New England Supplies Deemed Adequate
New England electricity supplies should be sufficient to meet consumer demand this winter, but constraints on the region’s natural gas pipelines could pose a challenge to reliable fuel supplies for generators, according to ISO-NE. (See ISO-NE: Little Room for Error in Winter.)
The region will once again rely on the RTO’s Winter Reliability Program to incentivize oil-fired power plants and natural gas generators that can access liquefied natural gas to procure sufficient backup fuel before winter begins. “The program has been a key factor in our ability to keep the lights on the last two winters,” said Vamsi Chadalavada, executive vice president and chief operating officer of ISO-NE.
More than 45% of the total generating capacity in New England — about 13,650 MW — uses natural gas as its primary fuel. Natural gas generated 44% of the region’s power in 2014, up from 15% in 2000.
More: ISO-NE
CONNECTICUT
Regulators Grant Approval to CPV Towantic Plant
The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has issued the permits necessary for the 805-MW CPV Towantic Energy power plant to be built in Oxford.
DEEP officials said in a statement that the plant “will comply with some of the most stringent air pollution control requirements in the country and meet emissions limits designed to protect human health and the environment.” The CPV Towantic Energy power plant will operate primarily on natural gas, with the capability to use oil as a backup fuel.
The town of Middlebury and several property owners near the proposed site have challenged in court the Siting Council’s approval of the plant in May.
More: New Haven Register
Palmco Power CT Supplier Investigated
Palmco Power CT, a third-party electricity supplier for more than 3,500 residents, is being investigated by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority for alleged deceptive marketing practices, according to Consumer Counsel Elin Swanson Katz. PURA is scheduled to hold public hearings on the allegations next week, and Katz is encouraging customers who feel they were subjected to Palmco’s alleged intimidating marketing tactics to come speak.
Palmco has come under fire for charging some of the highest electricity rates in the state. The company has also been investigated by New York and New Jersey authorities for alleged improper practices. Katz said one New York settlement resulted in Palmco and its partners agreeing to pay more than $2 million in refunds to consumers in that state, plus a $200,000 state penalty.
“In aggregate, Palmco customers in Connecticut paid over $412,000 more than the standard service rate … in September alone,” Katz said. Palmco recently stopped marketing to new customers in Connecticut after the state outlawed variable-rate contracts for residential customers.
More: Hartford Courant
ILLINOIS
Officials to Probe Steep Cost of Chicago Gas Mains
State regulators are taking a deeper look at the escalating price tag on a gas main replacement program for Peoples Gas, an Integrys Energy Group subsidiary based in Chicago.
The Commerce Commission will formally investigate whether Wisconsin Energy Corp. and Integrys conspired to conceal the escalating costs in order to win approval of their merger into WEC Energy Group. In November, Attorney General Lisa Madigan accused the companies of withholding details on the cost of the gas main replacement program, which is now estimated to cost $8 billion.
“Our commissioners and staff believe the scope of this investigation is broad enough to ensure all instances of misrepresentations on this matter are properly adjudicated,” ICC Chairman Brien Sheahan said in a statement. He said the commission would aggressively oversee reforms of the gas main replacement program “and will ensure that customers do not bear any costs of program mismanagement.”
More: Midwest Energy News
MAINE
Utility Seeking Developer for State’s Largest Solar Project
Madison Electric Works, a municipal utility, is seeking proposals for a 4-MW solar project to be located in the Madison Business Park. The company would buy power from the bid winner at a fixed price for between 20 and 30 years and eventually purchase the facility.
The utility, which provides electricity to about 2,300 customers in the town about 40 miles north of Augusta, says the project would cost about $8 million and would be located on about 15 acres. It would be the largest solar project in the state after Bowdoin College’s 1.2-MW solar farm.
More: Portland Press Herald
Court Strikes Down Penobscot Wind Project
A proposed $100 million wind project lost its final appeal before the state’s highest court, ending a six-year battle over the public’s right to enjoy views unimpeded by wind turbines.
The Supreme Judicial Court upheld the Board of Environmental Protection’s rejection of the SunEdison project, consisting of 16 turbines generating 48 MW in an area designated for wind-power generation.
Regulators had to weigh two competing aspects of state law: a developer’s right to build a wind farm in a designated zone versus the public’s right to scenic vistas from nine nearby lakes.
More: Portland Press Herald
MARYLAND
PSC Orders BGE to Slash Opt-Out Charge in Half
The Public Service Commission ordered Baltimore Gas and Electric to reduce the monthly fee for residential and small commercial customers who opt out of smart meter installation from $11 to $5.50 in January. A one-time initial opt-out charge of $75 remains in effect.
The commission ruled the lower charge was more appropriate given the current opt-out levels of 4%, compared with the predicted 1% assumption.
BGE also must report quarterly on the collection of opt-out revenues and the costs for servicing customers who choose to stay with meters that must be manually read.
More: Maryland Public Service Commission
MASSACHUSETTS
Clean Energy Industry Experiences Growth Spurt
The state’s clean energy sector workforce grew by 12% this year to 98,900, its strongest growth since the state began tracking these jobs in 2010, according to a new report by the Clean Energy Center.
