RGGI Funds Set for Several Vehicle Charging Stations
The state Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Controls and the University of Delaware plan to place electric vehicle charging stations at five or six locations in the state, with two chargers at each site. The program, with an $80,000 budget from proceeds of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, aims to locate the stations so that lower-cost EVs, which have limited driving ranges, can make in-state trips conveniently. Charging is expected to be free at first.
More: The News Journal
Critics Question CHP for Newark Data Center
Plans for a 279 MW combined heat and power plant at a new data center in Newark have stirred criticism by people who say the facility could reduce its carbon footprint by using renewable energy. The project, at the site of a former Chrysler factory, would be fired by natural gas. Project supporters have cited a generic document from the Environmental Protection Agency describing the energy efficiency and environmental benefits of CHP.
More: The News Journal
ILLINOIS
Nuke Operators Sue Exelon on Pay Issues
The union representing operators at five Exelon nuclear plants in northern Illinois filed a class-action suit against the company, alleging violations of state and federal wage laws. Exelon does not pay the operators for time they have to spend before and after their shifts, filling out documentation and consulting with one another on operational issues, according to the suit by Local 15 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Operators at the Clinton nuclear plant, in southern Illinois, who are represented by a different IBEW local, are paid for the extra time.
More: Crain’s Chicago Business
City Could Hike Sales Tax Because of Prairie State
The Batavia City Council is considering raising sales taxes to reduce the electricity rate increase it expects to impose this spring because of its high-cost power purchases from the new Prairie State Energy Campus. A member of the Northern Illinois Municipal Power Agency, Batavia is obliged to buy some of the coal plant’s output. Raising sales taxes one-half cent would limit the rate increase to 10% instead of 16%.
More: Daily Herald (2/12/14); Daily Herald (2/10/14)
EverPower Wind to Buy EME’s 240-MW Big Sky
Pittsburgh-based EverPower Wind Holdings will buy the 240 MW Big Sky merchant wind farm through a two-step arrangement with turbine manufacturer Suzlon, a first priority lien holder in Big Sky. Edison Mission Energy is selling the facility as part of its bankruptcy proceedings.
In a Feb. 7 filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the companies said Suzlon would buy Big Sky for a nominal sum in exchange for forgiving Big Sky’s debt. EverPower would then acquire the project, allowing Suzlon to recoup the debt that was forgiven. Edison Mission, Suzlon and EverPower asked for FERC approval by March 5 to enable the transaction, which they said would help Edison exit bankruptcy in the first part of this year.
Suzlon expects to recover about $90 million of the $228 million Edison Mission owes. The turbine manufacturer itself is in default on $209 million of bonds.
More: Power Intelligence; Bloomberg
ICC Approves FutureGen CO2 Pipeline Certificate
The Illinois Commerce Commission approved a certificate for FutureGen 2.0 to build and operate a carbon dioxide pipeline in connection with the carbon capture and sequestration project planned for the state. Construction cannot start until all permits are in hand, according to the ICC order, but FutureGen does not have to wait for all permits before exercising eminent domain for the pipeline route.
More: Journal Courier
INDIANA
Six in Finals to Fill Vacancies on IURC
Six names are on the list to fill two seats on the Utility Regulatory Commission being vacated soon. After interviewing 21 candidates, the IURC Nominating Committee forwarded six names to Gov. Mike Pence for consideration: Jim Ray, Robert Hartley, Michael Musa, Carol Stephan and Angela Weber. Two of them will succeed Kari Bennett, whose term expires at the end of March, and Larry Landis, who is retiring.
In other IURC news, the state Supreme Court issued a public reprimand to the commission’s former general counsel, Scott Storms, for negotiating a job with Duke Energy in 2010 while the commission was considering whether to have ratepayers bear cost overruns of the Edwardsport coal gasification plant. A reprimand, which was agreed to by Storms, is the lightest punishment for legal misconduct. In connection with the 2010 events, the Indiana Attorney General’s Office is appealing a ruling last year that dismissed misconduct charges against former commission Chairman David Lott Hardy.
