Utility News

Washington Post:

The Energy Department said yesterday that it would ask for new proposals from companies seeking federal aid for capturing and storing carbon dioxide released by coal-fired power plants, officially shelving the FutureGen Alliance project that the Bush administration had supported for five years…

Deputy Energy Secretary Clay Sell said the administration was dropping the FutureGen Alliance project because costs for the planned 275-megawatt coal-fired plant had risen to $1.8 billion and because of advances in technology. Instead, the department said it would be willing to pay the cost of adding carbon capture and storage technology to new or existing coal plants bigger than 300 megawatts. Sell said that would lead to multiple projects and more sequestration.

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Forbes:

The government issued three proposals Tuesday aimed at reining in the spiraling costs of the Universal Service Fund, a subsidy program that provides affordable phone service to people who live in rural areas.

The fund is an 11-year-old, multibillion-dollar program financed through a surcharge tacked on to most every American’s phone bill. The surcharge has risen has risen steadily over the past several years in order to keep up with increasing subsidy demands from cellular telephone companies.

The Federal Communications Commission released three proposals late Tuesday containing recommendations on how to stabilize the fund and asking for public input.

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CNN Money:

An application to renew an operating license for the Three Mile Island power plant, submitted by a unit of Exelon Corp., is open for public review, a government agency said Monday.

AmerGen Energy Co., an Exelon subsidiary, is seeking to renew the license for the island’s Unit 1 nuclear plant until 2034, or 20 years beyond its current expiration date of 2014.

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AFP:

Documentary film “Flow,” premiering at the Sundance Film Festival this week, condemns water profiteering, calling for a UN resolution to make access to clean drinking water a human right.

The film by French-born director Irena Salina blasts Paris-based Suez and Vivendi Environment for commercializing water systems around the world, as well as Nestle, the world’s largest bottled water seller, for draining watersheds.

Even the World Bank gets knocked in the film for funding massive water diversion projects that have displaced 80 million people, instead of smaller, cheaper and more eco-friendly community projects to bring fresh drinking water to the poor.

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Intelligencer Journal:

PPL Electric Utilities wants to know how much its customers truly care about clean, renewable energy.

The utility filed a proposal Wednesday with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to allow customers to voluntarily purchase renewable energy credits, or RECs.

The credits are generated when a wind farm or hydroelectric project somewhere puts a block of clean electricity into the power grid.

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The New York Times:

After an outcry of objections, the California Energy Commission withdrew its proposal to require new buildings in the state to have radio-controlled thermostats that, in a power emergency, could be used to override customers’ temperature settings. Instead of making the proposal part of new state building requirements, the commissioners will discuss the use of the “programmable communicating thermostats” when considering how to manage electrical loads — with the understanding that customers would have the right to refuse to allow the state to override their wishes.

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Tribune-Review (Pittsburgh):

Commercial and industrial customers of Duquesne Light Co. are being offered discounts on their electric bills to help them grow and add jobs.

The Downtown-based utility announced Tuesday that companies adding to their power loads will see a savings of up to $3 per megawatt hour for up to three years at a new or expanded facility.

The companies must add at least 10 megawatts and add two full-time jobs per megawatt of new load. Duquesne Light will offer the discounts for up to 50 megawatts of new load.

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Times-Leader (PA):

Eleven environmental organizations, led by the National Wildlife Federation, filed suit against the federal Department of Energy on Monday claiming the National Transmission Corridor is invalid and violates the Endangered Species Act.

The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Scranton by the National Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club and several other regional and national environmental organizations. The transmission corridors give the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authority on the placement of new power line proposals. In addition, a federal permit could allow the permit holder to exercise the right of eminent domain to acquire property rights to build a transmission project.

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AP via Philly.com:

New Jersey government’s consumer watchdog alleged that consumers would pay higher rates under a deregulation plan offered by the state’s major provider of local phone service. Verizon Communications Inc., however, responded that prices would not soar and that it needed flexibility to compete against newcomers who were not subject to regulation. The state Board of Public Utilities will hear testimony Feb. 25 and 26 on the requests by Verizon, which serves about four million landlines in New Jersey.

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Reuters:

A telephone company cut off an FBI international wiretap after the agency failed to pay its bill on time, according to a U.S. government audit released yesterday.

The Justice Department’s inspector general faulted the FBI for poor handling of money used in undercover investigations, which it said made the agency vulnerable to theft and mishandled invoices.

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