Utility News

Washington Post:

Since a 1994 law required telecoms to build electronic interception capabilities into their systems, the FBI has created a network of links between the nation’s largest telephone and Internet firms and about 40 FBI offices and Quantico, according to interviews and documents describing the agency’s Digital Collection System. The documents were obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit advocacy group in San Francisco that specializes in digital-rights issues.

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Wall Street Journal (subscription):

As utilities abandon plans to build coal-fired power plants, a big bet Sempra Energy has made on natural gas is turning out to be timely.

Sempra has been pouring money into natural-gas infrastructure. The big San Diego energy company is spending $2 billion on construction of the first liquefied-natural-gas receipt terminal on the West Coast and another in Louisiana. It has budgeted $1.2 billion for a 25% stake in a new gas pipeline — the Rockies Express — stretching from Colorado to Ohio, and $200 million for more gas storage in Louisiana.

“Sempra’s been investing in all the right areas,” says Faisal Khan, utilities analyst for Citigroup in New York.

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RTT News:

Centrica Plc on Wednesday said its North American subsidiary, Direct Energy, has agreed to take over Strategic Energy LLC for a total cash consideration of US$300 million, or GBP 151 million. Strategic is a subsidiary of Great Plains Energy Inc.

Centrica noted that the deal is debt free and includes a significant amount of working capital, which will be subject to a subsequent true-up. The merger of Strategic with Direct’s existing C&I business will create a business supplying almost 55TWh of electricity and gas to customers, the firm added.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in June 2008.

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AP via Forbes:

Water and wastewater utility company American Water Works Co. expects its planned initial public offering to total 64 million shares and price between $24 and $26 per share, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Monday.

Voorhees, N.J.-based American Water is a subsidiary of RWE, a European electricity and gas company. RWE first announced it would exit its water activities in the U.S. and the U.K. in 2005. The parent company plans to sell American Water in more than one offering through its subsidiary Thames Water Aqua Holdings GmbH.

After the initial offering, RWE will continue to own up to about 60 percent of the American Water’s common stock.

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CNNMoney:

Wall Street has given scant attention to companies that rely directly on water for their survival, even as the world’s supply of the liquid is threatened by mismanagement and pollution, a JPMorgan report said Monday.

“In many regions demand for water now outstrips renewable supplies. It is likely this gap will widen,” analyst Marc Levinson said in a note to clients. “Water pollution is getting worse in many developing economies, which exacerbates the challenge of delivering sufficient water of the required quality.”

Yet many companies provide only “general” information on water that neither qualifies nor quantifies the potential financial risks from a sudden supply disruption, said Levinson in the report, which was cowritten by six analysts.

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Water Tech Online:

The Waters Corp., a laboratory analytical instrument and software company headquartered here, announced in a March 31 press release on Environment News Service that it is offering complimentary tests for common over-the-counter and antidepressant pharmaceuticals to any water authority that serves more than 100,000 customers.

The company said in the press release this move is in response to the recent report from The Associated Press that 41 million Americans receive drinking water tainted with trace levels of pharmaceuticals.

Water authorities can apply for the free testing until April 19. “Requests will only be honored from authorized water officials and the results will be held in strict confidence,” the company said in a statement, noting that no third party requests will be accepted.

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MarketWatch:

National Grid said Tuesday that it has agreed to sell its 2,480 megawatt Ravenswood Generating Station in New York City to TransCanada Corporation for $2.9 billion in cash. Ravenswood Generating Station is primarily fueled by natural gas, and provides over 20% of New York City’s electricity supply.

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