Utilities Seek OK for Gas Releases to Generators at Technical Conference

By William Opalka

Electric and gas utilities tried to convince FERC at a technical conference last week that targeted release of natural gas capacity to generators would alleviate supply constraints and help lower prices.

Other participants said the proposal is premature, ill-defined, discriminatory and interferes with the wholesale power market.

The May 9 conference was scheduled in response to Algonquin Gas Transmission’s petition asking FERC to allow exemptions from its capacity release bidding requirements (RP16-618).

The proposed changes to the company’s tariff would permit “prearranged releases” of firm capacity to utilities or generation owners. The company is one of the partners in the proposed Access Northeast pipeline that would expand capacity by 900,000 dekatherms per day into New England. (See FERC to Consider Electric Utility Purchases of Gas Pipeline Capacity.)

Electric distribution companies in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island have asked state regulators to approve cost recovery from their ratepayers for access to expanded pipelines.

Richard Kruse vice president, regulatory for Algonquin’s parent, Spectra Energy, told FERC the region is vulnerable to gas and electric price volatility.

“Every time this issue comes up, the rest of the country says ‘New England needs to get its act together,’” he said. The market has not solved the issue. “We have not seen generators sign up for pipeline capacity. We’ve held multiple open seasons and it has not materialized.”

Generators have commitments for about 80,000 dekatherms per day of firm capacity, but Kruse said that has dropped in recent years.

“We thought this would create a clear line of sight between the cost causation to the customer and the benefit [through lower electric rates],” said James Daly, vice president of energy supply for Eversource Energy, another partner in Access Northeast.

Algonquin said its waiver request is consistent with FERC policy exempting releases for state-regulated retail access programs from bidding requirements.

But critics said programs to benefit the electric distributors don’t yet exist.

“To a suspicious mind, any program that any state asserts would advance reliability would fall under the ambit of the program,” said former FERC Chairman Joseph Kelliher, now vice president for federal regulatory affairs at NextEra Energy. “Here the commission would be writing a blank check to the states that any program you stick the reliability label on would be permitted.”

Kruse said Algonquin would welcome guidance from the commission.

May 16, 2016

Federal Briefs

In a surprise move, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday decided to skip its scheduled three-judge hearing on the Clean Power Plan and proceed directly to en banc review, meaning a much larger roster of judges will review EPA’s regulations.

The Clean Power Plan, the centerpiece of the Obama administration’s efforts to combat climate change, was challenged by numerous states and stayed by the Supreme Court until its legality was resolved. The D.C. Circuit’s decision means that oral arguments will be postponed from June 2 to Sept. 27 and appeals would go directly to the Supreme Court, potentially speeding up the overall process. After a ruling by a three-judge panel, appeals are heard en banc before going to the Supreme Court.

The court’s decision appears to be sua sponte (on the court’s own initiative), as there is no record of any party to the case asking the court to hear the case en banc in the first instance.

More: The Washington Post; The Wall Street Journal

EIA Excludes CPP, Paris Agreement from Projections

The Energy Information Agency did not include the effects of the Clean Power Plan, the Paris climate agreement or any federal policy changes when it projected a 33.9% worldwide increase of CO₂ emissions between 2012 and 2040, even though nearly 200 countries have resolved to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

EIA Administrator Adam Sieminski said that the agency’s projections shouldn’t be considered actual predictions, saying it doesn’t “have a huge amount of confidence what those endpoint numbers are.” Changes are coming too fast to predict future energy use and technological advances, he said.

“We’re going to have the wrong economic numbers,” Sieminski said. “We’re not going to get the climate policies thing right. The technology — something is going to happen with batteries in the year 2030 that we didn’t expect, that we didn’t build into this. Something is going to happen in Iraq.”

More: Morning Consult

Yucca Mountain Opponents Question NRC Impact Statement

nevadaroberthalsteadsourcegov — Halstead

Native American tribes and officials from the Nevada Commission on Nuclear Projects are questioning the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s environmental impact statement on the now-suspended Yucca Mountain underground repository project. The commission recently issued the environmental report, concluding that it would be safe to store spent fuel in the mountain.

