Variable Rate Ban in Effect
Regulators reaffirmed the state’s first-in-the-nation ban on variable rate electric contracts, which was approved earlier this year by the General Assembly and became law Thursday.
The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority ruling said the act’s language “is clear and unambiguous about variable pricing in residential contracts starting on and after Oct. 1, 2015.” Third-party electricity providers who offer the variable rate plans had claimed the language was unclear.
Consumer Counsel Elin Swanson Katz hailed the ruling as “a victory for consumers.” Katz was active in efforts to get the variable rate ban passed.
More: New Haven Register
DELAWARE
Calpine’s Garrison Energy Center Dedicated
Calpine’s Garrison Energy Center in Dover, a 309-MW combined-cycle power plant, was officially dedicated Thursday, though it has been up and running since June.
State officials hope the efficient power plant will help them achieve emission reduction targets set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan.
Calpine bought the rights to the gas-fired generating facility at the Garrison Oak Technology Park several years ago. The Dover City Council approved a $6 million bond issue for infrastructure improvements, and the state gave Calpine a $2.5 million grant to build a natural gas pipeline.
More: Delaware State News
ILLINOIS
ICC Greenlights Ameren Transmission Line
Construction on a 46-mile transmission line linking Peoria to Galesburg is slated to begin next year after Ameren Transmission won approval from the Commerce Commission.
Ameren’s transmission subsidiary plans to have the $150 million high-voltage line completed by 2018. MISO has also approved the line.
Ameren Transmission chairman and president Maureen Borkowski said the project will boost the state’s economy and create jobs. The project is one of three large new transmission lines being developed by Ameren Transmission as it expands infrastructure in the region.
More: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
INDIANA
IURC Hears IPL’s Rate Hike Request
Indianapolis Power & Light is asking the Utility Regulatory Commission for a $67.7 million rate increase, more than 10 times what the state’s consumer advocate says the utility needs.
IPL first made the request last December, but it was put on hold until Sept. 21 after the Office of Utility Consumer Counselor protested. The consumer advocate contends that the utility needs just $5.9 million to cover increasing maintenance costs and capital expenses to address the utility’s underground transmission faults that have been blamed for causing several dramatic fires and explosions.
The rate case is expected to drag on until next year.
More: Energy Manager Today
KENTUCKY
Paducah Eyes Selling Capacity into PJM
The Paducah Power System is exploring whether to sell surplus power into PJM.
The municipal power system’s board approved a $50,000 deposit for a study to be conducted by PJM. Board chairman Hardy Roberts says he hopes the power system will be able to sell excess capacity to markets in the RTO.
The capacity would come from its gas-fired peaking plant.
More: WLKY
MISSOURI
Utilities Urge AG to Take on Clean Power Plan
Electric utilities are pressuring state Attorney General Chris Koster to join a legal challenge to the Obama administration’s carbon emission regulations.
Representatives from Ameren Missouri, Kansas City Power and Light, Empire District Electric and groups representing the state’s municipal utilities and electric cooperatives sent Koster a letter Sept. 28 asking him to join other states that have mounted legal challenges to the regulations.
Koster is a Democrat running for governor next year. Many Democrats support the rules, which are opposed by the coal industry and utilities, both politically powerful constituencies in the state. EPA wants the state, which burns coal for 80% of its electricity, to reduce carbon emissions by 37% from 2012 levels.
More: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Eversource Fined $250K for Worker’s Death
The Public Utilities Commission has fined Eversource NH $250,000 for failing to repair a broken cross arm on a utility pole in Keene, where an employee of Keene State College was electrocuted while investigating a report of a low-hanging wire.
The PUC’s Safety Division found that the utility’s inspectors discovered the broken cross arm in January 2014, but it went unrepaired for three months before the death of Nathan L. DeMond, whose body was discovered in contact with the wire where it passed closest to the ground. The report said the company “failed to act in accordance with good utility practice” by not repairing the broken equipment promptly.
An Eversource spokesperson said the company has not yet decided if it will appeal the ruling.
More: New Hampshire Union Leader
Lower Eversource Rate Forecast for Winter
Eversource Energy is predicting a winter energy service charge of 10.39 cents/kWh, slightly lower than last year’s winter rate of 10.56 cents. The utility is not formally requesting a rate change at this time but is giving the Public Utility Commission a prediction of what it is likely to ask for in its formal filing in December. The new charge will be in effect from Jan. 1 to June 30.
“Constraints on natural gas supply into New England often drive up the cost of energy during winter months, and the region continues to experience higher energy prices compared to other areas of the country,” said Penni Conner, senior vice president and chief customer officer at Eversource.
More: New Hampshire Union Leader
Report: Room for Improvement in Storm Restoration Efforts
After six major storms in eight years, utilities have gotten better at restoring power, but there’s still room for improvement, according to a 100-page report by state regulators.
According to Public Utility Commission staff, Eversource, which has 70% of the state’s customers, was slow to deploy out-of-state restoration crews during a Thanksgiving storm in 2014, was hampered by weak weather forecasts and did not communicate effectively with its customers about likely restoration times.
Response to the Thanksgiving storm was complicated by holiday staffing issues, but the utilities had plenty of time to prepare, according to the PUC. The commission also expressed concern about inconsistencies in the weather forecasts among utilities.
More: New Hampshire Union Leader
NEW JERSEY
Opponents Decry Proposed PennEast Pipeline
Protesters opposing the PennEast natural gas pipeline took aim at the state’s biggest electric utility, Public Service Electric and Gas.
