Don Pedro Reservoir Scheduled For Major Refurbishment in 2017
The Don Pedro Reservoir hydrofacility is scheduled for three major refurbishment projects in its Power Tunnel in 2017, costing an estimated $7 million.
The work will be completed in two phases, each taking about 45 days. The first phase, which will begin before the irrigation season in February, includes the bulkhead gate installation and turbine shutoff valve replacements. The second phase, which is anticipated after the irrigation season in October, includes the fixed wheel gate installation.
The Turlock Irrigation District is hoping to operate the dam for another 50 years after the refurbishments, Assistant General Manager of Power Supply Administration Brian LaFollette said.
More: Turlock Journal
SoCalGas Wants to Pump Natural Gas Again After Aliso Canyon Leak
With investigations still pending and wells still shut down, Southern California Gas asked state regulators last week for permission to pump pressurized natural gas again — about one year after the largest methane leak in U.S. history at the Aliso Canyon storage field.
Citing “extensive physical upgrades” and “advanced technologies,” the gas company is seeking permission to resume operations northeast of Los Angeles, at a depleted oil field now used for storage.
State environmental regulators anticipate it will take weeks to decide upon the utility’s request, as state inspections at the field are still pending and utility regulators also must agree with reopening the field.
More: Los Angeles Times
Option of Up to 100% Renewable Energy Coming to Bay Area Residents
First Solar will sell energy to Bay Area residential customers who are seeking up to 100% renewable energy under a deal with community choice aggregator Marin Clean Energy.
The energy will come from First Solar’s Little Bear project in Fresno County, scheduled for construction in 2019, with commissioning expected in 2020. In the beginning, the project will generate up to 40 MW, with plans to eventually expand to 160 MW.
Customers who opt out can receive Pacific Gas and Electric’s standard service, which is currently 30% renewable.
More: The Business Journal
CONNECTICUT
PURA Commissioners Elect Katie Dykes as Chair
Katie Dykes was elected last week as chair of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority by its commissioners. She fills the position left vacant by Arthur H. House, who was appointed by Gov. Dannel Malloy in October to become the state’s new chief cyber security risk officer.
Malloy appointed Dykes as a PURA commissioner on Oct. 27. She previously served as deputy commissioner of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Dykes currently serves as chair of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative’s board of directors and represents Malloy on the board of managers of the New England States Committee on Electricity.
More: Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection
IDAHO
Group Uses Defunct Guideline To Protest Tx Line Route
A group called the Gateway West Task Force filed a protest last week against the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s preferred route for the Gateway West transmission line in Cassia and Power counties based upon a federal guideline on sage grouse that is no longer in effect.
The interim guideline prohibited construction near sage grouse habitat on federal land, said attorney Doug Balfour, who represents the group. The now-irrelevant guideline pushed transmission routes onto private land, which affected 40 private landowners in Cassia County, Balfour said.
Since 2015, the state has had its own sage grouse conservation plan that permits the group’s proposed construction route. Although the BLM rejected the group’s preferred route through Cassia and Power counties three years ago, it now has a responsibility to re-evaluate its decision based upon the new information, Balfour said.
More: Times-News
KENTUCKY
LG&E/KU Propose Rate Hike For Funding Advanced Meters
A proposal last week by Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities that would give customers new advanced electric meters comes with a rate hike that would boost LG&E’s electricity service revenue by 8.5% and KU’s revenue by 6.4%.
LG&E’s typical residential electric customers would see a rate hike of $9.65/month, while KU’s would see a $7.16/month increase.
The advanced meters would allow customers to get near real-time information on their energy use, while allowing the utilities to better detect power disruptions and make faster repairs, LG&E/KU spokeswoman Natasha Collins said.
More: Courier Journal
MAINE
Mohegan Island Group Wants Wind Project to Move Elsewhere
A group of Mohegan Island residents is asking developers to move construction of two 600-foot wind turbines — planned for 3 miles offshore — elsewhere.