While the commission determined that the release of radioactivity from a spent fuel dump there would be minimal, Nevada scientists believe it would violate the so-called 1 million-year standard after 2,000 years and contaminate groundwater used by the Timbisha Shoshone tribe.

Nevada’s Agency for Nuclear Projects Executive Director Robert Halstead said the NRC report is flawed because it is based on unverified computer calculations.

More: Las Vegas Review-Journal

Feds Label 2013 Texas Plant Explosion as Arson

Federal investigators have determined that the 2013 explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant was an act of arson. About 30 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded at the West Fertilizer Co. facility, killing 15 people, injuring 160 and laying waste to much of the town of West.

After ruling out other causes, investigators of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms determined the blast must have been intentionally set. “The only hypothesis that could not be eliminated is incendiary,” an ATF agent said. ATF did not say whether they had any suspects.

More: The Hill

TVA Files Application For Clinch River SMRs

The Tennessee Valley Authority has filed an early site permit application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to determine the potential to build and operate small modular nuclear reactors at its Clinch River site near Oak Ridge, Tenn.

It is the first time such a permit has been filed with the intention of building small modular reactors, which are seen as a way to keep down costs and provide “cookie-cutter” designs that could be used at many different sites.

“It’s a significant event for us as we continue exploring potential SMR technology as a way of expanding our diverse portfolio to ensure a safe, reliable supply of energy for those we serve,” TVA Chief Nuclear Officer Joe Grimes said. NRC will use the permit to examine the site’s safety, environmental conditions and emergency preparedness if TVA decides to go forward.

More: TVA

DOE Suspends Funding For Texas CCS Project

The Energy Department has pulled back from another carbon capture and storage project. The department stripped the $240 million it had pledged to the Texas Clean Energy Project and asked that the money be put toward other research and development projects.

Project developer Summit Texas Clean Energy was denied an $11 million advance earlier this year. A department audit also criticized the project’s shaky financing.

The Obama administration has invested $4.8 billion in six CCS storage projects. Four of those projects have been cancelled or suspended.

More: Inside Climate News

Power Generation Emissions Lowest Since 1993

Carbon emissions from U.S. electricity generation are at their lowest levels since 1993, according to the Energy Department.

The department attributes the decrease to the retirement of coal units, replaced by renewable energy and cleaner-burning natural gas.

Carbon emissions in 2015 totaled 1,925 million metric tons, the lowest since 1993 and down 21% from 2005 levels, the department said. It also noted that in the past 10 years, generation from coal dropped from 51% of the nation’s total to 34%. In the same 10 years, natural gas’ share rose from 18% to 32%. While nuclear remained steady at 20%, renewables rose from 8% to 13%.

More: FuelFix Blog

May 16, 2016

New York Demands Probe of Tree Cutting on Pipeline Route

By William Opalka

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman on Friday demanded that FERC investigate Constitution Pipeline for alleged tree cutting and other construction activities in defiance of a commission order (CP13-499).

Schneiderman successfully petitioned FERC in January to delay construction along the New York segment of the 124-mile route until state environmental officials had issued a water quality permit. That permit, required under Section 401 of the federal Clean Water Act, was denied last month. (See New York Environmental Department Rejects Constitution Pipeline.)

The pipeline is intended to bring shale gas from the Marcellus region of Pennsylvania into the New York and New England markets.

“My office has found compelling evidence that Constitution not only ignored widespread, unpermitted construction along its pipeline right-of-way corridor, but even authorized, encouraged or condoned it. Constitution also did not report this activity to FERC or to the state. FERC must take strong enforcement action against Constitution to ensure that pipeline companies know they can’t simply thumb their nose at laws that protect New York’s landowners, communities and environment,” Schneiderman said in a statement.

Schneiderman called for an investigation and an enforcement action by FERC for alleged violations of the Natural Gas Act that could subject the pipeline developers to fines of up to $1 million per day. He also asked for a stay of the FERC order from December 2014 that approved the pipeline.

In a two-month investigation, the attorney general’s office said it collected evidence of widespread clear-cutting, road building and heavy equipment use adjacent to state-protected streams and wetlands along the pipeline’s right of way in three counties. State environmental officials said the pipeline route includes about 250 stream crossings, dozens of which are critical to protecting trout.

