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WEI Member News $58 Million Rate Reduction Proposed On April 15, IDACORP, Inc. primary subsidiary Idaho Power filed its annual Power Cost Adjustment proposal with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission. If approved by the commission, this year’s PCA will reduce customer rates by $58 million, or 6.5 percent overall beginning June 1. The actual percentage of change will vary by customer group based upon the rate they pay. More Acting Globally and Locally, LADWP Demonstrates Environmental Stewardship On the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is demonstrating environmental stewardship both globally and locally. More Adams, NW Youth Corps win EWEB Greenpower Grants Adams Elementary School and Northwest Youth Corps each have won a $100,000 Greenpower grant from the Eugene Water & Electric Board. The two winners were chosen by a vote of the utility’s Greenpower customers, and the announcement was made during Eugene’s Earth Day celebration at EWEB’s River Edge Plaza. More Addition of NorthWestern to a Small Cap Index Influences Trading Volume NorthWestern Corporation d/b/a NorthWestern Energy announced that Standard & Poor’s added NorthWestern Energy to its SmallCap 600 group of stocks effective at the close of trading April 9. This announcement created a larger volume on NorthWestern’s common stock in the period following the announcement. More ATCO Launches Alberta’s First Mobile Energy Classroom ATCO launched an environmental first in Alberta – a traveling classroom designed to teach students about the province’s energy sources and energy conservation. More Avista, Mayor Verner Unveil Electric Vehicle Charging Station Avista and Spokane Mayor Mary Verner recently unveiled a new electric vehicle charging station in the parking lot just north of Spokane City Hall. More B.C. Students Square Off for Terasen Gas Environmental Wits Challenge Students across the province are gearing up for the annual Terasen Gas Environmental Mind Grind – an academic challenge designed to promote environmental stewardship in honor of Earth Day. More Commissioners Approve Chelan PUD Power Sales Plan, Extend Surcharge To reduce financial risk and bring in more reliable revenues from year to year, Chelan County PUD commissioners have approved a plan to sell slices of surplus power farther into the future to the highest bidders. More Edison International Announces Winners of Edison Challenge Environmental Science Competition Santa Monica High School and Medea Creek Middle School are the first-place winners in the Edison Challenge, an environmental science competition. They were selected from dozens of teams participating in the fourth annual event co-sponsored by Edison International and the University of Southern California. More El Paso Corporation Receives FERC Approval for Ruby Pipeline El Paso Corporation has received Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval for its Ruby Pipeline project, a 675-mile, 42-inch interstate natural gas pipeline that will access significant Rockies supplies and make them available to consuming markets in California, Nevada and the Pacific Northwest. More ENSTAR Receives Approval to Expand Service Territory ENSTAR Natural Gas Company announced that the Regulatory Commission of Alaska approved a request to expand their service territory southward from the Ninilchik area of the Happy Valley Extension of the Kenai Kachemak Pipeline to the vicinity of Anchor Point. More First Nations Company Clears Way for Grid Connection A First Nations company is clearing the way so that BC Hydro can connect four BC First Nation communities to the grid and provide them with clean and reliable power. MoreGlendale Water & Power Earns National Designation for Reliable Electric Operations Out of 2,000 public power utilities across the nation, Glendale Water & Power recently became one of just 94 to earn the Reliable Public Power ProviderÔ (RP3) recognition from the American Public Power Association for providing customers with the highest degree of reliable and safe electric service. More Lincoln City, Oregon Awarded First Smart Energy City by NW Natural New BPA-Funded Contract Seeks Safer Turbine for Fish Engineers will develop the first of a new generation of advanced hydroelectric turbines for the Federal Columbia River Power System to provide safer passage for fish, under a contract awarded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. MoreNV Energy Launches New GIS Statewide Database Brokers and developers promoting Nevada to potential businesses just got a new and improved tool to add to their storehouse of attractions for moving to the state. NV Energy has launched its new interactive geographic information system (GIS) building and site database, called Nevada Site Locator. More PacifiCorp Awards Contract for Powerdale Dam Removal PacifiCorp has chosen Weekly Bros., Inc. of Idlelyd Park, OR as prime contractor to safely remove the Powerdale dam and other portions of the hydroelectric project near Hood River during 2010. MorePGE Files Revised Resource Plan with Oregon PUC PSE’s Rock the Bulb™ Campaign Captures Attention of Utilities Seeking to Repeat Its Success Just months after its kick-off in 2009, Puget Sound Energy’s innovative Rock the Bulb campaign has a number of successes to its credit. The campaign to build awareness with local utility customers about energy efficiency exceeded its projected participation targets by 25 percent, won several national awards for public relations, marketing and program implementation, and is now fielding dozens of inquiries from other utilities and organizations throughout the country that want to repeat the program’s success in their own communities. Questar Considering Spin-Off of Exploration & Production Business Questar Corporation announced that it is considering a possible tax-free spin-off of the company’s natural gas and oil exploration and production (E&P) business. The new E&P company would be comprised of Questar subsidiaries Questar E&P Company, Questar Gas Management, and Questar Energy Trading. More School District Receives $69,000 Rebate for Energy Efficiency from IID The Desert Sands Unified School District was presented a rebate check for $69,730 from Imperial Irrigation District (IID) in April for improving energy efficiency at Desert Ridge Academy and Shadow Hills High School. More Seattle City Light Picked to Lead National Effort on LED Street Lights Snohomish PUD and Dept. of Energy Launch Smart Grid Effort Snohomish County Public Utility District and the Department of Energy have signed an agreement for an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant authorizing $15.8 million for a smart grid project by the Washington utility. More Spectra Energy Holds Open Seasons for Expanded Transportation Capacity and Raw Gas Gathering and Processing Capacity in Northeast British Columbia In response to the growing needs of its customers in northeast British Columbia, Spectra Energy Corp in April announced open seasons to assess customer requirements for expanded transportation service on its Transportation North (T-North) system, and for raw gas gathering and processing service in the Fort Nelson resource area. The Alaska Pipeline Project Begins Its Open Season The Alaska Pipeline Project is conducting separate but coordinated open seasons simultaneously in Alaska and Canada. More
