00.000-05:00

WUPW-TV Fox Toledo:

DTE Energy faces a deadline for dealing with the problem of storing spent nuclear fuel. The waste is from its Fermi 2 reactor near Monroe, Michgian.
The Detroit-based utility will run out of storage room in about three years.

A spokesman says DTE is evaluating bids from vendors and it's looking into forming alliances with other plants to obtain storage containers.

Storage of spent nuclear fuel has been a controversial issue nationwide due to environmental and security concerns.

The Problems with Wind Power (Opinion)

2007-02-19T13:51:00.000-05:00

The American Spectator:

But the real question about windmills is whether they are producing any useful electricity at all. A modern electrical grid is a very delicately balanced high-wire act. Supply and demand must be kept in balance at all times. The National Electrical Reliability Council estimates that voltage levels can vary about 5 percent before trouble begins. Computer geeks talk about the "high 9's," meaning current must remain consistent within a range of 99.9999 percent to avoid erasing data. In Digital Power, Peter Huber and Mark Mills report, "Some years ago, a Stanford computer center found its power fatally polluted by an arc furnace over one hundred miles away." As the Industry Standard once put it: "Blips as brief as 1/60th of a second can zap computers and other electronic gear, and blackouts can be catastrophic."

The problem with wind energy is that it is always fluctuating. The physics of windmills make it worse because output varies with the cube of the velocity. A 20 percent increase in wind speed will double output in a few minutes. Under these circumstances, large numbers of windmills are viewed by grid operators more as a liability than an asset.

Unfortunately, where the wind is predictable, it doesn't co-ordinate very well demand. The wind blows strongest at night and in the spring and fall. Electrical demand peaks in the daytime and summer and winter.

Paying Now for Future Power in SC

2007-02-19T11:07:00.000-05:00

The Item:

Several electric utilities planning new nuclear power plants in South Carolina say they want customers to start paying for those facilities now rather than wait the 10 or so years before those plants are actually built and producing power.

Under a bill proposed in the Legislature last week, the cost of financing the nuclear facilities and new coal plants could be more easily passed on to ratepayers.

Duke Power, Progress Energy and SCANA Corp. say building the plants will ensure cheap and reliable energy for the future.

By paying millions in financing costs now, customers could avoid having to pay even more in accumulated interest when the plants go on line, they argue.

But consumer advocates say it's not right to charge today's customers for tomorrow's electricity.

Upgrades for DTE's Monroe Plant

2007-02-19T10:02:00.000-05:00

AP via Contra Costa Times:

DTE Energy Co. is spending more than $1 billion on its Monroe power plant as part of a five-year effort to comply with federal rules to reduce emissions.
The Detroit-based utility, which owns Detroit Edison and Michigan Consolidated Gas, will install two flue gas desulfurization units - or scrubbers - and a selective catalytic reduction unit. The new equipment will be able to control up to 97 percent of sulfur dioxide emissions and 80 percent of mercury emissions at the facility.

Nominations to Ohio Commission

2007-02-19T09:59:00.000-05:00

The Zanesville Times Recorder:

Lobbyists for phone companies and industries that are the largest electricity users are front-runners to serve on - and perhaps one day chair - the panel that polices Ohio's gas, electric and phone companies.
Upcoming appointments under new Gov. Ted Strickland have advocates for residential customers worried about the future of rates and service.
Critics had hoped that Strickland, the first Democratic governor in 16 years, would change the direction of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, which some have viewed as too cozy with - and easy on - utility giants like FirstEnergy Corp., American Electric Power and AT&T.

New York City Water

2007-02-18T08:40:00.000-05:00

The New York Times:

In late spring or early summer, the United States Environmental Protection Agency will decide whether New York water is still pure enough to drink without filtering. Development in the city’s upstate watershed areas, as well as the increasingly stormy weather that comes with climate change, is threatening the water’s mythic purity. If the federal agency does conclude that city water is too sullied to be consumed directly, New York will have to spend huge sums on filtering, close the book on 165 years of filter-free taps — and absorb a major blow to its hometown pride.

Power Shortages in New England?

2007-02-17T16:09:00.000-05:00

The Concord Monitor:

Energy use in New England is increasing steadily, nowhere faster than in New Hampshire. Yet no major power plants are under construction in the region.
The region's wholesale electric energy pool manager, ISO-New England, projects that shortages could occur by next year. It predicts that energy demand by 2015 will require 4,300 megawatts of new generation capacity, the equivalent of about nine large new power plants.

Energy Efficiency in California

2007-02-17T11:22:00.000-05:00

The Washington Post:

Since 1974, California has held its per capita energy consumption essentially constant, while energy use per person for the United States overall has jumped 50 percent.
California has managed that feat through a mixture of mandates, regulations and high prices. The state has been able to cut greenhouse-gas emissions, keep utility companies happy and maintain economic growth. And in the wake of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report on global warming, California serves as a model for other states seeking a similar path to energy reduction. Now California is pushing further in its effort to cut automobile pollution, spur use of solar energy and cap greenhouse gases.

Electric Regulation Debate in IL

2007-02-16T18:35:00.000-05:00

The New York Times:

Utility rates had been capped in Illinois for 10 years, but the state agreed last year to raise them as part of an effort to open up its electricity markets to competition. Maryland, New Jersey and a half dozen other states are also removing caps. But residents in this part of Illinois are seeing some of the highest rate increases in the country — in some cases, 100 percent to 200 percent higher.
The higher rates are touching off a fresh round of national debate over unleashing competitive forces on traditionally regulated electricity markets. Opening up the markets was supposed to lead to savings for consumers. But that did not turn out as regulators predicted. The anticipated competition among energy suppliers never fully emerged as natural gas prices more than doubled in the last decade.
Yet even as the pain of higher utility bills is setting in, the electric power industry is warning of an energy crisis that could rival California’s if higher fuel and plant construction costs cannot be passed onto consumers.

Water Rate Hike in Indianapolis

2007-02-16T15:46:00.000-05:00

Indystar.com:

The Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor has signed off on a proposal to grant the city of Indianapolis its first water rate increase since 1998, which would generate a nearly 29 percent bump in revenues for Indianapolis Water.

While actual increases will vary depending on usage, the monthly water rate for a residential customer consuming an average of 700 cubic feet a month will increase from $16.65 to $20.95.

"Re-regulation" in Montana

2007-02-16T15:42:00.000-05:00

Great Falls Tribune:

The first of three bills that would scrap the state's 10-year-old deregulation laws and allow NorthWestern Energy to build its own power plants won initial approval Wednesday in the House.
Supporters of the measure by Rep. Alan Olson, R-Roundup, said it would give NorthWestern, which owns the utility transmission lines, a big bargaining chip when it negotiates for power owned by PPL Montana...
PPL Montana has opposed the measures, and even supporters agree they won't return Montana to the days of cheap power before deregulation. The days of inexpensive power generated by dams and coal-fired power plants are long gone, and building new power plants will be very expensive.
But supporters say even a small project could force PPL Montana to charge lower rates, and new plants by NorthWestern would provide cheaper electricity over the long run.