More: The Republic; Indianapolis Star
NiSource Grid Plan OK’d; CEO skirts Dominion rumor
Northern Indiana Public Service won regulatory approval for its seven-year, $1.1 billion system upgrade plan, calling it a “vital, significant milestone” for the NiSource subsidiary. Rate increases through a new bill surcharge would average 0.9% a year, starting in 2017 with a charge that would increase through 2020. The surcharge would pay for 80% of the project costs; 20% would be deferred to Nipsco’s next rate case. The utility’s plan includes replacing 50-year-old power lines and 40-year-old wood poles.
Also last week, NiSource said during an earnings call with analysts that it expects to spend about $2.5 billion on electric infrastructure projects, and sees the potential for $6.4 billion in that spending. Questioned during the call, CEO Richard Skaggs did not directly rebut rumors that Dominion Resources may be looking to buy a midwestern utility such as NiSource.
More: Chesterton Tribune; The Times
KENTUCKY
TVA to Replace 2 Paradise Units with Combined-Cycle
The Tennessee Valley Authority will replace Units 1 and 2 at the Paradise Fossil Plant with a $1 billion combined-cycle gas plant by the summer of 2017. TVA’s board, which seeks to fuel 20% of its generation by gas, voted in November to shut the units down.
More: Chattanooga Times Free Press
East Kentucky Emissions Project Gets PSC Approval
The Public Service Commission approved East Kentucky Power Cooperative’s plan to bring emission controls at Unit 1 of its J.S. Cooper Generating Station into compliance with federal standards and to recover the cost through the co-op’s environmental surcharge. The $15 million project will add ductwork to redirect emissions from the 116-MW Unit 1 to control equipment already in place for emissions from the 225-MW Unit 2.
More: newsobserver.com
Panel OKs Bill to Set CO2 Rules That Preserve Coal
The House Committee on Resources and the Environment approved a bill that would establish a coal-friendly plan for use when Kentucky has to comply with a federal carbon dioxide control program for existing power plants. Sponsored by committee Chairman Rep. Jim Gooch, who co-owns a coal mining manufacturing business, the measure instructs the state Energy and Environment Cabinet to create a plan that considers the economic impact of CO2 emissions, sets flexible standards and does not require fuel switching or carbon capture and storage.
The cabinet called the bill premature and said it could limit the state’s flexibility once the Environmental Protection Agency issues the guidelines for existing plants. Cabinet Secretary Len Peters has sent EPA a suggestion for structure of a program with features Kentucky could work with.
More: Lexington Herald-Leader
MARYLAND
Hoskins PSC Nomination Advances to Senate Floor
The state Senate Executive Nominations Committee approved Gov. Martin O’Malley’s nomination of Anne Hoskins to the Public Service Commission, over some Montgomery County citizen protests. Hoskins, a former senior vice president of Public Service Enterprise Group, would be biased toward utilities, some said. She has been serving in a provisional capacity since O’Malley appointed her in August. The full Senate now must vote on the nomination.
Montgomery Sen. Rich Madaleno (D-18) requested that the nomination be discussed separately on the Senate floor. His move would allow opponents to highlight the PSC’s approval of trackers, which allow utilities to receive earlier reimbursement of investments. Hoskins favors trackers.
More: The Baltimore Sun, Seventh State
MICHIGAN
DTE Chief Sees the State Keeping Lid on Competition
DTE Energy sees little chance for expanding retail competition in Michigan, especially as this winter’s volatile markets have stressed other retail markets. “Those markets are in trouble and I think an increasing number of observers believe that,” Chairman and chief executive Gerry Anderson said in an earnings call with analysts. “I don’t think Michigan has an appetite for stepping into that.” Lawmakers are considering whether to lift the 10% retail-shopping cap in current law.
More: UtilityDive
NEW JERSEY
$210 Million Fund Would Enable Resiliency Measures
As part of a plan to use $1.46 billion in federal money in a second wave of Hurricane Sandy recovery work, the state has proposed a $210 million fund for an Energy Resilience Bank, which would focus on distributed energy projects to provide power “in the event the larger electrical grid fails.” The bank’s loans, loan guarantees and other measures would come from leveraging federal money with state and private money. Separately, a $225 million allocation would go to help local governments meet matching-fund obligations for projects that could include power generation and distribution facilities.
