Free Republic

Michigan’s electric utilities gamble that the reliability of service won’t collapse. Consumers Energy would have to double the number of wind turbines currently operating in this state to replace the electricity produced by just one of the coal- and gas-fired power plants it intends to close as part of its plans to rely more on renewable sources. The problem, however, is that those additional turbines only spin about one-third of the time, leaving a big energy gap for the households and businesses that rely on the company for their electricity. .. regulated utilities and their vendors operate 1,107 industrial wind...

Representatives from the electrical industry sharply criticized on Tuesday a proposal in the House to extend federal regulation to include local power plants in major cities to protect them and the national power grid from cyberattacks. Under the 1935 Federal Power Act, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission enforces security standards for most of the nation's power plants, including facilities and control networks -- known as bulk power systems -- that connect power systems. But the commission does not have regulatory jurisdiction over electrical systems outside the continental United States and to local distribution facilities, which include some in large cities...

NEW YORK, April 17 (Reuters) - Utilities that face dwindling demand for their electricity are balking at high contract prices for coal, and some are looking at ways to renegotiate with the mining companies, industry experts said on Friday. In another blow to coal miners, who have seen spot prices plummet 25 percent this year, many power plants are instead burning natural gas, which is at its lowest price in more than six years. As a result, miners are being forced to cut production of coal they would have sold to the utilities at higher prices locked-in to contracts negotiated...