Storm in the Mid-Atlantic

2007-02-14T21:49:00.000-05:00

Reuters via WNED.com:

A snow and ice storm ravaging the U.S. Mid-Atlantic states early Wednesday knocked out power for more than 100,000 customers from Virginia to New Jersey, local electric companies reported.

Has Electric Deregulation Failed?

2007-02-14T21:34:00.000-05:00

Pittsburgh Post-Gazzette:

Maryland state lawmakers, irate over a 72 percent jump in electric bills, vote to fire the state's Public Service Commission. Courts block the move.
Ohio, fearing double-digit rate increases, backs off market-based pricing and stabilizes rates through 2008.
The Illinois House votes to roll back Commonwealth Edison's rates after they go up 22 percent when caps designed to ease customers into deregulation are lifted. ComEd warns it will go bankrupt if the state doesn't face up to free market realities.
Virginia lawmakers prepare to pull the plug on deregulation, negotiating terms for returning regulatory power to the State Corporation Commission.
It's not exactly the laissez-faire paradise states bought into when they deregulated energy markets. The thinking was that freeing consumers of their regulated power provider would create competition -- and lower prices. The capitalist cornucopia envisioned hasn't come to pass in many states, including Pennsylvania, where the state's seven electric companies have until 2010 to complete deregulation.

Wave Power

2007-02-14T21:28:00.000-05:00

The Age (Australia):

Ocean waves and tides are generating development plans in the US Pacific North-west as pressure grows for more renewable and emissions-free energy supplies.

Portland General Electric, Oregon's largest utility, is teaming with a wave research laboratory at Oregon State University to explore technologies to tap the energy from waves rolling onto the Oregon coast.

A similar study is taking place in Maine.

First Big Storm in PA

2007-02-14T13:07:00.000-05:00

The Daily Item:

Governor Edward G. Rendell today directed state agencies to work together to ensure the health and safety of residents and that emergency responders and utilities can respond to weather-related emergencies during the commonwealth’s first, significant winter storm...

The Public Utility Commission has contacted utilities across the state to evaluate their response capabilities to respond to power, water and gas outages.

Cold Causes Main Breaks

2007-02-14T11:42:00.001-05:00

WPMT:

It's a basic fact of science- when water freezes it expands.

That basic fact takes its toll on area water systems as this week's cold weather is damaging underground pipes...

The York Water Company says its problems started when the temperatures plunged. They've handled about eight major breaks in just the past week...

The York Water Company estimates that for every pipe break it handles, there are five to ten customers dealing with similar problems inside their home.

There are several things you can do to reduce your risk. First, insulate pipes running close to exterior walls of your home. Turn up the heat in your home. Also, allow the water to drip from faucets and turn off outside faucets. And beware of shallow pipes running from your home to an exterior building like a garage or shed

Water pipes are busting all over.

Judge OKs Equitable-Dominion Merger in PA

2007-02-09T17:09:00.000-05:00

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

An administrative law judge with the state Public Utility Commission has recommended approval of a deal that would turn Equitable Resources Inc. into the largest gas distribution company in Pennsylvania.
The initial decision issued today by Judge John H. Corbett Jr. is a key step in Equitable's plan to acquire Downtown-based Dominion Peoples Gas and a related company in West Virginia, Dominion Hope Gas, for $970 million from Dominion Resources Inc.
Remaining objectors to the controversial deal can file exceptions before the matter goes before the PUC for final approval. The Federal Trade Commission also has been reviewing the acquisition because of its potential effects on competition in areas served by the companies.

PECO Named in Fumo Probe

2007-02-08T23:28:00.000-05:00

KYW News Radio:

One matter in the lengthy federal indictment of State Senator Vincent Fumo is a $17 million donation made by PECO to Fumo’s non-profit agency.

The grand jury says Fumo persuaded PECO to donate a total of $17 million dollars to the non-profit Citizens Alliance group.

The payments came in the settlement of two issues involving PECO before the state Public Utility Commission. One matter was energy deregulation in 1998, and the other was a PECO merger in 2000.

(see related story)

Three-Way Utility Deal

2007-02-08T23:01:00.000-05:00

Reuters:

Great Plains Energy Inc. said on Wednesday it would pay $1.7 billion for utility Aquila Inc. in cash and stock after Aquila sells certain assets to Black Hills Corp. for $940 million.
Great Plains Energy, parent of Kansas City Power & Light, said it would pay $4.54 in cash and stock for each Aquila share, a 2.8 percent discount to the $4.67 that Aquila shares closed at on Tuesday.
Aquila stock fell 7.1 percent or 33 cents to $4.35 in early trading, while Black Hills shares was nearly unchanged at $39.04 and Great Plains shares rose 1 percent to $32.37.

Crumbling Water & Sewer Lines

2007-02-08T11:22:00.000-05:00

The New York Times:

Local and state officials across the country say thousands of miles of century-old underground water and sewer lines are springing leaks, eroding and — in extreme cases — causing the ground above them to collapse. Though there is no master tally of sinkholes, there is consensus among civil engineers and water experts that things are getting worse.

The Environmental Protection Agency has projected that unless cities invest more to repair and replace their water and sewer systems, nearly half of the water system pipes in the United States will be in poor, very poor or “life elapsed” status by 2020.

FERC OKs Duquesne Rate Increase

2007-02-08T09:10:00.000-05:00

Reuters:

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said on Wednesday it conditionally approved Duquesne Light Co.'s request for higher transmission rates to help pay for a proposed $184 million transmission expansion project in Western Pennsylvania.
The agency accepted Duquesne's proposed formula rate to recover its revenue requirement for transmission facilities it turned over to operation and control of the PJM Interconnection, effective last Dec. 1.
PJM is the FERC-approved regional transmission organization for the Mid-Atlantic region.

GE Enters European Water Market

2007-02-06T20:21:00.000-05:00

FT.com:

A unit of General Electric will on Tuesday announce its first investment in the European water market, signalling its belief that water could soon rival the energy sector as a destination for infrastructure investment.
GE Energy Financial Services, which aims to invest $1bn in water infrastructure projects by 2009, is buying 95 per cent of Idex Aquaservices, a French operator that extracts and treats water for industrial use, for an undisclosed sum.

Re-regulation in Virginia

2007-02-05T23:20:00.000-05:00

DailyPress.com:

Legislation backed by the state's dominant power company to pull the plug on the state's experiment with electric utility deregulation was unanimously endorsed by a Senate committee Monday evening.