More: Gov. Christie
BPU Launches Tree Effort To Reduce Outages
The Board of Public Utilities ordered development of a vegetation management plan to reduce distribution-level power outages caused by trees. More than 100,000 trees fell on power lines in Hurricane Sandy, causing widespread outages. At its March meeting, the BPU is to consider a proposal to establish a tracking system for tree-related outages that would provide information on trees that are likely to fall on power lines and whether they are in utilities’ rights of way.
More: NJSpotlight
JCP&L Beefs Up System Spending to $250 Million
Jersey Central Power & Light will spend more than $250 million this year, $50 million more than last year, on projects to strengthen its grid. The FirstEnergy company’s announcement comes as JCP&L is dealing with strong pushback from consumers and regulatory commission staff, who want the utility’s rates cut. About 90% of the company’s customers lost power for several days during Hurricane Sandy. About 60% of the spending this year is for transmission investments, including a new high-voltage line between Manalapan and Hightstown. The company also plans a smart grid initiative in Morris County.
More: NJSpotlight
NORTH CAROLINA
Ash Spill Inundates Duke, DENR With Legal Action
An investigation of the Feb. 2 coal ash spill on the Dan River has mushroomed into a multifaceted probe of both Duke Energy and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, in the wake of allegations about too-friendly relationships and lax regulation. Duke and the DENR are dealing not only with cleanup work at the Dan River site, but also with subpoenas regarding other coal ash sites and a federal criminal probe of their relationship.
Gov. Pat McCrory, who worked at Duke for 28 years, denied Friday that he had had any involvement in the state’s decision to preempt environmental groups’ lawsuits by suing and settling with Duke itself, in what critics called a sweetheart deal. After the Feb. 2 ash spill, DENR asked a court to delay ruling on the settlement.
Subpoenas released last week order 18 state water-quality officials to testify before a federal grand jury on communications with Duke as well as any payments and gifts from the company. The DENR was subpoenaed for ash-related records on all 14 of Duke’s coal plant sites. Duke said it also received a subpoena.
More: News & Record; The Charlotte Observer; News & Observer
Duke Seeks 300 MW Solar Capacity, in Large Projects
Duke Energy is soliciting 300 MW of new solar capacity in its Carolinas and Progress territories, which it wants in service by the end of 2015. The solicitation, which would almost double Duke’s solar capacity in the state, allows flexibility to offer power and associated renewable energy certificates, and/or a turnkey arrangement in which Duke would take ownership. The request for proposals targets projects larger than 5 MW that are already in Duke’s transmission queue.
More: Duke Energy
Strata Solar Eyes Project Near Town of Fremont
Strata Solar, the largest solar developer in the state, might build a facility in Wayne County near Fremont, and has obtained an ordinance from Fremont that would allow it. A permit application has yet to be made, with details of the project, but Strata typically builds 5-MW farms on 40 to 50 acres.
More: The Wilson Times
County OKs Incentives for 750-MW Unit at Lee Site
Anderson County, South Carolina, officials approved the outline of an incentive plan for Duke Energy to build a 750-MW natural gas combined-cycle unit, of which North Carolina Electric Membership Corp. would own 100 MW. The plant would be at the site of Duke’s W.S. Lee Steam Station, where the company already plans to shut two existing coal-fired units and convert one to gas. Plans for the new unit are not final, and county officials have yet to vote on details of the incentives, which include 40 years of tax breaks.
More: Power Engineering
OHIO
Kasich Attacked on Ormet Closing
The closing of an Ormet aluminum factory, with its 700 jobs, last year has become a significant issue in the gubernatorial race as critics question whether Gov. John Kasich did what he could to get lower electricity rates for the plant from American Electric Power. Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Ed FitzGerald called on Kasich to support legislation granting the governor authority to override the Public Utilities Commission, which refused to increase the rate subsidy that Ormet had already been receiving. Kasich said it was not his place to “tell the PUCO what to do.”
