SWEPCO Asks PSC to Deny Request for Attorney Fees
Southwestern Electric Power Co. asked the Public Service Commission to deny a request by Save the Ozarks to pay for legal expenses the organization incurred during its battle against a transmission line.
SWEPCO withdrew its power line application last month following a 20-month legal battle with the opposition group. SWEPCO says there is legal precedent to allow it to withdraw an application without prejudice, and that the PSC has no authority to award legal fees.
SWEPCO’s motion was joined by SPP and the Arkansas Electric Cooperative.
More: Lovely County Citizen
DELAWARE
Exelon CEO Complains About PSC Staff Report on Merger
Exelon called on the Public Service Commission to reject staff recommendations to place additional conditions on the company’s proposed merger with Pepco Holdings Inc., parent company of Delmarva Power.
The commission staff asked for a total of $68 million in incentives to allow the merger to go ahead in the state, Exelon said. CEO Christopher M. Crane said a “particularly inappropriate” recommendation was for the regulatory agency to “micromanage” appointments to the utility’s board of directors. Crane said Exelon “must have the ability to exercise control over its subsidiaries.”
Connie McDowell, PSC senior regulatory policy administrator, said that the PSC should look at staff’s recommendation requirements as “an essential ingredient” to commission approval. Without the additional incentives, she said, the commission should reject the merger.
More: The News Journal
ILLINOIS
Peoples Gas Wins Rate Hike from Commerce Commission
The Commerce Commission approved a $74.8 million rate increase for Peoples Gas, costing a typical residential customer about $2.75 more a month. The boost was about 30% less than the company’s original request.
Meanwhile, Ameren Illinois filed Friday for a $53 million increase in the annual gas delivery rate. That request, if approved, would go into effect January 2016.
More: Daily Journal; St. Louis Business Journal
INDIANA
Energy Efficiency Bill to Replace Energizing Indiana Passes Senate
The state Senate approved a bill that would allow utility companies to develop their own energy efficiency rules rather than be directed by a state mandate, as was done by a previous now-repealed law called Energizing Indiana.
The bill, crafted by Gov. Mike Pence’s office, was introduced by Sen. Jim Merritt. The proposal directs utility companies to set “reasonably achievable” efficiency goals. Critics said the rule would result in less aggressive energy efficiency efforts than utilities would achieve under a state mandate.
More: Indiana Public Media
KENTUCKY
Kentucky Power Ordered to Refund $13 Million in Overcharges
The Public Service Commission has ordered Kentucky Power to refund $13 million in overcharges to customers and barred the company from collecting $41 million in additional fuel costs that were scheduled to be collected through May.
The refund will appear as credits on customers’ bills and will total about $155 per customer over a 17-month period. The commission also criticized the company for failing to disclose additional fuel costs associated with its purchase of 50% of the Mitchell power plant in West Virginia and declined to allow the utility to raise rates to recover the cost.
More: The Republic
LOUISIANA
PSC Approves Entergy’s Baton Rouge Gas Main Upgrade
The Public Service Commission approved a $65 million plan by Entergy to replace aging natural gas cast-iron mains in Baton Rouge. Entergy said the project should take about a decade to complete.
The commission voted 3-1 to allow Entergy to finance the gas-main replacement program through a special rider. The surcharge would increase the typical residential customer’s bill by about 43 cents for the first year, $1.28 for the second year and $2.28 the third year, with increases of about 2% for each of the following years.
Entergy replaced about 300 miles of gas lines in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
More: The New Orleans Advocate
MARYLAND
Eastern Shore Firm Seeking Permits for Poultry Waste Plant
CleanBay Biofuels is seeking various permits to build and operate a poultry-waste recycling plant that would relieve farmers and processors from having to dispose of hatchery wastes. The so-called slurry conversion plant, planned for a 133-acre site near Princess Anne in Somerset County, would cost about $18 million and take two years to build.
Unlike plants that burn poultry litter to generate energy, the CleanBay process uses chemicals to convert the waste into fuel. The plant would have its own power station, according to CleanBay CEO Jason Levine.