Meanwhile, the House of Delegates gave preliminary approval to a similar but competing version of the "re-regulation" bill that contains some provisions the utility, Dominion Resources, dislikes.

The two bills likely are headed to a conference committee to work out differences.

The House and Senate bills arose after the competition envisioned in 1999, when the legislature voted to deregulate utilities, failed over five years to develop. The bills would establish a "hybrid" version of regulation in which the State Corporation Commission would have limited control of how much the utilities could increase their rates in Virginia.

Without new legislation, capped rates that were part of the deregulation plan would be lifted in 2010.

Update:

The Senate and the House of Delegates on Tuesday overwhelmingly passed different versions of legislation to end Virginia's failed attempt to deregulate the electric utility industry and give the State Corporation Commission limited authority to set rates.

Energy Overhaul in CT

2007-02-05T23:13:00.000-05:00

SNL Interactive:

Connecticut Gov. Jodi Rell intends to seek from lawmakers changes to how the state regulates energy prices.

The governor will ask lawmakers to approve the creation of a new Department of Energy and make organizational changes to existing agencies including the Office of Policy and Management, Office of Consumer Counsel and Department of Public Utility Control.

The changes, Rell said in a Feb. 4 statement, are intended to provide for better energy planning and new conservation measures and will include creation of a task force to study ways to aggregate purchases to lower energy prices.

Record Winter Demand at PJM

2007-02-05T23:10:00.000-05:00

NewsChannel8.com:

The operator of the power grid for the mid-Atlantic and parts of the Midwest says it set an all-time record this morning for winter electricity use.

PJM Interconnection operates the power grid in 13 states and D.C. The operator says demand this morning rose above 112,000-500 megawatts. The previous record for winter use, set in December 2005, was 110,000-414 megawatts.

The all time record for summer use on the grid is 144,000-644 megawatts, set during a heat wave last August.

Incident at Indian Point

2007-02-05T16:04:00.000-05:00

WCBS via Topix:

The Indian Point nuclear power station experienced an unexpected drop in cooling water Monday morning, but the problem was not enough to take the reactor offline, officials said.

Entergy Nuclear Northeast, the company that operates the Indian Point site in Buchanan, N.Y., declared an "unusual event," the lowest of four emergency action declarations for the nuclear power plant, at 7:07 a.m., the company said.

The declaration came after the service water for Indian Point 3 Nuclear Power Plant -- drawn from the Hudson River to cool plant equipment -- dropped more than four feet below sea level.

The problem was blamed on debris stuck to screens that filter the river water.

Phone Record Rules Debated

2007-02-04T16:45:00.000-05:00

AP via FortWayne.com:

Federal regulators working on rules to secure the calling records and other private information of telephone customers are running into resistance from phone companies and law enforcement agencies.
The rules, an effort by the Federal Communications Commission to combat "pretexting," are circulating among the commissioners for comment and may be voted on this month.

Pretexting is the practice of impersonating a phone customer to gain access to his phone records. President Bush signed a law last month criminalizing the practice and imposing penalties including up to 10 years in prison.

Solar Power Plant

2007-02-04T16:23:00.000-05:00

Arizona Daily Sun:

A coalition of utility firms, including Tucson Electric Power, Arizona Public Service and the Salt River Project, are considering building a commercial-sized solar power plant that could power as many as 250,000 homes.

A site for the proposed 250-megawatt facility hasn't been finalized, but utility officials said they're looking at sites in Nevada and Arizona. Other potential partners include the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, according to APS officials.

The solar plant would be among the largest built and is being considered to help meet requirement set by Arizona state regulators for utilities to obtain at least 15 percent of their power from renewable resources by 2015.

KCP&L Rate Case in Missouri

2007-02-02T13:09:00.000-05:00

Forbes:

Kansas City Power & Light (KCP&L), a subsidiary of Great Plains Energy, today filed a request with the Missouri Public Service Commission (MPSC) to increase rates for electric service in order to help recover costs of air quality improvement investments included in its Comprehensive Energy Plan (CEP) as well as higher fuel and other operational costs. The requested increase would add approximately $6.00 to a typical Missouri residential customer's average monthly bill.

Governor Proposes Energy Plan in PA

2007-02-02T12:57:00.000-05:00

The Harrisburg Patriot-News:

Gov. Ed Rendell proposed a sweeping energy plan yesterday that he said would cut overall electric bills by $10 billion over 10 years and promote energy conservation and alternative fuels.

With the plan, large parts of which must be approved by the Legislature, Rendell hopes to stabilize electricity prices once rate caps expire for the state's largest utilities in 2009 and 2010...

The plan would encourage conservation. Consumers could volunteer for time-of-use pricing, which allows for lower rates during off-peak hours. It would also provide financial incentives for installing rooftop solar panels that can create heat and electricity and for trading in old refrigerators and air conditioners...

In addition, all electricity consumers would pay a new tax of 0.05 cents per kilowatt-hour on their electricity usage. The new "system benefit charge" would create a fund of about $850 million to pay for subsidy programs.

Rendell said the charge would cost homeowners an average of $6 a year and would be capped at $10,000 a year for large industrial customers.

Con Edison Solutions in CT

2007-02-02T12:53:00.000-05:00

TheDay.com:

State regulators have agreed to consider a proposal by Con Edison Solutions Inc. to compete for residential electric customers in Connecticut...

Con Edison Solutions already sells electricity to large and small businesses in Connecticut, but is not yet authorized to sell to residents. The firm, a subsidiary of Consolidated Edison Inc., of New York, is hoping to extend its license to include residential service.

Columbia Gas & Leaky Connections

2007-02-02T12:49:00.000-05:00

The Toledo Blade:

Ohio's biggest natural gas provider said yesterday that replacing potentially faulty outdoor line hookups could cost it $200 million.

Columbia Gas of Ohio wants to be able to charge all customers about $2 a month for years to pay for it.

Columbia Gas officials said up to 400,000 of the company's 1.4 million customers could have the hookups, known as risers, that could be prone to failure and develop leaks. The riser is the pipe that comes up from underground and connects to the gas meter.

Utility Mergers in Europe

2007-02-02T11:10:00.000-05:00

DealBook:

Consolidation in Europe’s energy sector ramped up yesterday, as two $31 billion deals loomed on the horizon. Dutch utilities Essent and Nuon unveiled an agreement to create a 24 billion euro ($31 billion) energy giant that will rank among Europe’s top 10. The new company, to be called EssentNuon, will have 12 billion euros in sales and have a 20,000-strong work force in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany and supply 5 million customers. Both firms are owned by local governments, and ownership of the new entity will be split 55 percent to 45 percent in Essent’s favor.