More: The Columbus Dispatch
Consumer Groups Lose In $368M Refund Effort
The Ohio Supreme Court said American Electric Power does not have to refund customers $368 million for charges ruled improper in 2011. The ruling involves the court’s 2011 decision that AEP bills included improper charges. The consumer advocates and business group that challenged the charges did not ask initially for a stay of the charges. Had they done so, AEP would not have been allowed to collect until the legality of the charges had been determined, the high court ruled.
More: The Columbus Dispatch
FirstEnergy Sets $750M For System Improvements
FirstEnergy utilities in Ohio will spend a total of about $750 million this year for reliability and infrastructure projects, a significant increase over 2013’s expenditures.
Ohio Edison said it would invest more than $475 million, $344 million of it to be spent by FirstEnergy unit American Transmission Systems Inc., including the start of construction on a new 100-mile, 345-kV line from the Bruce Mansfield plant to the Cleveland area. Other Ohio Ed work includes new substations and enhanced remote-control technology, as well as ongoing vegetation management, which is common to all the FE utilities’ programs.
The Cleveland Electric Illuminating unit will invest about $176 million in a variety of projects, including new substations and installation of voltage regulating equipment. Toledo Edison will spend nearly $100 million on a new substation, upgraded transmission and distribution lines, additional transformers and more.
More: Ohio Ed; Cleveland Electric; Toledo Ed
New PUC Site Gives More Information for Shopping
The Public Utilities Commission introduced a website, Energy Choice Ohio, to help consumers shop for electricity and natural gas. To use the new site, which the PUC says is more interactive than a former site, customers must first determine what rate they are paying.
More: Columbus Dispatch
PENNSYLVANIA
Corbett Names Powelson To Another Term on PUC
Gov. Tom Corbett nominated Robert Powelson to another term on the Public Utility Commission, where he has been chairman since February 2011. Powelson’s leadership “has been crucial to developing our robust electric retail marketplace, which now is ranked number two in the nation,” Corbett said in the announcement. Powelson, whose current term expires April 1, was appointed to the PUC in 2008 by Gov. Ed Rendell.
More: Governor’s Office
PUC Opens Case to Study Variable-Rate Seller Rules
Flooded with complaints about extraordinary bill spikes in the recent extreme-cold events, the Public Utility Commission has opened an examination of rules governing variable-rate electric products. The PUC wants input on what information retail suppliers must disclose to customers, some of whom were shocked by bills that at least doubled and rates that were much higher than utility default rates.
More: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review; PUC
Proposal Would Revise, Update Net Metering Rules
The Public Utility Commission proposed changes to the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act to revise net metering and interconnection rules and reporting requirements. The changes include standards for qualification of large distributed generation systems as customer-generators; addition of a process for getting PUC approval for net metering alternative energy systems with nameplate capacity of 500 kW or greater and clarification of virtual net metering language.
More: PUC
VIRGINIA
NRC: North Anna Casks Can Stay in Place
Nuclear waste storage casks at Dominion’s North Anna nuclear plant that shifted during the 2011 central Virginia earthquake can stay where they are, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff said. The casks moved slightly but suffered no damage and are still spaced sufficiently apart, the company said.
More: Richmond Times-Dispatch
Dominion to Bid on Maryland Wind Lease
Dominion told the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management that it would bid in an auction to lease offshore wind development acreage off Ocean City, Md. The 80,000-acre lease site has potential for up to 1,450 MW, the company said. Dominion already won the bidding for 113,000 acres off the Virginia coast, and it said the Maryland acreage’s proximity to that leased area and to the port at Hampton Roads would offer economies of scale for development.
More: Dominion
APCo to Spend $50M On Transmission System
Appalachian Power plans a $50 million upgrade in Tazewell and Buchanan counties in western Virginia, with all work scheduled to be completed in 2017. Work involves building a new substation and improving others, adding a 138-kV line and upgrading another line to 138 kV.
More: Appalachian Power
WEST VIRGINIA
APCo Sets $80 Mil Project To Upgrade Southern Area
Appalachian Power will seek regulatory approval for an $80 million upgrade to transmission infrastructure in McDowell County in the southern part of the state, with work expected to be finished in 2017. The American Electric Power unit’s project includes removing some 88-kV transmission and upgrading other 88-kV lines to 138 kV.
More: Appalachian Power