Constitution spokesman Tom Droege denied the allegations in a statement and suggested landowners may have cut trees on their own.

“Constitution received the complaint late Friday and is undertaking a careful review of the allegations made by the New York attorney general. Constitution intends to vigorously defend its actions in connection with the project, as such actions were conducted within the bounds of applicable laws and regulations,” he wrote. “Constitution did not cut any trees in New York without permits, as FERC confirmed after it conducted an investigation of reports that trees were being cut. Constitution never advised nor encouraged landowners to cut trees on their properties. Landowners retain the right to use their properties after Constitution obtains easements, and Constitution only obtains the right to construct and operate its facilities.”

On Jan. 29, FERC delayed tree cutting in New York, but Schneiderman said the developer did not inform landowners of that fact. Instead, it told them the following day that it intended to begin construction in the spring, “leading some New York landowners to reasonably conclude that pipeline construction on the right of way in New York was imminent and prompting them to prematurely harvest timber within the right of way on their property in order to save the timber’s monetary value.”

Constitution is a partnership of Williams Partners and its co-developers, Cabot Oil & Gas, Piedmont Natural Gas and WGL Holdings. The developers have said they intend to file a legal challenge to the denial of the water quality permit.

May 16, 2016

SPP Asks for Clarification on MISO Settlement Order

By Tom Kleckner

SPP asked FERC last week to resolve a “Catch-22” situation facing the RTO regarding the handling of settlement revenue stemming from a dispute with MISO (ER16-791).

A March FERC order conditionally accepted SPP’s proposal to distribute to its members $16 million in funds reached in a settlement with MISO over the latter’s use of SPP’s transmission system to transfer power freely between its North and South regions. The order also set the docket for hearing and settlement procedures to resolve factual issues in dispute. (See “MISO Settlement Funds Held Up,” SPP RSC Briefs.)

SPP said it has begun distributing settlement revenue to members with its May invoices, but only to those members who signed on to the settlement agreement. At issue, the RTO says, is what to do with transmission-owning members not subject to FERC jurisdiction that have not agreed to a voluntary refund commitment as part of the commission’s final order on allocation.

The RTO asked FERC to confirm it can hold those members’ “allocated shares” until the hearing and settlement procedures end. It also requested the commission clarify SPP will not owe interest on any revenues not distributed to any non-jurisdictional TO that has not signed the refund commitment.

The clarification, it said, “will resolve the ‘Catch-22’ facing SPP, whereby SPP cannot … disburse funds to entities over which the commission cannot order refunds in the event of overpayment by SPP; yet, on the other hand, SPP lacks any explicit authority to hold funds on behalf of these entities.”

SPP said “many, but not all” of its impacted TOs have provided the requested voluntary refund commitment. The proceeding’s first settlement conference was held April 21, with a second scheduled June 16.

May 16, 2016

Integrated Resource Planning on the Horizon for Calif.

By Robert Mullin

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Ed Randolph, energy division director at the California Public Utilities Commission, does not care if his state meets its 50% renewable mandate by 2030.

Ed Randolph, California PUC - integrated resource planning — Randolph © *RTO Insider*

That statement, delivered at the Infocast California Energy Summit last week, came with an important qualifier: “Let me be clear — we will meet the 50% RPS.”

The more pressing concern for the PUC, Randolph said, is reforming the agency’s long-term planning process (LTPP) to ensure California will meet its ambitious greenhouse gas reduction goals for 2050. In 2005, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued an executive order establishing the state’s objective to reduce 2050 GHG emissions to 80% below 1990 levels. Gov. Jerry Brown reinforced that measure through a 2015 order creating an interim target of a 40% reduction by 2030. [Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported that the 80% cut was the product of state legislation.]

The State Senate last year passed legislation to codify both standards, but the bill stalled in the State Assembly. Still, the state Air Resources Board intends to include both targets in an updated version of its GHG scoping plan, which defines the state’s climate change goals and lays the groundwork for achieving them.