The Legislature and the Public Utilities Commission already approved the project, and developer Maine Aqua Ventus anticipates construction will begin in 2019 and the generation system will be in service for the next 20 years.
Travis Dow, a spokesman for the newly formed group, Protect Mohegan, said many of the island’s 50 year-round residents were unaware of the project’s potential scope and timeline when it was approved.
More: Maine Public Radio
MASSACHUSETTS
Solar Project Underway At Hancock Shaker Village
Three separate solar arrays presently being installed on the grounds of Hancock Shaker Village could supply electricity into the Eversource Energy power grid beginning in 2017, while keeping with the living museum’s ideal of environmentally sound use of land.
The project, a partnership between Syncarpha Solar and Renewable Energy Massachusetts, consists of a 1-MW array on the Pittsfield side of the historic village and two 2-MW facilities in Hancock. It will serve customers throughout Western Massachusetts.
The project will provide lease income to Hancock for up to 30 years, while enabling residents of the Berkshires who are Eversource customers to buy net metering credits at a discount.
More: The Berkshire Eagle
MARYLAND
Tree Trimming Cuts BGE Power Outages by 35%
Baltimore Gas and Electric is crediting a new tree-trimming protocol for its 10,500 miles of overhead power lines with reducing power outages by 35% during the past four years.
The Public Service Commission’s adoption of new electric reliability standards in 2012 prompted BGE to remove more branches that overhang power lines and make other changes aimed at reducing outages.
More: The Baltimore Sun
MINNESOTA
Minnesota Power Asks for Both Immediate and Future Rate Increases
Minnesota Power is asking state regulators to approve an immediate 8% rate increase for homeowners effective Jan. 1 and a future increase of 10% after a 12- to 18-month contested case hearing process.
The utility said it needs the money to recover hundreds of millions of dollars it invested in its infrastructure in recent years, which includes monies for storm recovery and to “harden” its portion of the grid against extreme weather, and converting from a 95% coal-generated system to a 30% renewable system, Amy Rutledge, Minnesota Power spokeswoman, said.
Residential customers are paying 35% less than what it costs to get electricity into their homes, Minnesota Power officials concluded after a recent study.
More: Forum News Service
NEBRASKA
South Sioux City, Big Ox Reach Agreements on Sewage Odors
Officials from South Sioux City and Big Ox Energy reached several agreements last week addressing strong sewage odors that forced residents of 15 homes in a five-block area to take refuge in hotels.
Big Ox converts organic waste into methane gas and shares sewer lines with the affected homes.
Among the agreed-to items, Big Ox will shut down its wastewater reception, hire an engineering firm to develop and present a plan to the city to ensure that the problem is not repeated, and provide financial support for impacted residents.
More: Sioux City Journal
NEW JERSEY
ACE Customers See Rate Drop Courtesy of Most-Favored Clause
Atlantic City Electric’s half-million customers can thank utility regulators in D.C. for a drop in their electric rates.
In 2015, the state approved Exelon’s acquisition of Pepco Holdings Inc., ACE’s parent. The deal, which provided $62 million in credits for ACE customers, also included a most-favored-jurisdiction provision that ensured state ratepayers would receive equal benefits to those negotiated in other states or the district.
The D.C. Public Service Commission negotiated a more lucrative agreement for district residents, forcing Exelon and PHI to add more than $53 million in benefits in New Jersey. The state Board of Public Utilities approved the revised agreement last week.
More: NJ Spotlight
PSE&G Reaches Agreement for Solar Arrays on Brownfields
Public Service Electric and Gas has reached a tentative agreement with state regulators to build 33 MW of solar arrays costing about $80 million on brownfields and old garbage dumps — a smaller-scale version of its original proposal to spend $275 million to build 100 MW of solar facilities.
The state Board of Public Utilities still needs to approve the tentative agreement, which was reached with its staff, the Division of Rate Counsel and other parties after months of negotiations.
Gov. Chris Christie’s administration supports using former garbage dumps and brownfields as sites for solar farms, rather than undeveloped farmland and open spaces. But consumer advocates, including the Rate Counsel, have voiced concerns about allowing a regulated utility to pass the development costs to utility customers.
