So. Ill. Split over Fracking
Southern Illinoisans are split over hydraulic fracturing according to a new poll. More than 40% of people who answered the poll by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute said fracking should be encouraged, with about 39% opposed. About 20% had no opinion. The state recently allowed for the procedure and is currently working out regulations and rules.
More: The Southern
KENTUCKY
Big Rivers Wins $54M Rate Hike to Offset Aluminum Plant Loss
The Public Service Commission awarded Big Rivers Electric Corp. a $54 million rate hike that will boost average rates 16% for residential customers of the company’s Kenergy Corp. distribution cooperative. Big Rivers, which also serves the Meade County Rural Electric Cooperative and the Jackson Purchase Energy Cooperative, had sought a $63 million boost to offset the loss of Kenergy’s largest customer, Century Aluminum.
Century Aluminum has reached an agreement to obtain market-priced power through Big Rivers for its Hawesville smelter. Century expects to seek a similar agreement for its Sebree smelter, the subject of another rate hike request, which the PSC will consider at a hearing Jan. 7. To deal with the loss of its top two customers Big Rivers says it will seek to idle one or two of its generating plants. The shutdowns will be subject to the approval of MISO and the Southwestern Reliability Council.
More: Messenger-Inquirer
Gov., Rep. Set Summit for Post-Coal Economy
Gov. Steve Beshear (D) and U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers (R) announced a Dec. 9 summit to seek ideas to improve Eastern Kentucky’s crippled economy. Beshear and Rogers also announced a planning committee of more than 40 people, many from the private and education sectors, to come up with topics and goals for the summit. The region has lost nearly 6,000 coal jobs in the last two years.
More: Lexington Herald-Leader
Shale Boom Leaves KY Behind
While other Appalachian states have been able to offset coal’s decline with increased natural gas production, the shale boom is likely to leave Kentucky behind. The Marcellus shale formation stretches across West Virginia, but stops at the Bluegrass State’s border. Thus West Virginia is producing four times as much gas as Kentucky, and there is little evidence that Kentucky will catch up.
More: National Journal
NORTH CAROLINA
Duke, NC Coop Propose 750 MW Plant in SC
Duke Energy Carolinas asked the South Carolina Public Service Commission for permission to build a 750 MW combined cycle plant at the existing Lee Steam Station in Anderson County, SC. The North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation (NCEMC) will own 100 MWs of the project if constructed.
More: Duke Energy Carolinas
Duke Efficiency Plan OKd
The Utilities Commission approved Duke Energy’s request to replace its “Save-a-Watt” energy efficiency program with new programs using a shared-savings model. Customers will get 88.5% of the savings realized from efficiency and conservation with Duke earning the remaining 11.5%. The program is the result of a settlement between Duke and environmental groups.
More: Charlotte Business Journal
OHIO
Dayton Power Auction Clears at $49/MWh
The Public Utility Commission approved the results of an auction to supply Dayton Power and Light Co.’s standard offer customers, which cleared at an average price of $49.32/MWh. The three winners of the auction will supply 10% of DP&L’s standard service offer load for January 2014 through May 2017.
More: Dayton Daily News
PENNSYLVANIA
PUC Delays Vote on Storm-Damage Fee
The Public Utility Commission delayed until next year a decision on PPL’s request for a new charge to cover the costs of repairing major storm damage. The proposed fee has drawn opposition from consumer and business groups, as well as the commission’s staff, which suggested a storm damage reserve fund that could be replenished with a fee. The commission opened a new 30-day comment period.
More: The Morning Call
State May Force Electric Switch
The 3.6 million Pennsylvania utility customers who have not picked a competitive power supplier would have the decision taken out of their hands if legislation promoted by electricity marketing firms is enacted. Customers who don’t shop would be assigned to competitive suppliers through an auction rather than being supplied by their incumbent utility. Suppliers would pay the state $100 per switched customer, an estimated one-time budget boost of $360 million.
Consumer advocates say the proposal would upend a system that has already induced more customers to switch than any state other than Texas, where all customers are required to shop. About 37.5% percent of customers statewide have switched suppliers.
More: The Philadelphia Inquirer
WEST VIRGINIA
West Virginia’s Ghosts Haunt Fracking Boom
If fracking is to reverse West Virginia’s fortunes, the state will have to learn from its mistakes as a coal producer. Throughout its history, much of West Virginia’s coal has been quickly transported by out of state companies for processing. That left the state benefiting from miners’ wages and coal-extraction taxes but watching corporate profits go elsewhere. The first few years of the fracking boom reveal an uneven record, with anecdotal success stories mixed with troubling similarities from the last energy boom.
More: National Journal