The state’s load-serving entities — which include the three investor-owned utilities, electric service providers and community-choice aggregators — will play a key role in the effort.

The problem: The current LTPP, which emphasizes reliability, does not provide a blueprint for achieving GHG reductions.

Other state objectives further muddle the planning picture. Randolph pointed out that efforts aimed at improving energy efficiency and increasing the use of demand response rely on their own cost methodologies.

“I really don’t think we’re doing integrated resource planning yet,” said Randolph.

That will change in 2017 when the commission adopts a process requiring each of California’s LSEs to file an IRP that prioritizes emission reductions alongside other — more standard — requirements, such as resource diversity, reliability and cost-effectiveness.

Among the most fundamental steps to getting there: “We need to determine what the GHG metrics are going to be,” said Randolph, referring to the need to determine each LSE’s share of emissions reductions. “What’s the savings target?

“We know what it is for the economy,” he added, referring to the 80% target. “We need to know what it is for the energy sector.”

The IRP process will also require that the PUC produce its own long-term load forecasts, a capability the agency needs to develop. Randolph said the PUC has requested additional funding from the legislature to create an in-house modeling unit.

IRP implementation could follow one of a few approaches, according to Randolph.

Under a “CPUC-centric” IRP, the commission would set GHG targets for each of the LSEs and determine the resource portfolios that would meet them.

An “LSE-centric” approach would have the PUC establish reliability needs and GHG targets for the LSEs, while allowing them to develop their own resource mixes.

A third choice: a hybrid of the two.

With those options now on the table for next year, Randolph reminded attendees that — for now — it is still business as usual at his agency.

“Anyone who’s a fan of the CPUC’s current proceedings, they’re not going away quite yet,” he said.

May 16, 2016

SPP Sets Z2 Review Session for June 28-29

SPP will hold a two-day review session for the Attachment Z2 credit-settlement system June 28-29 at its Little Rock headquarters. The session will run 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day.

The review session was initially planned for late May, but conflicts with a number of stakeholder meetings pushed the date back.

The Z2 settlement system is being used to help resolve years of incorrect credits for transmission upgrades; the Board of Directors last month approved a payment plan that will begin in November. (See “Board Approves Z2 Level Payment Plan,” SPP Board of Directors Briefs.)

Staff said attendees will gain an understanding of how the settlement system was designed and built and how its calculations are performed.

SPP is asking attendees to complete the Z2 online course on SPP’s Learning Center, review a Z2 white paper and sign a nondisclosure agreement, which will be sent after registering for the review session.

– Tom Kleckner

May 16, 2016

Overheard at IPPNY Spring Conference

Albany, N.Y. — More than 120 people attended the Independent Power Producers of New York’s annual spring conference at the Desmond Hotel and Conference Center. Here are some highlights.

John Reese, Eastern Generation IPPNY Spring Conference — Reese © *RTO Insider*

John Reese, IPPNY chairman and senior vice president at Eastern Generation, mused about the conference’s theme, “Bolstering New York’s Energy Markets in a Changing Landscape.”

“The New York landscape changes so often it should be made of Play-Doh,” he said, noting that both the former state Senate majority leader and the former Assembly speaker were sentenced to prison this month on corruption charges.

In addition, a former aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo is the subjects of a wide-ranging federal influence peddling probe that has ensnared both SolarCity and Competitive Power Ventures. “We have every major energy agency in the state under subpoena by the U.S. attorney: the New York Power Authority, NYSERDA [New York State Energy Research and Development Authority] and the Public Service Commission,” Reese said.

Sen. Joseph Griffo, chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Telecommunications, said the Senate will be considering “reset legislation” for the state’s energy service companies while monitoring PSC proceedings on the issue. (See Retailers Ask for Rehearing of NY Guaranteed Savings Order.)

“We’re looking at things designed to protect customers, to weed out some of the bad actors, establish a more robust, legitimate ESCO market,” Griffo said.

Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, chairman of the Assembly Committee on Energy, said she is backing legislation that would give electric vehicle owners discounted rates for charging their cars during off-peak times. She said she also supports a tax credit for farmers leasing land to solar developers and noted that a fuel cell sales tax exemption was included in the state budget.