The publicly funded center that promotes clean energy says that the sector’s employment has grown consistently for five straight years, up 64% since 2010.
Employment growth occurred statewide this year, although in the western region jobs increased by only 2.7%. The sector now represents 3.3% of the state’s entire workforce, according to the report. Slightly more than half of the companies have 10 or fewer employees.
More: The Boston Globe
Power Interests Line Up Behind Imported Hydro
Canada’s hydropower companies and New England transmission developers are teaming up to persuade the state legislature to pass a bill to compel National Grid and Eversource Energy to enter into long-term contracts to buy Canadian hydropower.
The consortium includes Brookfield Renewable, Hydro-Quebec, Nalcor Energy, TDI New England, Emera and SunEdison.
The import contracts would likely be handed out through a competitive bidding process. However, there’s no guarantee that the price of the hydropower, including the costs of new transmission lines, would be cheaper than the market rates for electricity.
More: The Boston Globe
MICHIGAN
Consumers Energy Granted $130M Rate Increase
Consumers Energy’s electric rates went up on Dec. 1 after the Public Service Commission last month approved a 4.5% rate increase that will allow the utility to recover more than $130 million annually, including funding for a natural gas plant in Jackson.
Rates will retreat slightly next April after the utility retires seven coal plants. The utility originally requested an increase of $199 million.
More: MLive
MISSISSIPPI
Entergy Requesting to Cut Rates Again
Entergy Mississippi is poised to lower electric rates a second time this year because of falling natural gas prices, pending approval by the Public Service Commission.
Entergy collected an excess of $48 million for fuel costs in 2015, even after a $46 million rate cut went into effect in September, according to Mara Hartmann, an Entergy spokeswoman. Under state law, utilities must pass through increases or decreases of energy costs without a markup.
Under the proposal set to go into effect in February, the monthly bill of a residential customer using 1,000 kWh/month would drop from $100 to $93.
More: Associated Press
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Network Seeks to Limit Infrastructure Projects
The New Hampshire Community Rights Network, formed largely in reaction to major energy projects proposed in the state, has convinced a group of lawmakers to introduce a constitutional amendment that would grant cities and towns veto power over large-scale infrastructure projects.
The coalition consists mostly of communities that would host a portion of the Northern Pass hydroelectric project, the Kinder Morgan natural gas pipeline or industrial-scale wind turbines.
Constitutional amendments are a long shot under any circumstances, and this one faces an uphill battle, according to New Hampshire Union Leader columnist Dave Solomon.
More: New Hampshire Union Leader
Politicians Line Up Against Pipeline
Several top state politicians have lined up against a proposed Kinder Morgan natural gas pipeline, which would deliver Appalachian shale gas to New England. The list now includes the state’s Republican U.S. senator, both representatives in Congress and the Democratic governor.
Sen. Kelly Ayotte sent a letter to local officials in towns potentially affected by the Northeast Energy Direct proposal, telling them she will oppose the project before FERC. Gov. Maggie Hassan and U.S. Reps. Ann McLane Kuster, a Democrat, and Frank Guinta, a Republican, have also expressed opposition.
The 36-inch diameter pipeline would pass through about 80 miles of the state. Kinder Morgan re-routed the pipeline through the state after opposition formed along its original path through Massachusetts. (See Northeast Energy Direct Files for FERC Certificate.)
More: New Hampshire Union Leader
NEW MEXICO
Xcel Energy Expands in State with 42-Mile Line
Xcel Energy on Dec. 1 dedicated the first section of a new 42-mile transmission line that it says will improve the state’s power system. Xcel said the 230-kV line is the first step in a major expansion of the area’s new bulk electricity transmission network.
Xcel has also recently completed a 20-mile, 115-kV project in Lea County. Both projects include more than 250 miles of transmission and distribution lines and seven new substations.
More: Albuquerque Journal
NEW YORK
Adequate Winter Electricity Predicted in NYISO
NYISO said the state’s electric system has the capacity to meet demand for power and the necessary operating reserves during extreme cold weather conditions through the 2015-2016 winter season.
NYISO anticipates a peak load demand of 24,515 MW for the winter season, comparable to last winter’s peak of 24,648 MW. The state’s record winter peak was set in 2014, during polar vortex conditions that pushed load to 25,738 MW.
Installed generation capacity in New York state this winter amounts to 41,312 MW. Net external capacity purchases, plus projected demand response, guarantees that sufficient electricity is available in the event of unanticipated power plant outages, transmission outages or unexpected increases in power consumption, NYISO said. (See Diversity Helps NYISO, but Gas Still Rules.)
More: NYISO
Town Wants Buildings to Go Off-grid
The upstate town of Nassau has formed a committee to explore ways the town can install its own distributed power systems to disconnect municipal facilities from the area’s electric utility.
