Free Republic

Record-high natural gas prices are prompting more utilities to switch from gas to oil derivatives, fanning the flames of an already strong oil price rally. Yet, another report, also by Reuters, said that other analysts expected a lot of gas-to-oil switching this winter, which would drive oil prices higher and drive some UK energy suppliers out of business. "This has never happened before at such a global scale. The market has always tried to substitute from costly oil to much cheaper natural gas," Reuters quoted a SEB commodity analyst as saying. Now the tables have turned, and both commodities are...

National Guardsmen just completed a two-week training exercise which saw them respond to a simulated cyberattack that took out critical utilities across the United States. The exercises have become an annual event, but this year took on even more significance after coming on the heels of several major ransomware and cyber attacks that crippled large parts of American infrastructure in recent months. The exercises were part of the seventh Cyber Yankee, an training event that brings together guardsmen from throughout the New England region to test their responses against simulated cyberattacks. This year’s exercises simulated a cyber attack that targeted...

One of the disadvantages – or advantages depending on your point of view – of never watching news, local or otherwise, is not knowing what Tom-foolery is afoot. Yesterday for example I heard on the news while driving around that a new rate went into effect yesterday for Consumers Energy, the utility that provides half the state with electricity. Consumers Energy's 1.6 million residential electricity customers began paying 50% more during peak afternoon hours this week in an effort to reduce energy generation in the future.The subsidiary of Jackson-based CMS Energy Corp. has notified its customers in the Lower Peninsula's...

I recently helped elderly mom find a new electric provider through one of the popular website markets. The provider chosen accepted her application and began providing service. But 5 days later she received a letter from them demanding a $500 security deposit or her service would be disconnected. Assuming this letter is legit, is it legal to demand such a hefty security deposit after service is established, instead of assessing credit risk at the time of application? Could they be trying to scam her because of the recent power problems Texas experienced hit them financially? They are saying that the...

The third and last remaining commissioner of the Texas utilities regulator resigned under pressure on Tuesday after the release of comments to investors vowing to protect utility profits and dismissing financial hits from a cold snap on municipal power companies. The resignation came soon after the disclosure of inflammatory comments by the Public Utility Commission Chair Arthur D’Andrea in a March 9 call with Bank of America utilities’ analysts. The call took place two days before he was to consider rescinding billions of dollars payment to utilities. His stance against repricing helped sink a proposal this week to cut $4.1...

Billionaire Warren Buffett encouraged investors to maintain their faith in America’s economy and the businesses his Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate owns in a reassuring letter to his shareholders Saturday. Buffett hardly even addressed the coronavirus that ravaged many businesses last year, instead focusing on the long-term prospects for the railroad, utility and insurance businesses and stocks that belong to Berkshire Hathaway. But he said U.S. business will thrive over time in spite of the pandemic. “In its brief 232 years of existence, however, there has been no incubator for unleashing human potential like America. Despite some severe interruptions, our country’s economic...

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a proposal to prohibit utility disconnections in regions that are under a state of emergency as part of the 2021 State of the State. The Governor will propose legislation that will apply to electric, gas, water, telecommunications, cable and internet services. Utilities that fail to comply will be subject to penalties.

Federal prosecutors marched deeper into House Speaker Michael Madigan’s inner circle Wednesday, charging longtime confidant Michael McClain and ex-ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore in a bribery scheme designed to curry favor with the powerful Southwest Side Democrat. Also named in the 50-page indictment are ex-top ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and Jay Doherty, the former president of the City Club, who was accused of helping to funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars to three people with ties to Madigan’s 13th Ward. All four are charged in a document that also makes frequent references to ex-ComEd executive Fidel Marquez, who has already pleaded...

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said on Wednesday that he is authorizing the city to shut off utility service to properties where large parties and gatherings are held, CBS Los Angeles reports. Garcetti said that, starting Friday, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power will cut off water and power service in "egregious" cases where unpermitted large parties and gatherings take place. The announcement came hours after City Councilman David Ryu introduced a motion to increase penalties for property owners who hold large house parties in violation of public health orders. It wasn't clear whether Garcetti's announcement was related...