Scott Weiner, NY PSC IPPNY - Spring Conference — Weiner © *RTO Insider*

Scott Weiner, deputy for markets and innovation at the New York Department of Public Service, said he initially thought the Supreme Court’s ruling last month rejecting Maryland regulators’ attempt to subsidize a combined cycle plant through a contract-for-differences was “very narrow.” (See Supreme Court Rejects MD Subsidy for CPV Plant.)

“Nothing in this opinion should be read to foreclose Maryland and other states from encouraging production of new or clean generation through measures ‘untethered to a generator’s wholesale market participation,’” the court said.

But after rereading the order, Weiner said, he changed his mind.

“There will be a lot of lawyers spending a lot of time defining ‘tethering,’” he said. “There’s a lot that the order didn’t say. That leaves white space for all of us to work our way through.”

New York Clean Energy Standard — Bay © *RTO Insider*

FERC Chairman Norman Bay gave his thoughts on continuing state-federal jurisdictional battles over the electric industry and calls for reregulation in states with retail choice.

“At FERC we clearly don’t have the authority to tell a state that it can’t be vertically integrated. We don’t have the authority to tell a state that, if it chooses to do so, that it can’t reregulate,” he said. “The case to be made for a market-based approach to further important public policies has to be made. And I think that case is being made in RTOs and ISOs across the country.”

May 16, 2016

Overheard at NECA’s 23rd Annual Conference

NORTH FALMOUTH, Mass. — More than 200 people attended the Northeast Energy and Commerce Association’s 23rd Annual New England Energy Conference last week. Here are some highlights.

Paul Roberti - NECA 23rd Annual New England Energy Conference — Roberti © *RTO Insider*

Paul Roberti, a member of the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission, on the suspension of the Northeast Energy Direct pipeline project: “The recent decision by Kinder Morgan to suspend its project should not come as a surprise. Why? Because the capacity market … is doing what it’s supposed to do by bringing forth dual-fuel generators. … It’s the economics and the market construct that is driving the decision not to have gas pipelines at this point in time.”

Christopher Recchia - NECA 23rd Annual New England Energy Conference — Recchia © *RTO Insider*

Christopher Recchia, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Public Service, on the success of the state’s clean energy programs and their impact on development: “We’re at 10 times the amount of solar that we had in 2011, so we’re over 250 MW that’s installed or approved or permitted, with also 100 MW of wind. … Of course, it’s not baseload, but it’s more nameplate wattage than we ever got from [closed nuclear plant] Vermont Yankee,” whose output was sold into the grid and did not serve in-state load exclusively.

Kerrick-Johnson - NECA 23rd Annual New England Energy Conference — Johnson © *RTO Insider*

New Hampshire Consumer Advocate Donald Kreis said utilities appear to be embracing smart meters and distributed resources, even though they may reduce their revenues. “If you listen to the utilities, you would have no idea that any of them have shareholders. What are the shareholders willing to do, risk-wise, on the way to those double-digit [returns on equity] that utilities crave?”

Matthew Morrissey - NECA 23rd Annual New England Energy Conference — Morrissey © *RTO Insider*

Kerrick Johnson, vice president of Vermont Electric Power Co., said his state relies on intermittent renewables for at least 18% of its 1,000-MW load. “That’s incredible. That’s something that is very challenging. … This blossoming of distributed generation behind the meter is really impacting us.”

Matthew Morrissey, managing director of Offshore Wind Massachusetts, a coalition of offshore wind developers, on the decreasing prices in Europe, where new projects are coming in at 15 cents/kWh: “We are seeing a sea change in costs in terms of the industrialization of this resource.”

David Littell - NECA 23rd Annual New England Energy Conference — Littell © *RTO Insider*

David Littell, principal for the Regulatory Assistance Project, on the development of a “grid of the future”: “I am not sure if New England will have the grid of the future in five years, but I am sure that California will be on the way. … We can watch what they’re doing so we can learn. … New England can get there if it wants to.”

