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WEI Member News ATCO Gas Opens New Environmentally Friendly Operations Center In March ATCO Gas celebrated the official opening of a new environmentally friendly operations center. Located in Edmonton, the operations center is the largest commercial building in Canada to make use of geothermal heating, ventilating and cooling (HVAC) technology fueled by natural gas. More Avista's Efficiency Programs Help the University of Idaho Save Energy and Dollars Installing high efficiency lighting systems in 40 campus buildings has earned the University of Idaho an Avista energy efficiency incentive check for over $438,000. More BC Hydro Signs Up 210,000 Team Power Smart Members More than 210,000 British Columbians have joined BC Hydro's Team Power Smart and made a commitment to reduce their electricity consumption by 10 percent, announced Premier Gordon Campbell. El Paso Pipeline Partners Acquires Majority Interests in Elba Island LNG Terminal and Elba Express Pipeline El Paso Pipeline Partners, L.P. announced that it has agreed to acquire a 51-percent interest in both Southern LNG Company, L.L.C. and El Paso Elba Express Company, L.L.C. from El Paso Corporation for $810 million. More Electric Meters in Smithfield, Utah to be Replaced with New Automated Meter Reading Technology The need for Rocky Mountain Power employees to regularly enter Smithfield customers’ property to read electric meters is coming to an end. Automated electric meters will be installed on the homes and businesses of approximately 16,000 Rocky Mountain Power customers in Smithfield, beginning March 23. The meter installations are expected to be completed by the end of May, 2010. MoreGreenpower Grant Finalists Announced Five local renewable energy and education proposals have reached the finalist stage for consideration of two Eugene Water & Electric Board Greenpower grants of up to $100,000 each. More Impressive Energy Efficiency Success for Idaho Power Last month, Idaho Power filed its Demand-Side Management 2009 Annual Report highlighting the past year’s accomplishments and recognizing the company’s energy efficiency achievements and those of its customers. More Keystone Gulf Coast Expansion Approved TransCanada Corporation recently announced the National Energy Board (NEB) has approved the company’s application to construct and operate the Canadian portion of the Keystone Gulf Coast Expansion Project. More LADWP Calls on APPA to Withdraw Support of 'Disapproval Resolution' on EPA's Greenhouse Gas Emission Finding The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), the nation’s largest municipal utility, has asked the American Public Power Authority (APPA) to withdraw its support of a U.S. Senate effort to block the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. More Nexen Announces Significant Discovery at Appomattox in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico Nexen and its partner have made a significant discovery in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico at Appomattox, located in Mississippi Canyon blocks 391 and 392. More NV Energy Files to Decrease Electric and Gas Prices Again Sierra Pacific Power Company, doing business as NV Energy, made its annual electric and natural gas filings with the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN) calling for an overall 10.19 percent decrease in electric rates for northern Nevada customers and an overall 4.6 percent decrease in natural gas rates for Reno-Sparks customers. More NW Natural Ranks Highest in the West Program to Help Customers Save Energy with CFL Bulbs Is A Success Customers will help save about a million kilowatt hours of electricity by installing the 41,000 compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) provided free by Chelan County PUD under a program launched last month. All of the bulbs committed to the program have been given away or are spoken for, said Susan Gillin, PUD Customer Service administrator. PSU and PGE Form Strategic Sustainable Alliance Portland General Electric, the region’s major urban utility, and Portland State University, the region’s major urban university, have formed a long-term strategic partnership to promote the economic, environmental, and social sustainability of the Portland metro area. Puget Sound Energy Upgrades Electric System in Whatcom County with New Semiahmoo Substation Puget Sound Energy has completed construction of a new $3.9 million substation in Blaine. The Semiahmoo substation will improve electric system reliability and increase capacity in the Birch Bay and Blaine areas of Whatcom County. More Snohomish PUD and Sno-Isle Libraries Offer Watt Meters for Checkout Snohomish County Public Utility District and Sno-Isle Libraries will offer free electricity watt meters for checkout starting this spring. Throughout April, a pilot program at the Edmonds Library will offer 15 meters for checkout. More SRP Buys Entire Output of Iberdrola Renewables' Dry Lake 2 Wind Power Project SRP and Iberdrola Renewables have announced that SRP has agreed to purchase the entire output of Phase 2 of the Dry Lake Wind Power Project in northern Arizona for a 20-year term. More Terasen Gas Receives Approval to Establish In-House Customer Care Services Terasen Gas has received approval from the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) to move to an in-house customer care operating model effective January 2012. This will include two new B.C.-based call handling centers, a billing operations center, and an updated customer information system. More U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Recognizes Southern California Edison with Highest Honor for Energy Efficiency The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded Southern California Edison (SCE) a 2010 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award in recognition of its continued leadership in protecting the environment through energy efficiency. SCE’s accomplishments were recognized at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. on March 18. More Williams Partners L.P. Conducts Binding Open Season to Transport Marcellus Natural Gas Supply A unit of Williams Partners L.P. announced that it conducted a binding open season from March 4 to March 26, 2010, for an expansion of its Transco pipeline to provide incremental firm natural gas transportation capacity to transport growing Pennsylvania Marcellus supply to New York and New Jersey markets. More
Rest of the West