Supervisor David Fleming said the town suffers frequent outages during storms because of aging utility equipment. The initiative would not affect residential or commercial services, just municipal operations such as the highway garage and the transfer station. Fleming said the goal is to have all town services operate independent of the grid by 2020.
National Grid spokesman Patrick Stella said this was the first that the utility had heard that the town was contemplating removing itself from the electric grid. “We will be reaching out to the town to find out exactly what their needs are and how we can best meet them,” he said.
More: Times Union
OKLAHOMA
Advocates Criticize OG&E Solar Demand Charges
Solar advocates are criticizing Oklahoma Gas and Electric’s proposal to assess a demand charge on customers with rooftop solar installations as a way for the utility to protect its business model and to suppress the state’s fledgling solar market.
At a hearing before the Corporation Commission, a former Ohio regulator testifying on behalf of OG&E said the proposed tariff for new distributed generation customers was an attempt to make billing more transparent. He said it would ensure those customers pay the right amount of grid-connection costs.
The proposed tariff would affect 15 current customers. The utility proposes to charge distributed generation customers $2.68/kW of peak demand. Most households have peak usage of 6 to 8 kW, meaning the monthly charge would be $16 to $21 for a typical residential solar customer.
More: The Oklahoman
Commission Rejects OG&E Environmental Compliance Plan
After five months of deliberation, the Corporation Commission voted 2-1 to reject Oklahoma Gas and Electric’s application for preapproval of $1.1 billion in environmental compliance and replacement generation costs. The proposal would have increased residential customer bills 15 to 19% by 2019.
The commissioners voting against the proposal said OG&E hadn’t provided enough information to allow preapproval of its application.
OG&E wanted permission to begin charging customers for $700 million in upgrades needed to meet federal Regional Haze and Mercury and Air Toxics Standards. It also wanted preapproval to spend about $400 million to replace its aging Mustang natural gas plant in western Oklahoma City.
More: The Oklahoman
PENNSYLVANIA
HIKO Energy Fined for Deceptive Practices
HIKO Energy must issue $2 million in customer refunds, pay a $1.8 million civil penalty, give $25,000 to electric distribution companies’ Hardship Fund and modify its marketing practices, the Public Utility Commission has ordered.
The penalties stem from “deceptive actions” following the polar vortex in the winter of 2013-14.
The company previously refunded $159,000 to customers it had overcharged after having promised to give them rates lower than their utility’s standard offer.
More: Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission; The Philadelphia Inquirer
RHODE ISLAND
Solar Development Conditions Eyed in Cranston
In response to public concerns about a proposed solar project, Cranston local officials have proposed an ordinance that would create “performance standards” for large-scale solar projects that would regulate noise, soil removal and decommissioning after the project’s useful life ends.
The developer of a proposed project, RES America Development, has promised that the solar farm will meet all of the conditions spelled out in the ordinance, although the legislation has not yet been enacted. RES proposes to lease land now mostly planted for corn to erect the solar farm.
More: Providence Journal
TEXAS
Lawsuit Seeks Decision on Power Plant, Refinery Permits
Four environmental groups are suing the state to force it to approve or deny long-delayed air pollution permit applications at five refineries and three power plants. By failing to issue permits, the Commission on Environmental Quality is keeping the public from knowing how much pollution the companies are putting into the air, said Ilan Levin, spokesman for the Environmental Integrity Project.
The lawsuit says TCEQ is supposed to rule on permits within 18 months, but the commission has failed to approve permits submitted as long as six years ago. The Environmental Integrity Project is joined in the lawsuit by the Sierra Club, Air Alliance Houston and the Texas Campaign for the Environment.
Three coal-fired power generators were listed as defendants in the lawsuit: American Electric Power’s Welsh plant in East Texas, Luminant’s Oak Grove plant in Central Texas and the Sand Creek plant near Waco.
More: Houston Chronicle
VIRGINIA
Dominion’s Plan for James River Transmission Towers Criticized
Concerned over a dwindling sturgeon population, environmentalists are opposing Dominion Resources’ plan to erect 17 transmission towers in the James River.
Dominion says the transmission line and the towers are needed because new federal emissions restrictions are forcing the company to close two coal-fired plants in Yorktown. Without the transmission line, the utility says it may have to conduct rolling blackouts during usage spikes.
The Army Corps of Engineers is in the final phase of deciding whether the proposal should move forward.
More: The Washington Post
WISCONSIN
PSC Grants Xcel Fixed Charge Increase Amid Criticisms
The Public Service Commission will allow Xcel Energy to increase its fixed monthly customer charge from $8 to $14. Xcel had sought an $18 monthly charge.
The moves comes a year after the PSC approved similar increases for We Energies, Madison Gas and Electric and Wisconsin Public Service, and just a month after the commission boosted the monthly fixed-rate fee for WPS customers from $19 to $21.
More than 500 commenters filed objections to the rate hike with the commission. The state is approving increases in utility fixed-rate charges at “exceptionally higher” rate than the regulatory agencies of other states, Tyler Huebner, executive director of the advocacy group RENEW Wisconsin, said in a statement.
More: Midwest Energy News