The deal was announced the same day that another megadeal in the European energy sector appeared closer to completion. Spain’s Gas Natural said yesterday it was dropping its 24 billion euro ($31 billion) offer for rival Endesa, clearing the way for Germany’s E.ON to buy the Spanish energy utility.

FCC Under Fire on the Hill

2007-02-01T20:41:00.000-05:00

AP via Topix:

The Republican-majority Federal Communications Commission is getting its first taste of what life will be like under a Democratically controlled Congress...

On Wednesday, Democratic Reps. John Dingell and Ed Markey released a letter detailing a number of questions they have for the commissioners, including several regarding commission Chairman Kevin Martin's intention to enforce a series of conditions that allowed AT&T Inc.'s $86 billion takeover of BellSouth Corp.

More Money for Utility Assistance

2007-02-01T20:24:00.000-05:00

AP via KMOV.com:

The House approved additional funding Thursday to help low-income people pay their utility bills, while a Senate panel considered a proposal that would bar utilities from cutting off people's electricity when it's hot.
After little debate, the House voted to add $6.3 million to the Utilicare program, which helps people weatherize their homes to improve energy efficiency and pay utility bills. If the Senate follows suit, the money would be added to $42.5 million from the federal government through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

Smart Electric Meters in TX

2007-01-31T16:36:00.000-05:00

The Dallas Morning News:

By the end of this year, some electricity consumers in North Texas may have the option to save money by using power in the evening rather than during the day.

Thanks to a major power line upgrade that starts this week, electricity companies could charge different rates based on what time of day electricity is used. Customers who sign up for such pricing plans could get rock-bottom prices at night and on weekends, but pay a hefty premium for power during peak hours.

Consumers will be able to monitor their electricity use and charges in real time, and some will be able to connect to the Internet through power lines.

This week TXU Corp. began installing the initial 10,000 smart meters in Dallas. The new meters are a key piece of a four-year technology upgrade that will turn North Texas power lines into a communications network.

Power Plant Protesters

2007-01-31T14:14:00.000-05:00

Dallas Morning News:

Merrill Lynch & Co., the world's third-largest securities firm, is drawing the scorn of global-warming activists for its role in financing TXU Corp.'s $10 billion plan to build 11 coal-fueled power plants in Texas.

More than a dozen demonstrators costumed as Wall Street financiers - black dress coats, white spats, top hats fashioned from cardboard - congregated outside the entrance to the company's New York City headquarters Tuesday morning and handed leaflets to employees arriving for work. "Merrill Lynch - Banking on Climate Destruction," the leaflets said.

Micro Power for the Home

2007-01-31T08:31:00.000-05:00

CNet News:

A Massachusetts company next month will release a combination power generator and space heater, a system that can cut down on electricity bills, according to backers--at least while the heat is running.
Climate Energy was formed in the year 2000 to bring "micro-combined heat and power," or micro-CHP, to consumers in the U.S.
Combined heat and power systems, already available for industry and large buildings, are designed to harvest what is normally wasted heat during the process of power generation. As fuel is burned to make electricity, the resulting heat is captured and piped through a home's existing hot-air heating system.
Climate Energy's system is designed around a Honda internal combustion engine that burns natural gas to generate electricity. A heat exchanger feeds any captured heat to a furnace, which then distributes the hot air.
If sized right, the combined heat and power unit can heat a home during the cold months of the year and slash a home's electricity bills, according to the company's president and CEO, Eric Guyer.

Utility Lobbying in Texas

2007-01-30T22:49:00.000-05:00

Dallas Morning News:

AUSTIN – Texas utility companies are poised to spend more than any other industry to lobby lawmakers this year, state records show, as the firms seek to keep permits for coal-fired power plants on track and stave off hard-nosed environmental standards and new controls on prices.

Energy companies have signed off on more than 350 lobbying contracts for 2007 and intend to spend between $10 million and $20 million protecting their interests this session, according to a Dallas Morning News analysis of state lobbying reports.

Understaffed Commission in NY

2007-01-30T22:27:00.000-05:00

The New York Times:

The staff size at the New York State Public Service Commission declined by nearly one-third under the Pataki administration, and the reduction contributed to a failure by the agency to adequately monitor Consolidated Edison’s performance, according to a report to be released today by a State Assembly task force...

The task force found that the commission had about 800 employees in 1995, when George E. Pataki began the first of his three terms as governor, and now — partly due to deregulation — has about 550. Nearly 40 percent of the staff is 55 or older and is expected to retire within a decade.

Demand Response Savings in PJM

2007-01-30T17:02:00.000-05:00

Yahoo! News:

A study has found that a modest reduction in electricity use during peak hours would reduce energy prices by at least $57 million to $182 million annually in the Mid-Atlantic region.
The study, prepared by The Brattle Group, examined the effects of reducing electricity use by three percent during the highest use hours for five utility areas. It notes that, "More widespread participation and deeper curtailments would result in even greater price impacts."
The five Mid-Atlantic public utility commissions and PJM Interconnection worked together on the study. The objective was to demonstrate actual savings possible from greater use of demand response.

See the report.

Water Storage in California

2007-01-30T10:49:00.000-05:00

U.S. Water News:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, alluding to the drastic changes global warming could have on the state's water supply, is proposing spending $4.5 billion to create two reservoirs and store more water in groundwater aquifers.
The items are a key aspect of the governor's $43.3 billion bond plan, which he revealed during his state-of-the-state address. One of the proposed reservoirs would be in a valley about 60 miles north of Sacramento, while the other would be near Fresno.

The projects are supported by farmers but opposed by many Democrats and environmentalists.

Desalination Plant in NY

2007-01-30T10:08:00.000-05:00

The New York Times:

There was a time not long ago when the Hudson River was little more than a convenient dump site, a river so heavily used and contaminated that a state commission once referred to it as New York’s open sewer. But Rockland County residents may soon be drinking its water.
A regional water supply company that serves Rockland County submitted a plan this month to build a desalination plant that would tap the Hudson to address Rockland’s long-term water needs. The company, United Water New York, would build the plant by 2015 and supply Rockland residents with 7.5 million gallons of drinking water a day...
United Water, which supplies water to more than two dozen municipalities across the country, estimates that construction of the desalination plant would cost nearly $80 million, which the company will pay for in part by raising rates. It would be built in the vicinity of Stony Point, just across the Hudson from the Indian Point nuclear plant, and include a complex treatment system that must remove not only toxic chemicals like PCBs, tritium and strontium 90, but also an array of dissolved solids like sodium, sulfate and magnesium.

