Utility News

Washington Post:

The first application to build a new U.S. nuclear power plant in three decades has been filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, bumping a proposed third unit at a Calvert County site to the front of a list of reactors being considered by the nuclear power industry.

Constellation Energy Group of Baltimore has filed a partial application with the NRC, asking the commission to review environmental plans for a 1,600-megawatt reactor at the Calvert Cliffs site in Lusby, Md., that could cost $4 billion.

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The New York Times:

Federal environmental officials announced yesterday that New York’s drinking water was so pure that it would not need to be filtered for 10 years if the city maintains its efforts to protect the water supply. The announcement, held at the reservoir in Central Park, means that New York can avoid paying an estimated $8 billion to build an enormous plant to filter nearly one billion gallons of water a day from its Catskill Mountain reservoirs.

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Christian Science Monitor:

More electric utilities need to install ’smart’ meters that show real-time costs and reduce power demand…

Electricity providers need to become facilitators for their customers in achieving energy efficiency and reducing their carbon footprint.

Being “smart” isn’t only for meters that alter electricity usage.

It’s for the planet, too.

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AP via New York Times:

Federal regulators said Thursday the failed hedge fund Amaranth Advisors and two traders accused of manipulation of natural gas markets face $291 million in penalties.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s action represents the first prosecution of illegal market manipulation under authority Congress gave it two years ago.

Amaranth and its former head energy trader, Brian Hunter, denied wrongdoing, and they will have 30 days to respond and persuade the commission not to levy fines and make them disgorge profits.

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Las Cruces Sun-News:

A top official of a private utility company say it will fight a takeover by Albuquerque’s public water utility despite a court ruling favoring the takeover.

State District Judge Geraldine Rivera ruled Friday in favor of an eminent domain action against New Mexico Utilities Inc., which serves more than 17,000 customers. The judge said the Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority has the right to condemn the private utility.

“We feel the judge wasn’t accurate in her reading of the facts,” said Bob Gay, vice president and general manager of New Mexico Utilities. He said the company will appeal to the state Court of Appeals.

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The New York Times:

After a yearlong investigation, federal regulators have charged Amaranth Advisors, a high-flying hedge fund that collapsed in 2006, with attempts to manipulate natural gas prices last year.

The suit, filed yesterday, contends that Amaranth and its former head energy trader, Brian Hunter, tried to influence prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange on two separate days several months apart.

The civil enforcement action was filed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in Federal Court for the Southern District of New York. It seeks fines of $130,000 for each violation and is asking the court to block Amaranth and Mr. Hunter from trading.

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BusinessWire:

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has granted its approval for the divestiture of American Water, the largest water services provider in North America, from its parent company RWE, a German-based utility.

Donald L. Correll, president and CEO of American Water, said, “We are pleased that the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has issued its order for the approval of the change in ownership of American Water. With this decision, we now have received all the necessary state regulatory approvals. Having reached this significant milestone, we will continue to move ahead with the other required actions we must take to transition to new ownership.”

The company received approval for the divestiture in 13 states including Arizona, California, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

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The New York Times:

Pacific Gas & Electric, Northern California’s major utility, is announcing a commitment on Wednesday to purchase 550 megawatts of solar power to be generated by troughlike arrays of mirrors spread over nine square miles in the Mojave Desert.

The purchase, one of the largest ever of solar power, will help the utility meet California’s aggressive mandate that utilities have enough renewable sources online or under contract to supply one-fifth of the electricity they sell by 2010. The new solar plant is expected to begin producing energy in 2011 or 2012.

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CSE Magazine:

Alternative energy has become a growth industry, with announcements for new wind, solar and geothermal projects now an almost daily event. But getting the clean electricity these facilities produce to market poses the same challenge faced by traditional power plants: gaining approval for new transmission lines.

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SeekingAlpha:

A carbon credit is a tradable monetary security which is equal to one ton of a greenhouse gas, such as carbon dioxide. Due to greenhouse gas restrictions put in place by various countries based on the Kyoto Protocol quotas, businesses that are generating emissions that are less than their quotas can sell their credits to companies which are unable to stay below their quotas. The proceeds in essence reimburse the selling company for reducing its emissions. Trading also takes place between countries.

There are four major exchanges for the trading of carbon credits: the Chicago Climate Exchange in the United States, the European Climate Exchange in England, Nord Pool in Norway, and PowerNext in France. Louis Redshaw, who is in charge of environmental markets at Barclays Capital, said “Carbon will be the world’s biggest commodity market and it could become the world’s biggest market overall.”

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