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WEI Member News Avista Requesting to Reduce Natural Gas Prices for Washington and Idaho Customers to Lowest Level Since 2003 Natural gas prices for Avista's residential and small commercial customers in Washington and Idaho will decrease by 20.2 percent and 17.0 percent respectively, if the utility commissions in both states approve the company's annual Purchase Gas Cost Adjustment filed in September. Avista has requested a Nov. 1 effective date. More BC Hydro Completes Major Upgrade of Peace Canyon Facility BC Hydro has completed a significant refurbishment of one of the province's most important electricity generating stations on time and on budget. The successful $120-million Peace Canyon Generating Station refurbishment will allow the plant to continue providing trouble-free service for the next twenty to thirty years. More DOE Awards $600K for Aquatic Species Study in Support of Snohomish PUD Tidal Energy Pilot The U.S. Department of Energy has announced it will fund $600,000 for a study of aquatic species in Admiralty Inlet, Wash., to help determine potential effects of tidal energy turbines on aquatic life in the Puget Sound. The study, part of a multi-year tidal energy research effort by Snohomish County Public Utility District, will be supported by the University of Washington, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the Sea Mammal Research Unit. More El Paso Electric Establishes $350,000 Endowment to Benefit U.T. El Paso At a breakfast reception that recognized the community service efforts of its employees, El Paso Electric Chief Executive Officer David Stevens announced that El Paso Electric was providing $350,000 to fund research activities at U.T. El Paso. More ENMAX Corporation Launches Public Campaign on Transmission Lines President and CEO, ENMAX Corporation, Gary Holden has launched the company’s web campaign on significant transmission line projects planned in Alberta. More Idaho Power Files CPCN to Protect Reliability In response to a city ordinance banning utility poles in certain areas, Idaho Power has applied to the Idaho Public Utilities Commission (IPUC) for an order granting the company a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) for the construction of facilities necessary to continue to provide adequate and reliable service to the Kuna area and to operate its integrated electric system across its entire southern Idaho/eastern Oregon service territory. More In-Home Monitors Can Help Motivated Customers Save Energy A pilot program by Seattle City Light found encouraging results on the effectiveness of in-home energy monitoring displays for helping people conserve energy, as 24 randomly selected participants reduced their electricity consumption by an average of 3 percent--or 340 kilowatt-hours--over an eight-month test. More Klamath Dam Agreement Unveiled The 28 parties that have been negotiating the fate of PacifiCorp’s Klamath River Dams have released the highly anticipated Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement (KHSA). More Mesa, Arizona Mayor Proclaims Public Power and Public Natural Gas Week Mayor Scott Smith proclaimed October 4-10 as Public Power and Public Natural Gas Week, honoring the City of Mesa’s Energy Resources Department as one of 15 publicly-owned utilities in Arizona that provide electric and natural gas service to their customers. More NorthWestern Energy’s Mountain States Transmission Intertie Will Provide Economic and Environmental Benefits A recent exchange between Public Service Commissioner Brad Molnar and four legislators raised some questions about NorthWestern Energy’s Mountain States Transmission Intertie (MSTI) power line proposal. More NV Energy Electric and Natural Gas Rates Decreasing This Winter Northern Nevada customers of NV Energy will soon see a decrease in both electric and natural gas rates, thanks to declining fuel and purchase power costs. These decreases in rates were approved by the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN) and became effective October 1, 2009. More PGE Draft Resource Plan Focuses on Diversity and Reliability PSE’s Green Power Program Wins National Award With more than 24,000 residential and business participants throughout Western Washington, Puget Sound Energy’s Green Power Program was named Utility Green Power Provider of the Year by the 2009 Green Power Leadership Awards. More SMUD Celebrates 25 Years of Solar Photovoltaic Operation The Sacramento Municipal Utility District’s (SMUD) one-megawatt solar photovoltaic (PV) plant located at the Rancho Seco site celebrated 25 years of service this summer. The plant, known as PV1, first started producing power in 1984 and at the time was one of the largest PV plants in the world--supplying enough electricity to serve approximately 800 homes. More SNAP Program Gets New Focus Now in its ninth year, the Sustainable Natural Alternative Power, or SNAP, program is getting new attention at the Chelan County PUD with more assistance for owners and a new emphasis on support from customers, PUD commissioners were told in September. More Southern California Edison Installs First of 5 Million “Smart” Meters Southern California Edison (SCE) kicked off its Edison SmartConnect program last month by installing the first of 5 million smart meters to help customers save energy and money. These new digital, secure, two-way communicating meters will measure electricity usage up-to-the minute and, when fully implemented, will enable customers to track how much they use, and how much it costs them. Southwest Gas Awards Laub Scholarships Southwest Gas Corporation and the Laub Foundation have awarded $1,500 H.G. Laub Scholarships to Las Vegas residents Joshua Aurich, Alyse Dorman, William Fang, Anthony Sikorski, Henry Sikorski, Nicholas Sikorski and Jesseca Zwerg, children of Southwest Gas employees. More Spectra Energy Named to Dow Jones Sustainability Index for Second Time Spectra Energy Corp has again been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for North America (DJSI NA), which lists North America’s leading, sustainability-driven companies based on a measurement of overall financial, environmental and social performance. More SRP Celebrates 100 Years of Hydro Power from Roosevelt Dam What started 100 years ago as a simple way to furnish electricity for use during construction of Theodore Roosevelt Dam has helped transform the once sleepy Salt River Valley into the nation's fifth-largest metropolitan area. More Students Team with EWEB to Build Native Plant Garden The Eugene Water & Electric Board is teaming up with students of the Lane Metro Youth Corps and Rob Hoffman, a local stone mason, to build a native plant demonstration garden immediately west of the Leaburg Lake Dam. More Terasen Gas Finalizes Plans to Bring Customer Care Services Back To BC Terasen Gas has filed its final plans for enhancing the company’s customer care services with the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC), updating the application submitted to the BCUC in June with additional information about the company’s plans to establish an in-house customer care department, with two new B.C.-based locations for call centers and billing operations, and a new customer information system. More TransCanada to Build $1.2 Billion Power Plant in Southern Ontario The Ontario Power Authority (OPA) has advised TransCanada Corporation it has been awarded a 20-year Clean Energy Supply Contract to build, own and operate the 900 megawatt Oakville Generating Station (OGS) in Oakville, Ontario. More Williams' Willow Creek Gas Processing Facility Reaches Full Processing Operations Williams announced that the 450-million-cubic-feet-per-day (MMcfd) Willow Creek natural gas processing plant in western Colorado's Piceance Basin has achieved full processing operations. The plant began operations on August 7. More
Rest of the West
Energy Technology Coalition Formed to Develop San Diego 'Smart Grid' As smart grid pioneers from around the world convened at University of California, San Diego, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), UC San Diego and CleanTECH San Diego announced the formation of a coalition of 25 local, national and global organizations to transform the San Diego electrical grid into a digital smart grid. More PG&E Corporation Selected for Two Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes PG&E Corporation was selected for the second consecutive year to the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index and, for the first time, to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. More SmartGridCity Becomes First Fully Functioning Smart City in the World Xcel Energy’s SmartGridCity™ project in Boulder, Colo., has completed construction of the infrastructure and launched the remaining software to enable all SmartGridCity operational functions, making it the first fully functioning smart grid-enabled city in the world. Southern California Gas Co. Tops in Customer Satisfaction, Says J.D. Power and Associates Southern California Gas Co. (The Gas Company) has earned the top customer satisfaction ranking among natural gas utilities in the Western United States and has the highest score among all utilities nationwide, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Gas Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction StudySM. More TEP Unveils Plans for Giant Photovoltaic Array and New Solar Power Plant Tucson Electric Power (TEP) is working with partners to develop two new solar power systems that would rank as the Tucson-area's largest renewable power plants, generating enough clean energy to serve more than 6,000 Tucson homes. More On the Move
George Williams to Serve as Senior VP, COO at El Paso Electric More Darrel Anderson, Dan Minor, Lisa Grow and Vern Porter Take on New Roles at IDACORP & Idaho Power More Ed Schlect Named Interim President and COO at Advantage IQ More News Draft Senate Climate Bill Has Larger Initial Cuts but Includes Safety Valves EPA Moves Closer to Greenhouse Gas Regulation EPA Decision on States’ Emission Standards Challenged in Federal Court U.S. Chamber Loses Members over Climate-Change Position Farmers Will Bear Some Climate Bill Costs but Also Reap Benefits California Offset Program Could Affect Forests across Nation Markets Prepare to Accommodate Carbon Offsets California Green Power Demand Could Drive Up Northwest Utilities’ Costs Scientists Investigate Increased Pace of Arctic Methane Seepage Cheap Natural Gas Displaces Coal Smart Meters Raise Questions about Customers’ Data Privacy Texas Utilities Say Stimulus Funds Have Too Many Strings Attached Preparations Begin for Vogtle Nuclear Reactor Construction Capay Valley Ponders Electrical Self-Sufficiency Innovative Deep-Sea Wind Turbine May be Tested in Maine Western Natural Gas Market Review More Western LNG Update Unconventional Gas Could Help Shift Worldwide Energy Supply More LNG Still Arriving at Gulf Coast Terminals More Oregon, Federal Regulators Want More Data on Proposed LNG Project More Port of Astoria Replaces Counsel and Files Countersuit More FERC Order Denies State and Tribal Requests for Bradwood Re-Hearing More Nikiski LNG Plant’s Future Uncertain More Golf Course can be Flooded to Create Wetlands if Jordan Cove Proceeds More |
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