Oil Rigs to Wind Farms

2007-01-30T08:34:00.000-05:00

Wired:
The Gulf Coast is littered with the carcasses of unused oil equipment. Now those structures are being repurposed to build the first offshore wind farm in the United States...
Wind energy is the most promising carbon-free, nonnuclear alternative to fossil-fueled grid power. But regions with enough space and breeze for land-based wind farms—mostly in the Midwest—are far from coastal population centers; the cost of running transmission lines between generators and users is a major disincentive. That’s why wind-power entrepreneurs have set their sights on coastal waters. In the Atlantic, off Cape Cod, the 450-megawatt Cape Wind installation has been in the works for five years. But that project is mired in NIMBY activism and has yet to pass its initial federally mandated environmental review. (Ironically, a cabal of local property owners, including green-energy backers like US senator Edward Kennedy, are leading the fight against Cape Wind for fear it will mar the environment off Martha’s Vineyard.) Another project proposed for New York’s Long Island Sound has run into similar difficulties, and plans for wind farms off California have foundered on the expense of sinking pilings in the deeper Pacific coast waters.

Leave it to a couple of Gulf Coast good ol’ boys to take up the slack.

Recycling Wastewater

2007-01-29T10:56:00.000-05:00

Reuters has a nice primer on the recycling of wastewater into potable water. Enjoy!

WV Approves American Water Spinoff

2007-01-29T10:51:00.000-05:00

NY Newsday:

West Virginia regulators on Friday approved a German company's plan to spin off American Water Works Co. in an initial public offering.

West Virginia American Water is a subsidiary of American Water.

In its order, the Public Service Commission also approved the merger of American Water's immediate corporate parent, London-based Thames Water Aqua Holdings, into American Water. Thames is a subsidiary of Germany-based RWE-AG, which provides electricity, water, gas and environmental services to more than 120 million business and residential customers in Europe and North America.

$400 Million Verdict in WV NatGas Case

2007-01-29T10:48:00.000-05:00

The Charleston Gazette:

In a court decision that could have ripple effects for natural-gas royalty contracts throughout West Virginia, a Roane County jury has ruled that one of the state’s biggest gas production companies cheated gas-rights owners out of more than $100 million.
The jury ordered Columbia Natural Resources LLC and two other gas companies associated with it to pay a class of about 8,000 plaintiffs nearly $405 million.
It found that Columbia Natural Resources shortchanged the plaintiffs by $134.3 million and deserved to pay $271 million more in punitive damages.

Public-Private Partnerships in Water

2007-01-29T10:00:00.000-05:00

WaterWorld:

Partnerships between private water utilities and municipalities will become increasingly important in helping cities overcome the "huge burdens of infrastructure improvement and the conservation of water," according to Donald L. Correll, president and CEO of American Water, the country's largest privately owned water services company.

Local Governments Challenge FCC

2007-01-29T09:43:00.000-05:00

Forbes:

The nation's chief telecommunications regulator stands accused of misrepresenting the facts while pushing through rules that will make it easier for big phone companies to get into cable television.

The policy change won approval by the Federal Communications Commission on a 3-2 vote Dec. 20. That angered local government officials who claim the agency overstepped its authority and now promise a legal challenge. The vote also drew the threat of a "legislative fix" from a powerful congressman.

The new rules are meant to spur more competition for cable television providers. They require local governments to speed up the approval process for new competitors, cap the fees paid by new entrants and ease requirements that competitors build systems that reach every home.

The Race to Build New Nukes

2007-01-29T09:15:00.000-05:00

The Wall Street Journal (subscription):

With the U.S. on the verge of building a new generation of nuclear power plants, potential owners are racing to identify and lock down the best sites in order to secure billions of dollars in federal subsidies pledged to first-comers.

Their efforts will test local and national attitudes more than two decades after nuclear accidents made headlines. They also represent a considerable financial gamble for the utility industry, which is moving ahead at a rapid pace despite uncertainty ranging from environmental opposition to finding a home for radioactive nuclear waste...
A flood of applications seeking permission to build at least 30 reactors, primarily in the South, is expected to pour into the Nuclear Regulatory Commission beginning late this year. If built, the reactors would boost the nation's electricity supply by more than 30,000 megawatts, or 3%.

The TVA may be the first out of the box:

The Tennessee Valley Authority will submit applications to build two new nuclear reactors under the government's streamlined licensing process and restart its oldest reactor after a 22-year shutdown at Browns Ferry, TVA officials told the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
The public utility also plans to decide by August whether to spend up to $2 billion to complete the unfinished Unit 2 reactor at Watts Bar Nuclear Plant, the newspaper reported Sunday.
The total cost could exceed $7 billion for design and construction, officials said.

Texas Deregulation

2007-01-27T15:06:00.000-05:00

Houston Chronicle:

The state's much-touted total deregulation of electric utilities leaves millions of Texas households exactly where they were before — with only one utility company and one rate to choose from.
Customers primarily of the state's largest power companies — Houston-based Reliant Energy, Dallas-based TXU Corp., and Direct Energy, in sparsely populated areas of north Texas and the Coastal Bend — can take advantage of the utility deregulation that was "completed" Jan. 1.

But that leaves as many as 40 percent on the outside of the state's plan to try to lower electric rates in a state with rates among the highest in the nation.

CTE Shareholders Approve Merger

2007-01-25T21:10:00.000-05:00

Business Newswire:

Commonwealth Telephone Enterprises, Inc. (“CTE”), announced this afternoon that its shareholders have overwhelmingly voted in favor of the proposal to adopt the Agreement and Plan of Merger dated as of September 17, 2006, among CTE, Citizens Communications Company (“Citizens”) and CF Merger Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Citizens, pursuant to which CF Merger Corp. will merge with and into CTE, with CTE surviving as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Citizens. Approximately 98% of the votes cast at the special meeting of shareholders held today were cast in favor of the transaction.

BGE's Demand Side Management

2007-01-25T13:39:00.000-05:00

The Baltimore Sun:

Baltimore Gas and Electric will announce today a plan intended to reduce power demand at peak times and give customers more control over soaring energy bills by installing "smart" meters at every home and boosting incentives for conservation.

BGE will offer new financial rewards for customers to shift their power use to off-peak hours and will expand existing programs that pay customers to let BGE remotely control use of air conditioners and water heaters on days when energy demand is high.

Dominion Assets to be Sold

2007-01-25T13:34:00.000-05:00

The Columbus Dispatch:

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley are working together to acquire the oil and gas assets of utility company Dominion Resources Inc. in a deal that could top $15 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.
The investment banks of the two companies are part of a group of private-equity players hoping to buy the Virginia utility’s oil-and-natural-gas exploration and production businesses. The parties declined to comment yesterday.

California Agency Sues PUC

2007-01-25T13:24:00.000-05:00

AP via CBSNews:

The South Coast Air Quality Management District sued California public utility officials, claiming the liquefied natural gas that officials approved for use in the state could worsen air pollution.

