Entergy Mississippi to spin off its transmission business to ITC; Calpine acquires Bosque Power merchant plant in Texas; WPS acquires Fox Energy plant; E.On buys interest in Magic Valley wind farm; plus bond issues by Nstar, Western Mass. Electric, Texas Eastern Transmission, Alabama Power, and NSP totaling $1.55 billion.
ConEd, public safety, and the regulatory response.
Last summer’s union lockout at Consolidated Edison raised novel legal and regulatory questions that remain unresolved. Organized labor can strike, and management can respond, but do state utility commissions have authority to end a lockout that threatens service?
Could carbon taxes emerge in the election aftermath?
Since Obama won reelection, we must ask whether we’d rather have EPA cracking down on carbon emissions, or whether a legislated framework would be better for everyone.
The electricity price increases from the proposed EPA Utility MACT will act as a regressive tax on the elderly.
Although EPA claims its tough new clean air regulations will improve public health, in fact they’ll measurably degrade the health of Florida seniors.
Tennessee Valley Authority named William D. Johnson president and CEO. Northeast Utilities appointed James W. Hunt as v.p. of regulatory affairs and community relations. Pepco Holdings Inc. promoted Donna J. Kinzel to v.p., treasurer and chief risk officer, Kevin M. McGowan to v.p., regulatory affairs, and O. Ray Bourland to v.p., public policy. And others...
Securitization fails the test for financing environmental capex.
Utilities seeking financing for environmental upgrades should look to the markets for debt and equity, rather than trying to securitize those costs.
The Deutsche Bank case and the meaning of ‘price manipulation.’
A few months back, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission directed Deutsche Bank Energy Trading LLC to show cause why it shouldn’t be assessed a civil penalty of $1.5 million and be made to return some $123,000 in allegedly unjust profits from power trading in markets run by the California ISO.
Five forces are putting the squeeze on electricity consumption.
It’s tempting to attribute the recent slowdown in electricity demand growth entirely to the Great Recession, but consumption growth rates have been declining for at least 50 years. The new normal rate of demand growth likely will be about half of its historic value, with demand rising by less than 1 percent per year. This market plateau calls for a new utility strategy.
Virginia brings a new coal-fired plant online.
Reports of coal’s demise are exaggerated. This summer, Dominion cleared the regulatory gauntlet to start up a new coal plant. Whether the example can be replicated might hinge on state incentives—and the forward price of natural gas.