Judge Hears Arguments on Gas System Expansion Lawsuit
A Superior Court judge this week heard arguments as to why he shouldn’t allow a lawsuit against the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) to go forward. The Connecticut Energy Marketers Association, which represents the fuel oil industry, sued DEEP last fall, saying the agency failed to do a full environmental assessment of a plan that allows natural gas companies to expand their networks.
That plan would allow 300,000 homes to switch to natural gas for heating, as opposed to fuel oil. The state Attorney General’s office filed a motion to have the suit thrown out, saying the proper target should be the utilities, not the state. The gas expansion program was approved by the Public Utilities Regulatory Agency in 2013.
More: New Haven Register
DELAWARE
DEMA Distributing Potassium Iodide Pills to Residents near Artificial Island
The state Emergency Management Agency next week will distribute potassium iodide tablets to residents who live within 10 miles of the nuclear stations on Artificial Island, across the Delaware River in New Jersey. The tablets are an in case of an emergency to limit radiation absorption in the event of an incident at the Salem or Hope Creek generating stations.
More: WBOC-TV
INDIANA
Duke Gives $1 million for Battery Storage Research Center
Spurred by a settlement reached on cost overruns at its Edwardsport gasified coal plant, Duke Energy is contributing $1 million to fund research at the Battery Innovation Center, which is developing ways to incorporate battery storage into small solar and wind facilities. Part of the money will go toward installing battery storage systems at two schools.
Battery storage is seen as one part of the answer to a problem experienced by solar and wind facilities: what to do with extra electricity generated by the facilities in times of low demand? If a workable way is found to store the energy for use when demand is higher, it would make renewable energy that much more valuable.
“Technology that can store energy is a way to advance renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, which are clean, but not always available when power is needed,” Duke Energy Indiana President Doug Esamann said.
More: Charlotte Business Journal; Duke Energy
IOWA
Outgoing IUB Member Criticizes Gov. for Pushing Her Out
Utilities Board member Sheila Tipton criticized Gov. Terry Branstad for removing her, saying he was pandering to utilities and making the move to “appease MidAmerican Energy.” Tipton recently voted to require MidAmerican to use some of its $280 million wind energy proceeds to offset customer rates. Tipton, who used to represent MidAmerican in her private legal practice, said the governor’s decision to remove her from the board and demote the chair, Elizabeth Jacobs, was a “disservice to the citizens of this state.”
“Administrative agencies, including the Iowa Utilities Board, are intended to be independent and not subject to political pressures or threats of retaliation,” she wrote in a letter to Branstad, hand-delivered on March 18. “Yet, in replacing me and demoting Chair Jacobs, the message being sent to the board and its staff is to get in line and approve anything that the utilities, particularly MidAmerican, bring to it.” Before his election to governor, Branstad was a MidAmerican board member.
More: The Des Moines Register
MARYLAND
Higgs’ PSC Nomination Stalls as Session Ends with no Action
The state Senate Executive Nominations Committee ended its final meeting of the legislative session without acting on the nomination of Republican Michael Higgs to the Public Service Commission. A spokesman for Gov. Larry Hogan said the governor had asked that action on the nomination be delayed until the commission had decided on Exelon’s proposed acquisition of Pepco Holdings Inc. But some senators have raised concerns about several off-color messages Higgs posted on a since-deleted Twitter account about Hillary Clinton and “illegal alien immigrants.” Higgs told the Washington Post that the old messages didn’t undermine his ability to serve on the commission.
More: The Washington Post
NEW JERSEY
PSE&G, BPU Staff, Rate Counsel Reach Settlement on Efficiency Plan
Public Service Electric and Gas has reached a settlement with the staff of the Board of Public Utilities and the Division of Rate Counsel to spend $95 million on energy efficiency programs. The utility’s program allows for institutions, non-profits and multifamily housing units to apply for grants and no-interest loans to install energy efficiency devices to allow for savings on their bills.
The settlement allows PSE&G to recover the $95 million, along with $12 million in associated administrative and technology costs, from ratepayers through an adder on electric and gas bills. The typical residential customer would see electric bills increase by about 40 cents a year and gas bills by about 64 cents a year. The utility originally asked for approval for $109.8 million but reached the lower number through the settlement. The agreement still needs the approval of the full board.
“It’s a reasonable price for the services they will deliver,’’ Rate Counsel Director Stefanie Brand said.
More: NJ Spotlight
NORTH DAKOTA
XTO Seeking Pass on Gas Flaring Rules
XTO Energy is asking that 140 of its oil wells be exempted from rules prohibiting gas flaring because it can’t deliver the gas to a processing facility. It says the company that was to process the gas, a byproduct of drilling, was unable to secure an easement necessary to build a 20-mile pipeline to collect and deliver the gas to its processing plant.
The Industrial Commission’s Oil and Gas Division received the request last week and forwarded it to the full commission for a ruling. OneOK, the gas processing company, said the pipeline would have moved 40 million cubic feet per day. XTO is asking for the gas-flare exemption until 2016, when a different processing facility will be ready to accept the gas.
More: The Bismark Tribune
OHIO
Johnson Announces Resignation as Head of PUCO
Public Utilities Commission Chairman Tom Johnson announced this week that he would step down as head, but he will serve the rest of his term as commissioner, until 2019. Johnson sent a letter to Gov. John Kasich, citing personal reasons for stepping down. While he only headed the PUCO for a year, he oversaw a controversial decision denying American Electric Power’s request to receive ratepayer-guaranteed profits for one of its Ohio coal-fired plants. That was seen as a crucial ruling, as it was the first of a salvo of similar requests from AEP and FirstEnergy before the commission.
Johnson will remain as chair until a replacement is found. State energy watchers suspect the likely candidate is Andre Porter, the state Director of Commerce who returned to PUCO last month.
More: Columbus Business First
PENNSYLVANIA
DEP Schedules Hearing for Shell Petro Project in Beaver County
A petrochemical project proposed for Beaver County by Shell Chemical took a step forward this week when the state Department of Environmental Protection scheduled a public hearing for May. Shell wants to build a facility to crack ethane and make polyethylene pellets for the plastics industry on the site of a former zinc smelter near Pittsburgh.
The project includes a 250-MW natural gas-fired power plant primarily for on-site use, but about 100 MW of the plant’s output would be available for PJM capacity through a Duquesne Light interconnection.
More: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Power Engineering
PPL Asks PUC to Approve $167.5 Million Rate Hike
PPL Electric Utilities is asking the Public Utility Commission to allow it to increase its electric rates 6.9%, for a total of about $167.5 million. The PUC granted PPL a 3% hike two years ago, allowing an increase of $71 million in revenue.
The rate hike covers distribution, not supply charges, which went up 8.5% beginning March 1 in a separate rate increase. The average customer’s monthly bill would increase by $10, to about $157.60. PPL Electric President Greg Dudkin said the majority of the hike would go toward system reliability improvements. The PUC has not yet scheduled public hearings on the request.
More: The Morning Call
Compiled by Ted Caddell