Energy providers plan to spend about $3 billion on the construction of seven natural gas terminals on the coast of California and Baja in Mexico. The air-quality agency alleges that natural gas could set back progress toward clean air. The lawsuits were filed with the California appeals court and the state Supreme Court.

The California Public Utilities Commission has approved a standard that will allow oil companies and other energy providers to burn the gas to generate power. Because imported liquefied natural gas burns hotter than domestic gas, it creates more pollution.

Granite Power

2007-01-23T08:51:00.000-05:00

The New York Times:

The United States could generate as much electricity by 2050 as that flowing today from all of the country’s nuclear power plants by developing technologies that tap heat locked in deep layers of granite, according to a new study commissioned by the Energy Department.

View the Study.

NatGas Futures Prices Up

2007-01-23T08:45:00.000-05:00

MarketWatch:

February natural gas rallied 33.4 cents, or 4.9%, to $7.22 per million British thermal units. It traded as high as $7.23, its strongest level since Dec. 18, buoyed by colder weather forecasts for parts of the nation. February crude climbed 76 cents to $52.75 a barrel. The energy market "seems to be embracing a shift in the weather pattern to an extended period of colder temperatures, which will improve the demand outlook," Michael Fitzpatrick, an analyst at Fimat USA, said in a research note Monday.

Old Dams Need Attention

2007-01-22T09:07:00.000-05:00

The New York Times:

In 2005, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave United States dams a D, a grade that is still justified two years later.
For starters, the nation’s dam stock is rapidly aging. Most dams need major repairs 25 to 50 years after they’re built, and most United States dams are at least 25 years old; some... were built more than a century ago.

As dams age, their danger increases. This is a matter of not just advancing decrepitude, but “hazard creep” — the tendency of developers to build directly downstream from dams, in the path of floods that would follow dam failures. The result is that even though Americans now build few dams, more and more dams threaten people’s lives. Chiefly for this reason, the number of dams identified in one estimate as capable of causing death and in need of rehabilitation more than doubled from 1999 to 2006, from around 500 to nearly 1,400. The civil engineers’ 2005 report placed the number of unsafe dams much higher, at more than 3,500.

Lower Demand for New Area Codes

2007-01-21T22:33:00.000-05:00

Forbes:

Despite growing demand for phone numbers, the need for new area codes sharply declined since 2001, mainly because new regulations cut down on wasted telephone numbers.
The stress on area codes also eased as the end of the telecommunications boom chased small startup companies from the phone market, freeing numbers those companies had hoped to provide. Consumers also dumped pagers for cell phones.
As a result, area codes old and new are in better shape than expected five years ago.

Cell Users Subsidize Land Lines

2007-01-21T01:59:00.000-05:00

AP via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Cellular subscribers are paying hundreds of millions of dollars each year to subsidize landline telephone service, enriching big telecommunications companies while providing little or no benefit to cell phone users.

Credits for Michigan Customers

2007-01-20T19:49:00.000-05:00

Detroit Free Press:

More than 220,000 customers who lost power during an ice storm this week might get a $25 credit on their next bill.
At some point, the storm affected about 120,000 customers of DTE Energy Co. in southeastern Michigan and at least 104,000 customers of CMS Energy Corp.'s Consumers Energy subsidiary elsewhere in the southern half of the state.

BGE's New Rates

2007-01-20T19:35:00.000-05:00

Baltimore Sun via TMCNet:

Electricity bills for customers of Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. are projected to rise by a less-than-expected 47 percent -- or about $550 for the year -- starting in June, based on bids the utility received from wholesale energy suppliers this week.

AT&T's Unity Program

2007-01-20T19:33:00.000-05:00

DMN via King5.com:

AT&T customers who sign up for both wireless and land-line phone service from the company will soon be able to call any of their fellow 100 million AT&T customers for free.

San Antonio-based AT&T Inc. is announcing the new program — called Unity — today.

Maine Power Grid

2007-01-20T16:02:00.000-05:00

Portsmouth Herald:

A preliminary report by the Maine Public Utilities Commission says Maine ratepayers don't get enough in return for participating in the regional power grid and concludes there are "no insurmountable legal, economic or technical barriers" to leaving it.
The 39-page report delivered to the Maine Legislature this week says "reasonable alternatives" to participation in the grid include creating an independent transmission company and establishing power-swapping arrangements with neighboring Canadian provinces.

ConEd Faces Millions in Penalties

2007-01-19T07:49:00.000-05:00

The New York Times:

Consolidated Edison now faces the prospect of $9.3 million in penalties and tens of millions of dollars in additional sanctions as the result of a scathing state report into its handling of the nine-day blackout in Queens that left 174,000 people without power last summer.

Desalination Plant on the Hudson

2007-01-18T13:27:00.000-05:00

The Journal News:

United Water New York's Rockland customers could be drinking Hudson River water by 2015.
The company submitted plans to the state Public Service Commission yesterday to build a $79 million desalination plant that would use water from the Hudson.

Verizon Wants Dereg in VA

2007-01-18T11:11:00.000-05:00

Forbes:

Verizon Communications Inc., Virginia's largest provider of local telephone service, asked state regulators on Wednesday to allow the company to remove pricing restrictions because the market is getting more competitive.
In filings with the State Corporation Commission, Verizon Virginia and Verizon South said regulation is not needed amid changing technologies and increased options for wireless, Internet and cable phone services.

Nuclear Divers

2007-01-18T08:45:00.000-05:00

Wall Street Journal (subscription):

Divers are in great demand these days. Power companies need them to maintain many of the world's 442 nuclear reactors. They're also called on to repair aging bridges and water tanks. And oil companies need them to fix offshore platforms damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

That has done little to increase pay for nuclear divers, who start at salaries of about $30,000 a year. Experienced divers certified for specialized work can make close to $100,000. Offshore divers make still more but have to live on a ship for months at a time.

Nuclear reactors range in size, from 35 feet to 70 feet tall, and 14 feet to 20 feet wide, depending on the type of technology. They are enclosed in steel-reinforced concrete structures. During operation, boiling water reactors are partially filled with about 60,000 gallons of water that circulates to cool the fuel and also turns into steam to power the turbine. Pressurized reactors hold 35,000 gallons of water during operations. When the reactor is shut down for refueling and maintenance, the vessel and secondary pools, also called the cavity, are filled with more than 500,000 gallons of water that further cools down the reactor and acts as a guard against radiation.

Opportunities in Water

2007-01-16T17:56:00.000-05:00

TheStreet.com:

Experts believe there's boundless opportunity for creative inventors who can help meet the world's growing water needs.