Micah Remley - NECA 23rd Annual New England Energy Conference — Remley © *RTO Insider*

Micah Remley, senior vice president of product for demand response service provider EnerNOC, said customer usage data have little value if the customer cannot respond in real time or if market design does not incent a change in behavior. “We need three things in place: you need the data, you need to get the data all of the time and you need the market design to take advantage of the technology.”

– William Opalka

May 16, 2016

PJM Market Implementation Committee Briefs

VALLEY FORGE, Pa. — The Market Implementation Committee unanimously approved a problem statement and issue charge to consider changes to rules governing day-ahead scheduling reserve eligibility.

Current rules allow resources to clear DASR even though some — nuclear, run-of-river and self-scheduled pumped hydro, wind and solar units — cannot fulfill their obligations in real time. If such units are made ineligible, cleared DASR megawatts will be able to reliably fulfill their obligations in real time.

The issue will be worked at the MIC and is expected to result in updated language to Manual 11.

Price Floor for Incremental Auctions?

Jeff Whitehead of Direct Energy suggested PJM establish a price floor for incremental auctions and said he will return to the MIC with a problem statement.

The large amount of capacity released in incremental auctions has led to low clearing prices — giving supply resources the opportunity to buy out of their obligation and net profits that are financed by load, he said.

Whitehead raised the issue following a PJM presentation on the release of base capacity for delivery year 2017/18.

In the third incremental auction for delivery year 2016/17, PJM released 4,556 MW of prior capacity commitments. PJM said more than double that amount — 10,000 MW — would be included in the third incremental auction for the 2017/18 delivery year. (See PJM Transition Auction Capacity not Included in Incremental Auction.)

PLS Exception Process Proposal Presented

PJM presented the first read of a proposed parameter-limited schedule (PLS) exception process.

The revisions would allow for exception requests to be submitted after the Feb. 28 deadline and for a temporary exception to be extended to a period exception under certain circumstances.

The changes would give PJM and the Independent Market Monitor more time to review requests and provide determinations to market sellers. The persistent PLS exception option would be eliminated. (See “Manual Changes to Detail Unit-Specific Operating Parameter Adjustment Process Under CP,” PJM Operating Committee Briefs.)

PJM Seeks to Clarify Terms of Auction Specific Bilateral Transactions

Members will be asked at the next MIC meeting to endorse rule clarifications to preserve the physicality of auction-specific bilateral transactions.

The changes clarify that performance bonus payments related to such transactions accrue to the buyer, and the obligation to perform remains with the seller. In addition, the buyers would be required to indemnify PJM Settlement against seller performance defaults.

The buyer would be the party to enter into a replacement transaction if desired, and there would be no restrictions on the source of replacement.

CPower Proposes to Study Necessity of DR Registration Submission Deadline

Bruce Campbell presented a problem statement and issue charge on behalf of CPower to review the demand response registration submission deadline.

Currently, DR may only register for capacity auctions from Jan. 1 to May 15 and only for the delivery year that follows the May 15 deadline. That prevents customers who may be willing to contribute to reliability during the delivery year but after the deadline from participating as a demand resource, Campbell said.

The registration window is a legacy of seasonal performance requirements and penalty structures, he said.

“The implementation of [Capacity Performance] has changed demand resource obligations and penalties, which may allow for more flexible registration submission timeline requirements,” Campbell said.

Widening the registration window could increase reliability and reduce provider risks and customer costs, he said.

The goal would be to present proposed changes to the Markets and Reliability Committee in November.

Exelon, Direct Energy Suggest Studying Residual ARR Process

Direct Energy’s Whitehead and Sharon Midgley of Exelon presented a problem statement and issue charge to discuss potential enhancements to the residual auction revenue rights process.

“The current residual ARR process poses a risk that’s unhedgeable,” Midgley said.

Currently, PJM may allocate residual ARRs that become feasible after the annual allocation process in specific months where transmission capability becomes available to accommodate them, according to the problem statement. Market participants have no choice regarding whether to accept or reject them.

Residual ARRs for a portion of the planning year can have vastly different values from the same ARRs allocated across the entire planning year; in some cases they can be negatively valued.

“As a result, LSEs may be saddled with an undesired, unexpected and unhedgeable reduction in expected ARR credits,” the problem statement said.

