Pennsylvania

Illicit Marketing Practices

State PUCs take aim at unscrupulous electric and gas suppliers.

We’ll cover state PUC rulings from New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Ohio, dealing with 1) billing overcharges, 2) deceptive promises of savings, 3) faulty enrollment practices, 4) “slamming,” 5) misleading sales scripts used in telemarketing, 6) hidden fixed charges, and 7) concealed pass-through clauses.

PPL CEO Interviewed

We went to Allentown and talked with Bill Spence.

What are the most exciting things happening at PPL? What were the biggest challenges in that journey? Were there some tough challenges you had to get through?

The Future of Retail Electricity Competition in Pennsylvania

Almost all large customers shop, but a majority of small customers remain on utility default service, which is regulated and relatively stable.

Given the polar vortex and data suggesting shopping customers pay more than those on regulated default service, the primary focus should be on consumer protection.

People (January 2016)

OGE Energy appointed Sean Trauschke as chairman of the board. CenterPoint Energy named Brad Tutunjian as v.p. of gas operations. NRG announced that Mauricio Gutierrez will become president and CEO. GridWise Alliance named Steve Hauser as CEO. And others ...

NRG Energy Enters into Agreements to Sell Two Generating Plants for $138 Million

NRG Energy agreed to sell two of its generating stations: the 525-MW Seward power plant in New Florence, Pennsylvania and the 352-MW Shelby County power plant in Neoga, Illinois. The Seward facility, which is located in the PJM Interconnection, is being acquired by Seward Generation, a Robindale Energy Services company. The Shelby County facility, which is located in the MISO Interconnection, is being acquired by an affiliate of Rockland Capital.

Talen Energy to Sell Three Pennsylvania Power Plants

Talen Energy agreed to sell three Pennsylvania power plants with a total combined generating capacity of 996 MW for $1.51 billion in gross cash proceeds, subject to customary purchase price adjustments. The 704-MW Ironwood plant is being sold to a subsidiary of TransCanada for a total purchase price of $654 million. The Holtwood and Lake Wallenpaupack hydroelectric projects, with a combined generating capacity of 292 MW, were sold to a subsidiary of Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners L.P. for $860 million.

Panda Power Funds Finances Coal-to-Natural Gas Power Conversion Project

Panda Power Funds financed the 1,124-MW Panda Hummel Station power plant, one of the largest coal-to-natural gas power conversion projects in the United States. The plant will be located at the site of the retired Sunbury coal-fired power plant near Shamokin Dam in Snyder County, Pennsylvania. The 400-MW, 65 year old plant was shuttered in 2014. The Panda Hummel generating station will be fueled with Marcellus Shale gas.

PPL Electric Utilities Seeks Approval for First Segment of Proposed New Transmission Line

PPL Electric Utilities, a subsidiary of PPL Corporation began the application and approval process for the first segment of Project Compass - a new transmission line proposed by PPL Electric Utilities. The first segment is a 95-mile, $500-million to $600-million line between Blakely, Pa., and Ramapo, N.Y. The proposed 345-kV line links the PJM Interconnection and the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO).

From Grid to Cloud

A network of networks – in search of an orchestrator.

The Energy Cloud will change the way we generate, store, and consume energy by changing from a one-way power flow to a dynamic network of networks supporting two-way energy and information flows.