Seeking Lower Bills Could Come At Cost
Customer advocates are warning that Chicago-area electricity customers seeking respite from a looming ComEd rate hike may find themselves paying even more.
The Citizens Utility Board is reporting that some alternative electricity suppliers are talking customers into plans that include higher rates. CUB spokesperson Jim Chilsen said Illinois’ electricity market “has become more expensive, confusing and treacherous.” He said CUB is seeing a spike in complaints from customers who thought they were signing up for a plan with rates lower than ComEd’s coming rates, only to find themselves locked into plans charging as much as 15 to 35 cents per kilowatt hour, compared to ComEd’s 7.6 cents.
“Illinois’ electricity market has become a buyer-beware market, and we just want consumers to look for red flags of rip-offs and be on the alert,” Chilsen said.
More: CBS Chicago
FutureGen Pipeline Route Approved by ICC
The Illinois Commerce Commission has approved a 28-mile planned pipeline to carry carbon dioxide from the proposed FutureGen coal-fired plant in Meredosia to wells near Jacksonville. The innovative carbon-capture project will be a showcase for that method of controlling greenhouse gases.
Although the commission approved the pipeline route, the FutureGen project still depends on further federal approvals for the entire $1.68 billion project. The project would inject 1.1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide a year.
More: The Southern
INDIANA
Regulators Give OK ForNew Gas Plant, Refits
The Indiana Regulatory Commission approved Indianapolis Power & Light’s plans to build a 650-MW combined cycle plant and convert two coal-burning units to natural gas.
IPL will retire six coal-fired units at Eagle Valley Generating Station near Martinsville and invest $631 million to build the gas-fired plant there.
The company also received approval to spend $36 million to retrofit two coal-fired units at the Harding Street plant in Indianapolis to natural gas. IPL said the projects will create 660 construction jobs and 25 permanent jobs.
The plan drew criticism from environmentalists. “Instead of jumping from one expensive and unsustainable fuel to another,” said Sierra Club representative Jodi Perras, “IPL should be investing in more wind, solar and energy-efficiency solutions that will put our city on a cleaner and stronger path.”
More: Indianapolis Business Journal
MARYLAND
O’Malley Vetoes Wind Turbine Moratorium
Gov. Martin O’Malley vetoed a 13-month ban on the construction of wind turbines within 56 miles of U.S. Naval Air Station Patuxent River. The bill called for a delay of construction until studies could show what effects the turbine towers could have on the radar at the base.
But O’Malley said it sent a “chilling message” to developers of renewable energy. “There are already safeguards in place to ensure that no renewable energy projects conflict with military facilities — those safeguards render this bill unnecessary,” O’Malley said in a statement.
Bill supporter Del. John Bohanan said the bill showed the legislature’s support of service members and the base. “I am disappointed by a veto that protects [wind] investors over the job security concerns of Maryland families who work at Pax River Naval Air Station,” Bohanan wrote in a statement. The base is a large employer in the area.
Lawmakers would need a three-fifths vote in each chamber to override the veto and would have to come back in a special session to do so.
More: The Washington Post
NORTH CAROLINA
Gov. McCory’s Ash Bill Hits Senate, Draws Critics
A bill that would require Duke Energy to file cleanup plans for four of its ash ponds and shorten incident-reporting times is being criticized as being too lenient. The bill, proposed by Gov. Pat McCrory, calls for Duke to file cleanup plans within 60 to 90 days for four plants — Riverbend near Charlotte, Sutton in Wilmington, Asheville and the Dan River facility, scene of this year’s massive coal ash spill. But the bill doesn’t set specific timelines for any of Duke’s other ash ponds.
Some see McCrory’s bill as being too easy on Duke. “This bill is a rehashing of the discredited sweetheart deal Duke Energy struck with the state last year and only requires what Duke Energy has already conceded in public statements,” said D.J. Gerken, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center.
The bill would also eliminate a law that let Duke protect secret records about its ash dams and emergency action plans.
More: The Charlotte Observer
PENNSYLVANIA
Two Permits Issued For Trash-to-Steam
The state Department of Environmental Protection last week issued two permits for a proposed waste-to-steam plant in Center City, Allentown.
The project, proposed by Delta Thermo Energy of Bucks County, received an air quality plan approval and waste management permit. Delta Thermo wants to build a 4-MW plant on Kline Island that will turn garbage and wastewater treatment sludge to steam. It will be built next to the city’s wastewater treatment plant on Little Lehigh Creek.