In recent years, many water entrepreneurs have seen fat payoffs. Major corporations interested in building water businesses have been spending lavishly to acquire new products.

Mirant to Sell 6 NatGas Plants

2007-01-16T17:48:00.000-05:00

DealBook:

Mirant will sell six natural gas-fired power plants to LS Power Equity Partners, an asset management company, for $1.4 billion, the energy said Tuesday. After accounting for project-level debt, Mirant will reap about $1.3 billion, money that it said it would reinvest in other projects or return to shareholders.

Verizon to Spin Off Landlines in NE

2007-01-16T17:43:00.000-05:00

Bloomberg.com:

Verizon Communications Inc., the second-largest U.S. local telephone company, plans to shed phone lines in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont as part of a strategy to focus on its wireless and television businesses.
Verizon will spin off the assets, which will then be bought by FairPoint Communications Inc. in a transaction worth a total of $2.72 billion, the companies said today in a statement. FairPoint shares jumped 15 percent, the biggest one-day gain since it sold shares to the public in February 2005.

Verizon shareholders will get $1.02 billion in FairPoint stock and own 60 percent of the expanded company. FairPoint's phone lines will rise from about 250,000 to 1.6 million, creating the eighth-largest U.S. telephone provider. The sale advances New York-based Verizon's plan to rely on divisions such as Verizon Wireless, where revenue grew 18 percent in the third quarter.

Local Telcos Block Wireless

2007-01-15T08:25:00.000-05:00

USAToday:

If you're ditching your home phone to go wireless only, your local phone company has your number.
The problem, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile say, is the local phone giants don't want to give that number up.

In a recent petition to the Federal Communications Commission, the two cellphone carriers say local phone companies are making it difficult for consumers to transfer land-line numbers to wireless phones. And they say that's dissuading many people from using mobile phones exclusively.

Natural Gas Prices

2007-01-13T10:24:00.000-05:00

Barron's (subscription):

NATURAL-GAS HAS COOLED OFF MORE THAN MOST other commodities lately -- thanks to unseasonably warm temperatures this winter. Even with cold snaps and big snow dumps in Denver, last month was the fourth-warmest December since the U.S. began keeping records in 1895, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The result: Demand has sagged and prices have followed. And there are few catalysts in sight on the near horizon.

In December, prices for near-month natural gas futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange were about half what they were the previous year. On Dec. 27, January gas futures closed at $5.838 per million British thermal units, the lowest late-December closing price since 2002. Over all, 2006 was the warmest year on record in the U.S.

More on natural gas prices from MarketWatch.

States Sue FERC Over Surcharge

2007-01-08T23:24:00.000-05:00

AP via Boston.com:

Connecticut and Massachusetts are taking federal energy regulators to court over a surcharge that will cost electricity consumers in both states hundreds of millions of dollars over the next four years.
The states filed a lawsuit Dec. 28 in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. They're seeking to stop the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from imposing the surcharge, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said Thursday.

The fee was designed to encourage development of new power plants to help meet growing demand, but Blumenthal said the money will go to existing power generators without requiring them to build new plants or produce more electricity.

Blast at Ohio Plant

2007-01-08T23:19:00.000-05:00

KomoRadio.com:

An explosion at a coal-burning power plant killed a worker delivering liquid hydrogen and injured nine others Monday, authorities said.
Officials weren't sure what caused the blast outside the Muskingum River Plant, said Vikki Michalski, a spokeswoman for American Electric Power.

Nuclear Resurgence

2007-01-08T10:14:00.000-05:00

The Washington Post:

Faced with evidence that coal- and oil-fired electric plants are overheating the planet, and alarmed by soaring demand for electricity, governments from South America to Asia are turning once again to a power source mostly shunned for two decades as too dangerous and too costly.
Globally, 29 nuclear power plants are being built. Well over 100 more have been written into the development plans of governments for the next three decades. India and China each are rushing to build dozens of reactors. The United States and the countries of Western Europe, led by new nuclear champions, are reconsidering their cooled romance with atomic power. International agencies have come on board; even the Persian Gulf oil states have announced plans for nuclear generators.

FCC Privacy Rules

2007-01-08T10:02:00.001-05:00

USAToday:

Four months after Hewlett-Packard's spying scandal, the Federal Communications Commission is expected within weeks to set new rules protecting personal phone records from unauthorized disclosure.

The move follows last summer's revelations that investigators for Hewlett-Packard used deception to obtain the phone records of board members and reporters in an effort to identify the sources of news leaks about company matters.

The Flip Side of Amaranth

2007-01-05T10:42:00.000-05:00

FT via MarketWatch:

A Wikipedia entry for John Arnold, a 32-year-old hedge fund manager specialising in the energy sector, says that while "almost nothing is known" about his personal life, "his robot dancing still needs improvement".

Dancing ability notwithstanding, Mr Arnold has emerged as a leading player on the global energy trading stage.

The trading success of his Houston-based Centaurus Energy fund in recent times looks all the more interesting in comparison with the fortunes of Brian Hunter, the infamous Amaranth Advisors trader, also 32 years old, who last year presided over the loss of $6bn and the eventual closure of his fund. His bet on a rise in the price of natural gas this winter turned out to be spectacularly incorrect...

Mr Arnold generated gains of up to 150 per cent last year, according to hedge fund market sources.

PP&L President Steps Down

2007-01-04T14:03:00.000-05:00

Central PA Business Journal:

The president of PPL Corp.’s electricity-distribution subsidiary retired Jan. 1 for health reasons, the company said in a written statement. John F. Sipics had led the unit since 2003.

William H. Spence, PPL Corp.’s chief operating officer, will take over for Sipics until a permanent successor is named.

NRC: Dominion Nuke OK

2007-01-03T17:43:00.000-05:00

DailyPress.com:

Dominion Virginia Power has cleared another environmental review in its goal to build more nuclear reactors at its North Anna Power Station.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in a final environmental impact statement that adding reactors at the plant wouldn't pose significant environmental concerns. The report also said that the NRC's staff recommends that the agency issue early site permits for proposed North Anna Units 3 and 4.

PSEG Sells Indiana Plant to AEP

2007-01-03T17:34:00.000-05:00

AP via Cleveland.com:

The parent of New Jersey's biggest gas and electric distribution utility plans to take a loss with its sale of a 2 1/2-year-old Indiana electric plant, fueled by increasingly expensive natural gas, to one of the country's largest electricity generators.
Newark-based holding company Public Service Enterprise Group said Tuesday it has agreed to sell the Lawrenceburg Energy Center in Lawrenceburg, Ind., for $325 million to AEP Generating Co., a subsidiary of Columbus, Ohio-based American Electric Power.