Rest of the West
PG&E Receives High Marks For Diversity Efforts Pacific Gas and Electric Company has been recognized for its strong diversity practices by DiversityInc, a leading publication on diversity and business, for the second year in a row. More Southern California Gas Co.'s “Advanced Meter” Program Moves Forward with State Approval The California Public Utilities Commission has cleared the way for Southern California Gas Co. to implement its advanced metering infrastructure program. The advanced meter technology will enhance operational efficiencies, customer service and safety, and energy conservation. MoreState Regulators Back TEP's Plan to Expand Solar Energy Resources The Arizona Corporation Commission has expressed its support for Tucson Electric Power's plan to add more than 33 megawatts of solar generating capacity to its portfolio through power purchase contracts and new company-owned resources. More Xcel Energy to Purchase Calpine Plants Xcel Energy and Calpine Corporation announced that Public Service Company of Colorado, an Xcel Energy company, will purchase two of Calpine’s power plants near Denver. The plants currently provide electricity to the utility under power purchase agreements. More
On the Move
Jagjeet S. Bindra Joins Edison International and Southern California Edison’s Boards of Directors More Hal Kvisle to Retire as TransCanada President and CEO Russ Girling, COO, to Succeed More Austin Beutner Appointed LADWP Interim General Manager by Los Angeles Board of Water and Power Commissioners More Nexen Announces Appointment of Matt Fox as Executive Vice President, International Oil and Gas More Greg Said Promoted to Lead Regulatory Affairs at Idaho Power More Frankie McDermott, Kevin Sherlin Named to Executive Posts at SMUD More
News Consumers Need Significant Rate Discounts to Give Utilities Control Over Appliances A report issued by Accenture found that consumers would not be willing to allow power providers to limit their use of home appliances without significant rate discounts. More EPA Considers Using Clean Water Act to Manage Ocean Acidification Because greenhouse gas emissions tend to acidify ocean waters, the EPA is exploring whether the Clean Water Act can be used as a basis for regulating those emissions. More CO2 Capture Plan Wins Enviro Support for Coal Plant Nebraska-based Tenaska struck an agreement with the Environmental Defense Fund that will see the environmental group withdraw its opposition at a permit hearing in exchange for a plan to capture 85 percent of the CO2 emissions of the company' proposed West Texas coal plant. More Draft Senate Climate Bill Gains Energy Industry Support Major players in the energy industry, including utility Exelon Corp. and oil companies ConocoPhillips and Royal Dutch Shell PLC, plan to back Senate climate-change legislation, reported Bloomberg in April. Reduced Electricity Demand Results in More Power Plant Sales Power plants are being sold in greater numbers as the ongoing economic slump keeps electricity demand—and prices—low. More U.S. Power Grid Still Operating on Antiquated Principles Though electricity is so critical to our daily lives in the 21st century, the power grid itself has changed relatively little in the hundred-plus years since Edison first conceived it—and that’s a problem. More DOT, EPA Establish Emissions, Fuel Economy Standards for Vehicles The Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency in April established new federal standards governing the emissions and fuel economy of all new passenger cars and light trucks sold in the U.S. More Graph Showing Recent Temperature Increases Called “Exaggerated” A second investigation into leaked University of East Anglia “Climategate” emails resulted in criticism of a graph purporting to represent recent global temperature increases as “exaggerated.” More Renewable Energy Certificates Market Growing Swiftly A market in Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) has emerged rapidly in recent years and, according to market research and consulting firm Pike Research, is poised to grow substantially in the future. More Gulf Coast Spill to Become Part of Drilling Debate White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said the ongoing Gulf Coast oil spill will become part of the conversation about offshore drilling in Congress and could affect decisions about what areas would be open to drilling in the future. More City of Tokyo Launches First Cap-and-Trade Program in Asia With the launch of a mandatory program designed to reduce CO2 emissions from large office buildings and industrial facilities, Tokyo’s metropolitan government is implementing the first cap-and-trade scheme in Asia. More Gazprom Has a Shale Gas Problem Russia’s Natural Resource Minister Yuri Trutney told Dow Jones that state-controlled Gazprom’s management “[has] a problem with shale gas.” More Poland Shale Gas Exploration Set to Begin U.S. gas companies will begin drilling for shale gas in Poland over the next few weeks and if what they find is promising, the global gas market could begin to change. More Britain Bets Big on Offshore Wind Faced with an already-crowded countryside and a fast-approaching EU deadline to generate 30 percent of its electricity from renewables by 2020, Britain is turning to increasingly large and untested offshore wind facilities—a strategy not everyone thinks makes sense. More NREL Scientists Re-envision LED as “Solar Cell in Reverse” Scientists at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory recently devised an innovative way to generate green-colored light that could prove to be a major advance in LED lighting technology.
Western Natural Gas Market Review More
Western LNG Update NorthernStar Natural Suspends Bradwood Landing, Files for Bankruptcy More Gas Exporting Countries Forum Needs Pacific Participation to Set Prices More Price Differential Undermines Investment, says Gazprom More Costa Azul LNG Terminal Will Receive Regular Cargoes More ConocoPhillips, Marathon Oil to Seek LNG Export License Renewal More Coos County Will Hold Hearing on Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline More |
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