Company Briefs

Sep 17, 2013

Company briefs on some of the companies doing business in PJM: Exelon - including BGE and ComEd, Dominion, and PPL.

Seeking growth as its stock languishes due to low wholesale power prices, Exelon Corp. is on the hunt for another acquisition. Analysts disagree on whether it will look to add another regulated utility or seek opportunities in the merchant sector.

The company’s chief strategy officer told the Barclay’s 2013 CEO Energy-Power Conference last week that prices in PJM’s May capacity auction “were lower than anyone expected and continue to be disappointing to us.” But he said the company continues to see “a disconnect between forward prices and what prices will be when coal plants retire.”

More: Crain’s Chicago Business; Platts

Opower Teams with BGE to Launch “Behavioral” DR

Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) will use Opower’s new “Behavioral Demand Response” platform in its upcoming smart meter rollout.

Opower’s system takes individual and neighborhood energy-usage data and turn it into personalized reports delivered via text messages, email and phone. Opower said it believes the new system can dramatically increase residential demand response.

More: Greentech Media; Opower

ComEd Reduces Prices to Win Back Retail Customers

Commonwealth Edison, which has lost 800,000 retail customers to alternative suppliers, is hoping to win some of them back now that it has negotiated new supply deals.

The company lost business to rivals charging six cents per kWh, a three-cent savings from ComEd rates. The company says it has reduced the gap to half a cent per kWh due to the expiration of old electricity agreements.

More: CBS Local

Dominion LNG Export Plan OKd

Dominion Resources won federal approval to export liquefied natural gas to Japan and India from its Cove Point terminal in Maryland. Dominion needed Energy Department approval because neither country has a free-trade agreement with the U.S.

The company plans to spend up to $3.8 billion to upgrade the terminal.

More: The Washington Post

Susquehanna Nuclear Plant (Source: Creative Commons)

Susquehanna Nuke Out with Turbine Problem

PPL Corp. began shutting down Unit 2 of its Susquehanna nuclear power plant early Saturday after vibration monitoring equipment indicated that two turbine blades may have developed small cracks. Unit 1 will continue generating electricity during repairs.

More: The Morning Call

PPL Sets Reward for Copper Thefts

PPL Corp. said it will pay $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone caught stealing copper wire and other materials from its substations. Police say they’ve seen an “epidemic” of copper thefts as the price of copper has risen to $3 a pound.