More: DelmarvaNow
MICHIGAN
Bill Would Double Energy Efficiency Standards
A bill introduced by state Rep. Sam Singh would require electricity providers to cut annual energy sales 2% by 2019 by promoting energy efficiency, doubling the current goal.
“I’ve been a longtime advocate for energy efficiency because there is a direct benefit to the consumer,” Singh said. The current law, passed in 2008, sets an energy-reduction target of 1%. Natural gas providers would also have to trim 1.5% by 2019, which is also double the current target.
More: Lansing State Journal
MINNESOTA
Raising Renewable Standard Would Boost Capital Investment to $6.2 Billion
A study by the Union of Concerned Scientists suggests that raising the renewable energy standard to 40% by 2030 would boost capital investment in the state to $6.2 billion with minimal impact on consumers.
The report was released as part of an effort to push state legislators to pass a 40% standard. The state’s current standard sets a 25% goal by 2025.
The strengthened RES would create another 3,100 MW of renewable energy in Minnesota, the report said, while reducing electricity imports so much that the state would become a net power exporter.
More: Midwest Energy News
NEBRASKA
Vap Succeeds Landis as Public Service Commission Chair
Jerry Vap was elected chairman of the Public Service Commission last week, replacing Frank Landis. Vap said his priorities are broadband expansions, improvements to the 911 system and consumer-protection laws.
The PSC is comprised of five commissioners with six-year terms who each represent a district.
More: Omaha World-Herald
NEW JERSEY
BPU Approves JCP&L Transmission Project
The Board of Public Utilities has unanimously approved a 16-mile transmission line project proposed by Jersey Central Power & Light.
JCP&L said the $64 million project is crucial to improving the reliability of the electric system in Monmouth County. The line was previously approved by PJM. There was no public opposition to the project, possibly in part because it does not require any new rights of way.
More: NJSpotlight
NEW MEXICO
Another Group Pulls Out of San Juan Station Agreement
Western Resource Advocates, an environmental organization, is now the third group to withdraw its support for Public Service Company of New Mexico’s plan to shut down two of four units at the coal-fired San Juan Generation Station.
The environmental group announced it was pulling its support after learning that PNM Resources, parent company of Public Service, may buy 65 MW of generation from one of San Juan’s two remaining generation units. PNM’s plan to retire two of the units was intended to meet emissions mandates.
“If PNM Resources acquires that generation, it would mean PNM and its affiliate would actually be absorbing nearly 200 MW more of capacity in that generating unit, and that’s just too much for us,” said Steve Michel, chief counsel for Western Resources.
More: Albuquerque Journal
NORTH CAROLINA
Supreme Court Rejects AG’s Challenge of Duke Energy’s Rate Request
The state Supreme Court on Friday rejected Attorney General Roy Cooper’s challenge of a 5.1% Duke Energy rate increase approval, ending a two-year attempt by Cooper to block the rate increase.
Cooper, who is expected to run for governor in 2016 as a Democrat, argued that the Utilities Commission didn’t take into consideration the effect of a rate increase on Duke’s customers when it approved it. The ruling represented the third time in the last year that the Supreme Court rejected challenges to rate increases for a Duke subsidiary.
More: News & Observer
NORTH DAKOTA
3 Million Gallons of Brine Spill from Drilling Pipeline
Nearly 3 million gallons of salty wastewater from oil and gas drilling has spilled from a North Dakota pipeline, leaking into at least two streams, officials said. The brine leak was nearly three times the magnitude of any earlier spill.
A state Department of Health official said Summit Midstream Partners first noticed the spill in early January but didn’t give state officials a full account until last week. Dave Glatt, chief of the Department of Health’s environmental health section, said it was too soon to know the scope of the damage and said some earlier brine spills took years to clear up.
More: The Washington Post
OHIO
Kasich Gets 4 Nominees to Consider for PUCO Slots
The nominating committee of the Public Utilities Commission forwarded four finalists to Gov. John Kasich, who will choose one for a five-year term on the commission, subject to state Senate confirmation.
The candidates are Steven Lesser, a commissioner since 2010 who is seeking reappointment; Andre Porter, former PUCO commissioner and secretary of the state Commerce Department; Thomas Waniewski, Toledo city councilman and former state Public Works Commission member; and John Honabarger, a Verizon Communications executive. Lesser is a Democrat and the other three are Republicans.
