News

Montana Says Federal GHG Rules Prohibit New Coal Plants

Submitted by aburr on Sat, 2013-06-01 13:55

The Montana Public Service Commission (PSC) told the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that it believes proposed rules restricting greenhouse gas emissions for new power plants would make it impracticable to construct any new coal-fired electric generation plant in the United States. The commission urged withdrawal of the EPA’s proposed carbon pollution standards under the Clean Air Act, noting that the EPA had recently delayed issuance of its draft New Source Performance Standards, first proposed in March 2012.

Nevada PUC Says Feds Don't Owe NV Energy Exit Fee

Submitted by aburr on Sat, 2013-06-01 13:53

The Nevada Public Utilities Commission ruled that a federal installation’s decision to switch from an investor-owned utility (IOU) to a nonprofit cooperative for its electric service didn’t invoke a state law that requires the payment of an exit fee when a large-volume customer switches electric service providers. The commission said the federal missile test site had never been included within NV Energy’s territory.

CPUC Revises DSM Programs on Extended SONGS Outage

Submitted by aburr on Sat, 2013-06-01 13:52

The California Public Utilities Commission has approved a series of revisions to the demand-side management (DSM) programs administered by San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and Southern California Edison (SCE). The authorized changes are aimed at increasing DSM contributions to help the utilities mitigate the effects of ongoing outages at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS).

S.C. Governor Orders PSC to Study Business Effects of Regulation

Submitted by aburr on Sat, 2013-06-01 13:51

The South Carolina Public Service Commission (PSC) announced that it will call for comments from the public regarding a mandate from a state regulatory review task force directing it to submit a report regarding PSC statutes, rules, regulations, and policies, and their effects on businesses and the South Carolina economy. In an executive order establishing the task force, Gov. Nikki R.

Pennsylvania Expands Access to Customer Account Data

Submitted by aburr on Sat, 2013-06-01 13:49

Responding to suggestions from its Office of Competitive Market Oversight (OCMO), the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission issued a tentative order seeking comments to guide its development of procedures needed for giving competitive electric generation suppliers quicker access to the customer account numbers of regulated utilities.

CPUC OKs Rate Hikes for SDG&E and SoCalGas

Submitted by aburr on Sat, 2013-06-01 13:48

The California Public Utilities Commission authorized two affiliated energy utilities, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and Southern California Gas (SoCalGas), to increase their rates and charges over the four-year period 2012 to 2015. The approved increases are retroactive to 2012, with SDG&E authorized to raise its rates by $123.4 million compared to its 2012 revenue requirement, and with SoCalGas allowed to collect an additional $84.8 million in rates over 2012 levels.

Court to NRC: Skip Additional Post-Fukushima Review for Vogtle

Submitted by aburr on Sat, 2013-06-01 13:46

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has ruled that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) wasn’t required to undertake a supplemental environmental impact statement (EIS) with respect to the proposed expansion of the Vogtle nuclear power plant in Georgia, despite the Fukushima Daiichi meltdown in 2011. The court stated that most of the lessons learned from the Fukushima experience pertained to public safety matters, which it said were clearly distinguishable from the environmental issues that EIS procedures are intended to address.

TC PipeLines Buys Into U.S., Canadian Gas Capacity

Submitted by aburr on Sat, 2013-06-01 13:43

TC PipeLines (TCP) (the Partnership) entered into agreements to acquire an additional 45 percent interest in each of Gas Transmission Northwest LLC (GTN) and Bison Pipeline LLC (Bison) from TransCanada Corporation for an aggregate purchase price of $1.05 billion. The GTN pipeline system transports Western Canadian and Rocky Mountain natural gas for large utilities, producers and marketers in Washington, Oregon, Nevada and California.

Federal Government Picks Siemens for 11.5-MW Wind Turbine Contract

Submitted by aburr on Sat, 2013-06-01 13:40

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) awarded a contract to Siemens to construct the federal government’s largest wind farm. The Pantex facility will consist of five 2.3-MW turbines on 1,500 acres of government-owned property east of the Pantex plant in Amarillo. Using an energy savings performance contract, Siemens will provide a turnkey wind farm system that includes a multi-year service, maintenance, and warranty agreement.