L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that he ordered the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to cut off the water and electricity to any homes, venues, or businesses in violation of COVID-19 safety measures. In April, Garcetti enacted a similar order that applied to any non-essential businesses that defied his “Safer at Home” mandate. The announcement comes just days after Los Angeles police responded to a “gang related” shooting at a large house party in Beverly Crest. According to Garcetti, this order will help limit people’s right to assemble. “We’ve been clear from the beginning that getting together in...

BREAKING: Los Angeles Mayor says he will order water and power utilities to be shut off at homes hosting parties

President Trump signed an executive order Friday barring U.S. purchases of certain foreign-produced power equipment, a move meant to reduce national security risks to the electricity system. “It is imperative the bulk-power system be secured against exploitation and attacks by foreign threats,” Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette said in a statement. The order “will greatly diminish the ability of foreign adversaries to target our critical electric infrastructure.” Examples of bulk-power system equipment include substations, control rooms, substation transformers, and generators that are necessary to operate the interconnected electricity grid and maintain reliable generation, according to the order. The order prohibits any...

President Trump on Friday signed an executive order prohibiting bulk power system equipment from foreign companies that his administration believes could put the U.S. electricity system at risk. The Executive Order on Securing the United States Bulk Power System authorizes Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette to prohibit federal agencies and U.S. entities from acquiring, transferring or installing bulk power system equipment in “which any foreign country or foreign nation has any interest and the transaction poses an unacceptable risk to national security.” The order does not single out any country but many have interpreted the new rule o imply that equipment...

Well, it happened once again. Sales of electricity in the US declined in 2019 by a significant 2.8%, despite solid domestic economic growth with real GDP increasing 2.3%. Sales across all categories of users—residential, commercial and industrial— all fell. To put this in context electricity sales have fallen in five of the past ten years. From 2010-2019 electricity sales actually declined by a slight 0.1% while real GDP rose 22%, the population increased 7% and industrial production rose 17%. Note especially the last number. It has been an easy (and we believe lazy) claim to attribute every slackening period of...

Greenpeace congratulated China and the EU by contrasting it with Trump’s refusal to commit the United States to the Paris climate accord: “What gets the pair together isn't just Trump – China and the EU understand the opportunities offered by a clean and climate-safe world.” Oops! Hold your horses! All bets are off! According to a BBC news headline d/d November 20, 2019: “Climate Change: China Coal Surge Threatens Paris Targets.” Astonishingly, over the past 18 months China has added enough new coal-based electricity generation (43GW) to power 31 million homes. King coal has returned. Not only, China is also...

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...

The troubled districts, which operate in mostly poor areas on thin budgets, receive little oversight and face a host of problems.

ORLANDO, Fla.—The state dubbed it the I-4 Ultimate for its grand scope. For some here, it’s more like the ultimate headache. A reconstruction of 21 miles of congested interstate highway through the heart of Orlando will build or rebuild 140 bridges, redesign 15 interchanges, move exits and add new toll lanes, in a $2.3 billion project to smooth traffic through one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities. Dense cities have grown up around the aging freeways, hemming them in so that expensive engineering feats are needed to do work on them. Yet work is often unavoidable. I-4, for instance, was built...

Capping a wild day on Wall Street in which Pacific Gas and Electric Co. stock crashed and soared as investors weighed the prospect of government aid, California’s top utility regulator said Thursday his agency can help the utility avoid financial catastrophe because of the state’s raging wildfires. Michael Picker, president of the California Public Utilities Commission, said his agency does not want PG&E and the state’s other investor-owned utilities to file for bankruptcy. In a move he conceded was unusual, he briefed investors and analysts on his views before issuing a public statement Thursday, a decision that may have contributed...

AMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCBD) - Workers at the Charleston Water System Plum Island Facility had their hands full over the weekend when the system was clogged by a massive amount of wipes. "It took a few days for us to get divers in here to actually dive down about 80 feet into raw sewage with their bare hands and feel around in total darkness," said Mike Saia, Communications Manager, Charleston Water System. Those divers found mounds and mounds of flushed wipes. They clogged the system and caused a huge backup. While the system is clear now, there are still wipes...