“We’re looking to firm up ARR credits to what it was three or four years ago so you can know what kind of cash flow you can expect,” Whitehead said.

– Suzanne Herel

May 16, 2016

State Briefs

Boulder Continues to Consider Municipalization

Xcel Energy is expected to present new data to the city of Boulder this week to try and persuade the City Council to nix plans to acquire the utility’s assets and operate as a municipal entity.

City Attorney Tom Carr told the council that if the city is unable to come up with a plan that maintains service reliability and competitive customer rates, while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions at the pace mandated by the city charter, he would recommend abandoning municipalization plans.

The state’s Public Utilities Commission ruled in November that Boulder cannot acquire Xcel facilities that exclusively serve customers outside city limits. The commission declined to force Xcel to share its facilities with the city.

More: Daily Camera

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

OPC: Don’t Spend Merger Money Just Yet

The Public Service Commission should not spend $21.55 million from the merger agreement between Exelon and Pepco Holdings Inc. in case the decision is returned to the courts, the Office of the People’s Counsel said in a filing last week.

The public advocate, along with district government and several clean energy groups, is asking the PSC to reconsider its decision allowing the $6.8 million deal.

The $21.55 million that Exelon provided the district is part of a $78 million public investment fund. (See Exelon Closes Pepco Merger Following OK from DC PSC.)

More: Washington Business Journal

ILLINOIS

Peoples Gas to Pay $18.5M Over Misleading Costs

Peoples Gas and parent company Integrys Energy Group will pay customers $18.5 million for allegedly withholding information about its $8 billion program that replaces 2,000 miles of old iron gas mains beneath Chicago streets.

The settlement reached last week ends investigations by Attorney General Lisa Madigan and the Commerce Commission into allegations that project leaders failed to disclose $3.5 billion in cost overruns to regulators until Wisconsin Energy acquired Integrys last June. Peoples Gas maintains it did nothing wrong.

The settlement involves a combination of bill credits, legal reimbursements and grants to provide relief to low-income households for heating expenses.

More: Chicago Tribune

KANSAS

State Suspends Clean Power Plan Compliance Work

The state will officially suspend its work devising a plan to comply with the federal Clean Power Plan on May 19. It is at least the third state to take such a step after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in February staying the rules until legal challenges are resolved.

Republican Gov. Sam Brownback signed the measure into law last week after the GOP-dominated Legislature approved it by wide margins late last month. The law prohibits state agencies from conducting studies or doing other work toward drafting a compliance plan until the U.S. Supreme Court’s stay is lifted.

Kansas was among 27 states challenging the rules, finalized by President Obama’s administration last year.

More: The Associated Press

MARYLAND

Morris Schreim to Take Walter Hall’s Place at PSC

The Public Service Commission has appointed Chief Engineer Morris Schreim to senior commission adviser. He takes the place of Walter Hall.

Schreim, who has been with the commission since 2013, will advise it on matters related to PJM and FERC.

Andrew Dodge will assume the position of chief engineer and director of emergency management. Dodge retired in December as vice president of technical services at Baltimore Gas and Electric.

More: Maryland PSC

MONTANA

Colstrip Owners Discuss Future with Governor

The CEOs of three of the Colstrip plant’s owners sat down with Gov. Steve Bullock last week to discuss what will happen to the aging coal-fired complex as out-of-state political forces push toward the eventual closure of its two older units.

Kimberly Harris of Puget Sound Energy, Paul Farr of Talen Energy and Bob Rowe of NorthWestern Energy represented half the plant’s ownership. Talen owns 50% of Units 1 and 2 and a 30% share of Unit 3. It also operates the entire four-unit Colstrip complex.

Farr made it clear that Talen wants to sell its stake in the plant. He suggested that industrial customers sign a power purchase agreement with the plant to keep it operational.

More: Billings Gazette

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Eversource Predicts Increase In Service Charge in July

Eversource Energy is predicting an increase in its energy service charge starting in July at the same time that three other state utilities, which purchase power from regional markets, are expecting lower prices.

