Posted by admin / Under Electricity Market
To understand how the Environmental Protection Agency operates, one must first understand that it lies all the time. Its “estimates” are bogus. Its claims of lives saved are bogus. It thrives on scare-mongering to a public that is science-challenged, but the science remains and the EPA must be challenged to save the nation from the loss of the energy it needs to function. It must be challenged to unleash the huge economic benefits of energy resources—coal, oil, and natural gas—that can reverse our present economic decline. The latest outrage is the MACT rule—an acronym for “maximum achievable control technology” intended...
Published on Saturday 11th of February 2012 06:07:08 AM
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Posted by admin / Under Electricity Market
After a two-month delay, the Obama administration was expected Wednesday to unveil new rules for coal-fired power plants that mean costly investments passed on to consumers, but also health benefits. A "significant Clean Air Act announcement" was set for 2 p.m. ET by the Environmental Protection Agency. Both environmentalists and industry were gearing up for the final say on rules covering mercury and other toxic emissions from power plants fueled by coal. Power plant operators who have trouble meeting a three-year deadline for compliance will be given some flexibility under a deal struck between the White House and the EPA,...
Published on Saturday 11th of February 2012 06:07:08 AM
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Posted by admin / Under Electricity Market
The decision affects roughly a half-dozen PG&E customers, most in Santa Cruz County, who paid electricians to replace the SmartMeters with more traditional, analog models. PG&E cut off their power in a bid to deter others from following suit. At first, the utility insisted it would restore electricity only if those people agreed to let PG&E install another SmartMeter. On Thursday, the company offered a second option, saying customers could also choose a digital meter that lacked a wireless transmitter. But some of the SmartMeter opponents still held out, saying the digital meters contained a power-switching device that produced its...
Published on Saturday 11th of February 2012 06:07:08 AM
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Posted by admin / Under Electricity Market
San Francisco residents may soon have a chance to power their homes and businesses with "100 percent" certified green energy. But it won't come cheap. Under the CleanPowerSF program adopted Tuesday by the city's Public Utilities Commission on a 4-0 vote, San Francisco's 330,000 utility customers would be able to get all their power from wind, solar and other renewable sources, starting as early as July 1. On the downside, typical residential customers would also see their bills rise - at least in the short run - by anywhere from $7 to $54.50 a month, depending on their usage. That's...
Published on Saturday 11th of February 2012 06:07:08 AM
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Posted by admin / Under Electricity Market
BLUEFIELD, Va. — The Virginia State Corporation Commission announced Wednesday afternoon that it has approved a pair of rate increases for customers of Appalachian Power Co. – one related to a biennial base rate review, and the other meant to recover environmental expenses. The combined increases amount to $85.1 million — a sum that will increase the monthly power bill for APCO’s Virginia customers by $7 per month, based on the average usage of 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity. “The important thing for our customers in Virginia to know is that these rate increases won’t take effect until February,” Todd Burns,...
Published on Saturday 11th of February 2012 06:07:08 AM
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Posted by admin / Under Electricity Market
Electricity rates now depend more on public policy and regulatory decisions than on actual costs. Based on a newly released report from Oliver Wyman, a leading global management consulting firm, “There is a growing need to increase electricity prices. These rate increases are largely being driven by environmental, regulatory, and security requirements.” And they are adding to “financial strain at the worst possible moment.”The report, designed to help utility companies deal with customer wrath, states that “the increases have been the most significant in the residential segment”—where they grew more quickly than other sectors. Despite declining pricing on some fuels,...
Published on Saturday 11th of February 2012 06:07:08 AM
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Posted by admin / Under Electricity Market
Thomas Edison and his direct current, or DC, technology lost the so-called War of the Currents to alternating current, or AC, in the 1890s after it became clear that AC was far more efficient at transmitting electricity over long distances. Today, AC is still the standard for the electricity that comes out of our wall sockets. But DC is staging a roaring comeback in pockets of the electrical grid. Alstom, ABB, Siemens and other conglomerates are erecting high-voltage DC grids to carry gigawatts of electricity from wind farms in remote places like western China and the North Sea to faraway...
Published on Saturday 11th of February 2012 06:07:08 AM
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