Ohio law requires that one political party can hold no more than three seats on the five-member commission. There are currently two Republicans, one Democrat and two who are not members of either party, so Kasich, a Republican, can select any nominee regardless of party affiliation.
More: Columbus Business First
FirstEnergy’s Rate Plan Draws Angry Crowd
Opponents of FirstEnergy’s proposed plan to guarantee returns for its power plants dominated a five-hour hearing last week before the Public Utilities Commission.
The majority of the 78 speakers who testified said they thought FirstEnergy doesn’t deserve any ratepayer subsidies.
“Facilities like the Sammis coal-burning power plant are exactly the type of facilities we should be seeking to phase out, not facilities we should seek to keep going at full capacity for another 15 years by giving them special financial deals,” testified 16-year-old Hilary Vogelbaum, a Moreland Hills resident and a high school junior.
Labor leaders, two mayors and representatives of non-profit organizations that are supported by the company spoke out in favor of the proposal. PUCO is scheduled to vote on the plan later this year.
More: The Plain Dealer
PENNSYLVANIA
PPL, PUC Urge Supreme Court to Let Privacy Ruling Stand
PPL Utilities and the Public Utility Commission have asked the Supreme Court to uphold a lower court ruling that allows them to conceal the identity of a customer who got special treatment during an outage restoration effort in 2011.
PPL paid $60,000 to settle a PUC investigation into charges that a customer moved up the priority list during the outage restoration. The PUC denied the request of several news media outlets to release materials from the investigation. The state Office of Open Records ordered the file open. The Commonwealth Court reversed that decision. The media have appealed that ruling to the Supreme Court.
More: The Morning Call
SOUTH DAKOTA
Small Town Crowd Shows Interest in Pipeline Route
About 100 people turned out for a public meeting in Iroquois, population 250, to voice concerns and support for the proposed $3.8 billion, 1,134-mile Dakota Access crude oil pipeline.
Citizens asked the builders of the project, which would deliver North Dakota crude oil to a pipeline interconnection in Illinois, to pay more to compensate landowners for easements along its 272 miles through South Dakota.
Craig Walker, a farmer, suggested the company had set aside too little money to acquire rights of way. “That’s one of the reasons I came today, was to see how sharp your pencil was,” he said.
More: The Daily Republic
VIRGINIA
Appalachian Power Customers Getting SCC-Ordered Refund
Appalachian Power’s customers in Virginia will see a $5.8 million refund, thanks to a State Corporation Commission ruling.
The refunds will average about $1.11 a month for a typical residential customer, and will be paid in six monthly bill credits. The refund is derived from excess company earnings from 2012 to 2013.
More: WDBJ
WEST VIRGINIA
House, Senate Pass Bills Repealing States’ RPS
The House of Delegates and Senate voted to repeal the Alternative and Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard, a law that called for large utilities to generate 25% of their power from alternative sources by 2025.
The law that was repealed broadly defined “alternative sources” to include some coal- and natural gas-fired technologies, as well as those burning tires. City-owned utilities and cooperatives were exempt. But in the coal mining state, repealing the standard was seen as a move to benefit the coal industry, which is coming under increasing federal regulation and economic pressure.
“The purpose of the bill is, if we save just one coal miner’s job, it’s well worth it,” said Del. John Shott, a Republican.
More: Bradenton Herald
WISCONSIN
WPS Files to Build 400-MW Natural Gas Plant
It’s official: Wisconsin Public Service plans to construct a 400-MW, natural gas-fired combustion turbine combined-cycle power plant.
In filings with the Public Service Commission last week, the company said it is going forward with plans to build the $517 million Fox Energy Center plant near Kaukauna. The company announced its intentions last year, but its plan came under review during the proposed acquisition of its parent company Integrys by Wisconsin Energy.
“We have to make decisions for our customers and the best decision is to move forward,” spokesman Kerry Spees said. “The studies say this is the best thing to do to meet our needs in 2019. It’s the right site, it’s the right time, it makes great sense.”
More: Green Bay Press Gazette