More: NJ Spotlight
NORTH CAROLINA
Duke Implodes Dan River Steam Station
Duke Energy imploded the long-shuttered Dan River Steam Station in the final days of October — putting an end to the 276-MW plant where a 2014 coal ash spill led to new state laws and Duke’s guilty plea to federal Clean Water Act violations.
The company used explosives to implode the powerhouse, three boilers and an electrostatic precipitator.
The plant was shut down in 2012, but in February 2014, a storm water pipe running under its main coal ash pond collapsed, sending 39,000 pounds of coal ash into the Dan River. The state adopted the Coal Ash Management Act that summer, and in May 2015, Duke pled guilty to nine misdemeanor violations of federal environmental laws and was fined $102 million.
More: Charlotte Business Journal
NORTH DAKOTA
PSC May Fine Dakota Access for Delayed Notification of Cultural Find
The developer of the Dakota Access Pipeline is facing a possible fine for failing to notify state regulators for 10 days about the discovery of Native American artifacts in the pipeline route.
Dakota Access, a subsidiary of Energy Transfer Partners, was required under its permit to notify the Public Service Commission and to receive its clearance to proceed with construction. It did, however, notify the state Historic Preservation Office and rerouted the pipeline in coordination with the state archaeologist.
The commission can issue a fine of $10,000 per day per violation, or a maximum of $200,000.
More: The Bismarck Tribune
OHIO
FirstEnergy, NOPEC Contract Battle May Impact 500,000 Customers
FirstEnergy Solutions and the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council (NOPEC) are embroiled in a court battle over changing their long-standing contract. The 500,000 customers that NOPEC represents may lose discounts, but not electricity, as a Jan. 1 switch to a new supplier looms.
Last week, FirstEnergy argued in documents before the Summit County Common Pleas Court that it could not afford the regular fees that it agreed years ago to pay NOPEC. It additionally is seeking to prevent NOPEC from cashing a multimillion-dollar letter of credit that it issued at the start of the companies’ relationship.
If the contract is dissolved, customers would shift to buying power from Ohio Edison or the Illuminating Co. NOPEC will probably have a new supplier within 60 days, said Chuck Keiper, NOPEC’s executive director.
More: The Plain Dealer
UTAH
Rocky Mountain Power’s Subscriber Solar Program 95% Sold Out
Rocky Mountain Power’s Subscriber Solar program is 95% sold out, with residential and business customers purchasing nearly 20 MW of solar power scheduled to come online in 2017.
The utility anticipates that the last few blocks of power will be sold within two weeks. The plant, near Holden, allows customers to use solar energy without installing solar panels.
More: Deseret News
VERMONT
Wind Farm Vote Money Legal, But Residents Still See It as Bribe
The state Attorney General’s Office has found that a developer’s promise of direct payments to Grafton and Windham residents if they approve an industrial wind farm on Nov. 8 does not violate election laws. But some residents see it as an outright bribe.
For the past four years, Iberdrola Renewables has wanted to construct 16 turbines in Windham and eight in Grafton.
The idea of payments — an estimated $1,162/year to full-time adult residents of Windham and $428 for Grafton residents — came from residents, the company’s representatives said.
More: Burlington Free Press
VIRGINIA
Regulators Propose Fining Dominion $260K for 2 Oil Spills
State regulators proposed last week fining Dominion Virginia Power about $260,000 for a 13,500-gallon oil spill in Crystal City and a 9,000-gallon oil spill in Staunton — both of which polluted public waters in January.
A consent order is out for public comment for 30 days, and the State Water Control Board is expected to hear the matter at its December meeting, Department of Environmental Quality spokesman Bill Hayden said. Because of the spills, Dominion was required to monitor its wells for the last two weeks of October and must do so again during the last two weeks of January 2017.
According to Dominion, about 11,120 gallons of oil were recovered from the first spill, and all but 100 gallons were recovered from the second.
More: The Washington Post