About three dozen protesters walked from the statehouse to PSE&G, a partner in the PennEast pipeline, demanding the project be killed. Among them was Democratic Assemblywoman Elizabeth Muoio.
PennEast said in a statement that construction of the 36-inch pipeline would have an estimated $1.6 billion positive economic impact and support about 12,000 jobs. The 118-mile pipeline would stretch from in Luzerne County, Pa., to near Mercer County. Affiliates of five gas distribution companies, mostly in the state, are the major customers.
More: The Associated Press
State Has Potential to Recover 4M Tons of Biomass
A Rutgers University study on bioenergy potential shows that the state produces 7 million dry tons of biomass annually, more than 4 million of which could be recovered and used to generate power, heat or vehicle fuel.
The report aimed to update 2007 feedstock and technology assessments and considered statewide waste and biomass resource by location, greenhouse gas reduction potential and policy recommendations.
According to the assessment, the recoverable biomass could generate up to 654 MW of power — 6.4% of the state’s electricity consumption. It also represents the equivalent of 230 million gallons of gasoline, or 4.3% of transportation fuel consumed in the state.
More: Biomass Magazine
NEW YORK
PSEG Allowed to Make Partial Tax Payment
The Nassau County Legislature unanimously approved a measure allowing PSEG Long Island to pay nearly $1.4 million less in property taxes than it was initially billed.
The legislature voted to allow the county treasurer to accept a one-time reduced tax payment from PSEG of $28.6 million instead of the $30 million it had been billed. The county is exploring options to collect the remaining amount, including litigation, officials said.
The Long Island Power Authority, which still owns power facilities operated by PSEG, had directed the utility to limit tax-bill increases to 2% because its lawyers said the state-approved LIPA Reform Act of 2013 caps tax hikes to 2% a year on company properties.
More: Newsday
NORTH CAROLINA
Duke Settles Coal Ash, Wastewater Issues with $7M Payment
Duke Energy agreed to a $7 million settlement with the state Department of Environmental Quality, concluding its troubles with state regulators over coal ash and groundwater violations.
The agreement, announced last week, represents a substantial reduction from the initial fine of $25.1 million. The company argued that the state failed to follow its own regulations when it imposed the fine without giving Duke a chance to respond.
The settlement calls for Duke to quicken the pace of cleanup at four of its 14 coal plants and ash-containment impoundments. The state estimates it will cost between $10 million and $15 million for those cleanup projects. Duke in February settled federal charges relating to coal ash with a $101.2 million payment.
More: The Charlotte Observer
State First in Southeast to Break 1-GW Solar Mark
The state became the first in the Southeast, and the fourth in the U.S. overall, to surpass 1 GW of solar capacity, according to a report from the NC Sustainable Energy Association. According to the report, the state follows California, Arizona and New Jersey to reach the 1-GW mark.
While the pace of solar installations has been high in the state, it will probably slow down. The General Assembly in September voted to end the state’s Renewable Energy Investment Tax Credit. The report said that the tax credit helped fund about $182.6 million in solar projects between 2007 and 2014.
The report also said that the clean energy industry in the state now counts about 1,200 companies employing 23,000 people and generates about $4.8 billion in annual gross revenues.
More: SmartGrid News
OHIO
Supreme Court Sets Hearing in Delayed Wind Farm Project
A dispute over the stalled Buckeye Wind Power Project in Champaign County will move forward after the state Supreme Court set Dec. 16 for oral arguments in the case.
The Power Siting Board approved the second phase of the project in May 2013, but nearby property owners and several local government entities appealed.
The project is split into two phases, the first of which was approved in 2010 but is still unbuilt. Combined, the two phases call for construction of about 100 turbines in several townships across rural Champaign County, generating 200 MW.
More: Dayton Daily News
Panel: State Should Halt March Toward Green Goals
Gov. John Kasich’s office said last week a recommendation from a state panel that it indefinitely continue its freeze on renewable and energy efficiency mandates is “unacceptable.”
The Republican-controlled Energy Mandates Study Committee released its report recommending that the state not resume its march any time soon toward achieving at least a quarter of its power from renewable and advanced technology sources.
Green energy advocates say the committee was stacked against renewable energy. Utilities like FirstEnergy, the Akron-based parent of Toledo Edison, have opposed the standards.
More: The Blade
PENNSYLVANIA
Andrew Place Takes Place on PUC
Andrew Place, former corporate director for energy and environmental policy at natural gas producer EQT Corp., was welcomed to his seat on the Public Utility Commission following his unanimous confirmation by the state Senate.
Place helped establish the Center for Sustainable Shale Development and worked at the state’s Department of Environmental Protection. He pledged to be “an unassailably independent voice” on the commission.
“Andrew’s unique background — blending work in academia, business and state government — will serve the commission well as we strive to ensure a continued balance between consumer and utilities,” PUC Chairman Gladys M. Brown said.
More: Public Utility Commission
VIRGINIA
Dominion’s $47 Million Solar Farm Gets State OK
A State Corporation Commission hearing examiner recommended that Dominion Virginia Power’s plan to build a solar farm near Remington is in the public interest and should receive a certificate of public convenience and necessity. The three-member commission must still approve it.
Dominion has said the solar facility, which will be the largest in the state, could be in operation by late 2016. The 20-MW facility in Fauquier County would tie into existing transmission lines.
More: Fauquier Now