Mild Winter = Low NatGas Prices

2007-01-03T13:59:00.000-05:00

AP via MyrtleBeachOnline.com:

RALEIGH, N.C. - Falling natural gas prices have prompted the state's two primary gas utilities to cut prices for more than 1 million customers.

State regulators approved cuts Tuesday for PSNC Energy and Piedmont Natural Gas, retroactive to Monday...
The price cuts were the result of falling wholesale prices brought on by this winter's mild weather.

This situation may not last long:

National Fuel Gas Distribution Corp... expects the cost of natural gas supplies to get more expensive.
The company is required by the state to lay out its annual purchased gas cost projection for the period extending from Aug. 1, 2007, through July 31, 2008.
National Fuel is betting overall gas cost expenses will go up and that will translate into higher monthly bills for consumers.

Customers Pound Ameren at Hearing

2007-01-03T13:55:00.000-05:00

Belleville News-Democrat:

Irate customers blasted Ameren Corp. on Tuesday during a public hearing on the utility company's request to raise rates...
Customers who spoke at a hearing at a St. Louis County library were almost unanimous in saying that Ameren has earned too much profit while investing too little in infrastructure and customer service.

Ameren filed its rate request this summer before major storms knocked out power to more than 600,000 customers -- some losing electricity for up to a week. Ice storms in November caused another major blackout, with 500,000 customers losing power and repairs again stretching on for days.

Aqua Closes NY Water Service Deal

2007-01-02T16:12:00.000-05:00

Philadelphia Business Journal:

Aqua America Inc. said Tuesday that its Aqua New York Inc. subsidiary has closed on a nearly $51 million acquisition announced last May.

Aqua New York acquired New York Water Service Corp. from Utilities & Industries Corp. for $27.4 million in cash and the assumption of $23.5 million in debt.

Thousands Without Power in Nebraska

2007-01-02T15:37:00.000-05:00

The Grand Island Independent:

Despite spending most of the day trying to restore power to thousands of Nebraskans, utility officials estimated Monday evening that thousands of Nebraskans remained without power.
Beth Boesch, a spokeswoman for Nebraska Public Power District, said from an operations center in York that officials said around 15,000 utility customers would have no power in their plugs Tuesday to prepare breakfast.

From a prior story:

The combination of ice and snow that fell across much of the state this weekend left thousands of Nebraskans without power Sunday.

Most of the power outages were reported in central and northeastern Nebraska where the extra weight of freezing rain and ice brought power lines and tree limbs to the ground.

Not In My Back Yard

2007-01-02T15:35:00.000-05:00

The Post & Courier (Charleston, S.C.):

South Carolina Electric & Gas says it can better serve the town with a new 115,000-volt transmission line, but residents of Hamlin Plantation, Raven's Run, Hamlin Park and Six Mile say they don't want the line and its 70-foot-tall steel towers in their neighborhoods.

The residents said they are worried about the resale value of their homes and possible health effects of having a powerful transmission line so close. They also worry about the line marring the character of their neighborhoods and the impact of the project if the line is constructed in environmentally sensitive areas.

Compact Flourescent Bulbs & WalMart

2007-01-02T10:54:00.000-05:00

The New York Times:

A compact fluorescent has clear advantages over the widely used incandescent light — it uses 75 percent less electricity, lasts 10 times longer, produces 450 pounds fewer greenhouse gases from power plants and saves consumers $30 over the life of each bulb. But it is eight times as expensive as a traditional bulb, gives off a harsher light and has a peculiar appearance.

As a result, the bulbs have languished on store shelves for a quarter century; only 6 percent of households use the bulbs today.

Which is what makes Wal-Mart’s goal so wildly ambitious. If it succeeds in selling 100 million compact fluorescent bulbs a year by 2008, total sales of the bulbs in the United States would increase by 50 percent, saving Americans $3 billion in electricity costs and avoiding the need to build additional power plants for the equivalent of 450,000 new homes.

That would send shockwaves — some intended, others not — across the lighting industry. Because compact fluorescent bulbs last up to eight years, giant manufacturers, like General Electric and Osram Sylvania, would sell far fewer lights. Because the bulbs are made in Asia, some American manufacturing jobs could be lost. And because the bulbs contain mercury, there is a risk of pollution when millions of consumers throw them away.

FCC Approves AT&T BellSouth Deal

2006-12-30T10:28:00.000-05:00

IndyStar.com:

The Federal Communications Commission unanimously approved AT&T Inc.'s $86 billion buyout of BellSouth Corp. on Friday, the day after the company offered a new slate of concessions for consumers and competitors.

The FCC's approval was the last major regulatory hurdle for the proposed deal, which is the largest telecommunications merger in U.S. history.

FPL Sues BellSouth

2006-12-30T10:20:00.000-05:00

AP via StAugustine.com:

Florida Power & Light has sued BellSouth Corp. for $7 million to cover the cost of replacing shared utility poles that were damaged by three hurricanes that hit the peninsula in 2004, according to court documents.
Hurricanes Charley, Frances and Jeanne destroyed thousands of utility poles in eight counties on Florida's east coast.

BellSouth had installed the poles, but FPL used its own funds and resources to repair or replace nearly 2,500 poles in order to restore power as quickly as possible, according to FPL's lawsuit.

Atlanta-based BellSouth failed to reimburse the Florida utility company for the work, FPL claims.

Electric Deregulation in Texas

2006-12-29T11:19:00.000-05:00

MarketWatch:

Texans can look forward to starting the New Year sifting through dozens of electricity plans. Lost among the choices will be substantial savings.

January 1 marks the day Texas tosses aside the "price to beat" pricing mechanism set by its biggest utilities and approved by state regulators and plunges into a fully deregulated retail power market governed by the laws of supply and demand in which generators compete for the nearly six million residential customers who can now pick their power provider.

But the Lone Star state is charging ahead despite backtracking by others.

AT&T May Get FCC Approval Today

2006-12-29T11:15:00.000-05:00

USAToday:

AT&T has offered a new set of concessions that are expected to satisfy the two Democrats on the Federal Communications Commission and lead to approval of the company's $85 billion buyout of BellSouth.
Approval by the full commission could happen as soon as Friday.

AT&T filed a letter of commitment with the agency Thursday night that adds a number of new conditions to the deal, including a promise to observe "network neutrality" principles, an offer of affordable stand-alone digital subscriber line service and divestment of some wireless spectrum.

AT&T Offers TV in CT

2006-12-28T10:24:00.000-05:00

News Times:

AT&T launched television service in Connecticut on Wednesday, using its phone lines to compete with cable TV companies in a battle for viewers that's being fought in federal court...

Cable companies are fighting AT&T, accusing state regulators of establishing separate systems for AT&T and cable TV. AT&T does not face requirements such as a gross receipts tax and requirements to provide public access and service for all customers in its sales area.