Puget Sound Energy

Portland General Electric formalizes Agreement to Join Western EIM

Portland General Electric Company (PGE) and the California Independent System Operator (ISO) filed an implementation agreement with FERC, paving the way for the Portland, Ore.-based utility to participate in the western energy imbalance market (EIM) starting in October 2017. The western EIM is a real-time energy wholesale market that automatically dispatches the lowest-cost electricity resources available to meet utility customer needs while optimizing use of renewable energy over a large geographic area.

PSE, RES Americas to Develop Battery Storage Project

Puget Sound Energy (PSE) and Renewable Energy Systems Americas (RES Americas) signed agreements to cooperate on launching an innovative battery storage project in Whatcom County, Washington. Electricity will be stored in battery modules that are as large as 40-foot shipping containers and will be capable of providing up to 18 hours of power during an outage for the core area of Glacier. PSE is working with Washington State’s department of commerce in developing this pilot project.

Transactions (January 2013)

Entergy acquires Kgen gas-fired plants in Arkansas and Mississippi; TransCanada buys BP share of Alberta gas storage facility; PSE acquires Tenaska plant; AEP issues $850 million in debt; Duke units float $650 million in bonds; plus debt issues by NextEra, Southern Company, Entergy, and others totaling nearly $3.2 billion.

Digest

(January 2013) Dominion Virginia Power contracts Alstom for HRSGs at 1,300-MW Brunswick County station; Entergy acquires KGen plants; San Diego Gas & Electric installs new outage management system; ChargePoint enters reseller agreement with Service Solutions; Saft to install battery storage project at High Wind project in Saskatchewan; NRG’s eVgo finalizes plans for California charging network; plus contracts and announcements from ABB, ADT, Elster, Itron, ElectroIndustries, Opower, Panasonic, FirstEnergy, PacifiCorp, and others.

Efficiency Beyond the Low Fruit

Continuous improvement requires changing practices and cultural norms.

As efficiency programs mature, utilities and regulators will be challenged to keep producing demand-side resources. A systems-oriented approach can yield cost-effective results.

Vendor Neutral

(May 2012) Entergy Louisiana starts construction on gas-fired power project; Virginia Commonwealth University and Dominion partner on a test site for efficient energy technologies; Burlington Electric Department selects Siemens for meter data management platform; IKEA commissions four Blink electric vehicle charging stations; Edison Mission Energy, TIAA-CREF and Cook Inlet Region Inc. form partnership, and others.

People (April 2012)

Anne R. Pramaggiore became president and CEO of ComEd, following the retirement of Frank M. Clark, chairman and CEO since 2005. Pramaggiore joined ComEd in 1998 and most recently held the position of president and COO. In addition, ComEd named Tracie Morris v.p. of human resources. Morris previously served as v.p. of human resources for DeVry Inc.

People (May 2011)

Entergy Corp. names vice president of federal governmental affairs; Black Hills fills two executive positions; plus senior staff changes at Alliant Energy, First Wind, UniSource Energy, Consumers Energy, Midwest ISO, and others.

People (April 2011)

Ameren announces new executive positions; The New York State Smart Grid Consortium names first executive director; Constellation Energy selects lead for solar sales and green initiatives; plus senior staff changes at Puget Sound Energy, Baltimore Gas & Electric, Pacific Gas and Electric, Central Vermont Public Service, Tennessee Valley Authority, and others.

People (March 2011)

First Energy subsidiaries get new executives; Constellation names new treasurer, finance v.p., and CIO; Puget Energy gets new general counsel; plus senior staff changes at Dominion, Georgia Power, Parsons, California Energy Commission, Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, and others.