EPA Recognizes PG&E with 2010 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) a 2010 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award in recognition of its continued leadership in protecting the environment through energy efficiency. More EPA Recognizes Southern California Gas Co. with 2010 ‘ENERGY STAR Excellence’ Award The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has named Southern California Gas Co. the winner of a 2010 Excellence in ENERGY STAR Promotion Award for its outstanding contributions to energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions through its consumer education efforts promoting energy-efficient products and services. More Governor Ritter, Xcel and Coalition Announce Energy Plan Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, Xcel Energy and a coalition of Colorado lawmakers, energy companies and environmentalists announced their agreement on legislation that will lead the nation in cutting air pollution, creating jobs and increasing the use of cleaner energy sources. More New UniSource Energy Building Will Bring Employees Together in Solar-Powered, Energy-Efficient Addition to Downtown Tucson A new headquarters planned for UniSource Energy Corporation will allow the company to bring more employees together in a solar-powered, energy-efficient building in the heart of downtown Tucson. SDG&E Adds Geothermal Energy from Northern California San Diego Gas & Electric recently announced that it has signed a four-year power-purchase agreement with Calpine Energy Services, L.P., a subsidiary of Calpine Corporation, to procure 25 megawatts (MW) of geothermal energy from the Calpine Geysers facility in Northern California. More
On the Move
Randy Jespersen to Retire; John Walker, FortisBC Inc. President and CEO, to Head Both Terasen and FortisBC More EWEB Commissioners Select Roger Gray as New General Manager More El Paso Corporation Promotes Susan Ortenstone, John Sult to Executive Vice President More Warren Kline to Take on Additional Leadership Role at Idaho Power More LADWP Chief Operating Officer Raman Raj Elected to Leadership Positions of Two Esteemed Power Associations More
News Senate Climate Bill Details Emerge The climate bill emerging in the Senate imposes a weaker cap on emissions than some environmentalists had hoped and includes a number of coal, oil and nuclear-friendly provisions designed to court the support of moderate Democrats and Republicans. More Climate Bill Needed to Help Economy Recover Administration officials have warned that uncertainty over the future regulation of emitting greenhouse gases is preventing companies from spending capital on new power and manufacturing projects. More EPA Says CO2 Threshold Will be At Least 75,000 Tons per Year EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said in March that the agency would set a threshold of 75,000 tons of annual CO2 emissions for initial regulation of stationary source emitters in 2011 and 2012. More FERC Moves to Expand Grid Reliability Oversight In March, the FERC issued notices of proposed rulemaking that would increase the number of lines that could be subject to mandatory reliability standards as well as strengthen the commission’s role in the definition of those standards. More Tres Amigas Allowed to Charge Market-Based Rates The FERC has granted Tres Amigas, LLC approval to sell transmission services at its proposed interconnection at negotiated rates and said that it could allow the project to interconnect with the Texas grid (ERCOT) without subjecting Texas utilities to FERC regulation. More New ARB Analysis Says Climate Rules Won’t Harm Economy New analysis from California’s Air Resources Board concludes that climate regulations will create 2 million jobs in the state and result in $3.8 billion in fuel savings by 2020. More Schwarzenegger Wants Cap-and-Trade Rules Relaxed In March, Gov. Schwarzenegger sent a letter to the chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board asking that the majority of pollution allowances be given away during the early years of the cap-and-trade program the agency is setting up. More CPUC Takes Second Look at Direct Access Electricity Marketing A recently approved plan by the California Public Utilities Commission would allow more companies to bypass utilities and purchase electricity directly from independent marketers at wholesale prices. More U.N. and U.K. Climate Science Reviews Proceed In the wake of controversies surrounding the IPCC’s published conclusions as well as some of its authors’ scientific processes, the U.N. has arranged for a review of IPCC’s procedures and management. More U.N. Livestock-Originated Carbon Emissions Claim Challenged A U.C. Davis scientist has challenged a U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report that asserted that 18 percent of the world’s carbon emissions came from raising livestock. More Gas Generators Want Wind Power to Pay Comparable Backup Costs While natural gas is often spoken of as a natural counterpoint to wind power, in Texas, the wind boom is already spelling more idle time—and fewer profits—for operators of natural gas-fired plants. More NYC Building Owners Wary of Real-Time Pricing Plans Con Edison’s hourly pricing plan, which has been available to New York’s largest building owners since 2007, will be expanding in May 2011, but so far has not attracted much participation. More Consumers Rate Conservation Low in Solving Energy Challenges A global survey by Accenture indicated that while three out of four consumers are worried about energy and climate change issues, nearly two-thirds do not believe that reducing energy use is the answer to reducing reliance on fossil fuels or foreign energy supply. Unresolved Waste Disposal Issue Discourages New Nuclear Projects A newly-convened independent federal advisory panel told lawmakers that uncertainty over nuclear waste disposal was a “major impediment” to new nuclear development even as the administration has said a nuclear renaissance will be key to meeting greenhouse gas reduction targets. More New Fuel-Injection System Could Double Engine Efficiency A test vehicle equipped with a fuel-injection system that heats and pressurizes gasoline before it is injected into the combustion chamber got 64 miles to the gallon at highway speeds. More
Western Natural Gas Market Review More
Western LNG Update Unconventional Gas Could Change Geopolitics of Energy More Gazprom Bullish on LNG versus Shale Gas in U.S. More South Korea Purchases Interest in Canadian Gas More Natural Gas Supply Co., ANGDA Make Bid for Kenai LNG Plant More Cook Inlet Reserves Dwindling, Costly to Extract More Alaska LNG Would Compete in Changing Market More Idle Clearwater Port LNG Proposal Terminated More Port Ordered to Renew Controversial Lease for Full Term More Senate Bill Would Give States Final Say on LNG Terminal Siting More |
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