The company filed a price forecast with regulators but is not formally requesting the rate change. It is predicting that it will request a rate of 10.94 cents/kWh, a 9.5% increase from the current 9.99 cents/kWh. Utilities in the state adjust their rates every six months to reflect shifting generation prices.

Eversource, which produces its own power, is allowed to pass through the cost of operating coal-fired power plants that it owns into its rate. Three other utilities buy power on the wholesale market, and their rates have dropped because of historically low natural gas prices.

More: New Hampshire Union Leader

NEW MEXICO

State Passes 1,000-MW Wind Capacity Mark

The state surpassed 1,000 MW of installed wind capacity last year, and analysts say the state is well positioned to expand its renewable power output.

Industry experts say the state has excellent wind resources, and investors already have put almost $2 billion into developing turbines in the state. Wind power accounted for 6.3% of all power generated in the state, according to John Hensley, manager of industry data and analysis for the American Wind Energy Association. An additional 300 MW of capacity is expected to come online this year.

The state currently has 14 wind projects that support more than 1,000 jobs and generate enough power for 189,000 homes.

More: Public News Service

Judge Allows Lawsuit Over City Munies to Proceed

A state judge last week denied the city of Farmington’s motion to dismiss the city of Bloomfield’s breach of contract lawsuit, filed in August as part of its attempt to purchase an electric utility from Farmington.

“A municipality must be able to control the utilities within its jurisdictional boundaries and acquire the necessary property and equipment to do so,” Judge Bradford Dalley said. “It cannot be said that the passage of time extinguishes that role, especially when the right has been recognized in an agreement preserved in a court order.”

The city of Bloomfield alleges that a 1960 court case and the subsequent judgment and decree served as a contract between the two cities that recognized Bloomfield’s right to purchase the utility from Farmington at any time. Farmington argues that the 1960 decree, known as the Culpepper Decree, was not a contract and was subject to the statute of limitations.

More: Farmington Daily Times

NEW YORK

SolarCity Subpoenaed In Lobbying Probe

SolarCity acknowledged it has been subpoenaed in a federal probe of improper lobbying and undisclosed conflicts in state contracts.

The company is developing a state-funded “gigafactory,” the centerpiece of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s “Buffalo Billion” initiative. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara is investigating how certain vendors were selected to construct the projects, including SolarCity’s. A company spokeswoman said it is complying with the investigation and that the company had no say in the selection process.

The governor’s office, the state economic development agency, the State University of New York Polytechnic Institute, the Public Service Commission’s Department of Public Service and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority also have been subpoenaed.

More: Newsday

RHODE ISLAND

$700 Million Gas-Fired Power Plant Opposed

At a packed public hearing, the state Energy Facility Siting Board heard opposition to a new $700 million natural gas-fired power plant that would be built in the western part of Burrillville.

Residents told the board that Invenergy’s proposed facility does not belong in an area surrounded by woodlands, including protected lands in the Buck Hill and George Washington management areas.

About one-half of the plant’s 1,000-MW capacity was successfully bid into the ISO-NE Forward Capacity Auction for the 2019/20 commitment period. A decision from the siting board is expected early next year.

More: Providence Journal

SOUTH DAKOTA

City Oks State’s Largest Solar Project

The Pierre City Commission last week approved leasing 5 acres at the Pierre Regional Airport to Geronimo Energy in what is expected to be the state’s largest solar energy project.

Minnesota-based Geronimo will install the 1-MW facility this summer. The power will be distributed into Pierre’s municipal electrical system.

It also will be first solar project for Missouri River Energy Services, which provides 43% of the city’s electrical power. The city gets the remaining 57% of its electricity from the Western Area Power Administration, which is not part of the project.

More: Capital Journal

WISCONSIN

Watchdog Calls out $138M School Energy Overruns

A little-known exemption has allowed 147 school districts to exceed state-imposed revenue limits by spending a combined $138 million on energy efficiency measures.

The Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance says that a 2009 law allowed state school districts to exempt energy efficiency expenditures from state rules that require voter approval if revenue limits are exceeded. The Wisconsin Association of School Boards said the exemption encourages school districts to make investments in energy efficiency to achieve long-term operating savings.

A bill to end the exemption, sponsored by two Republican legislators, was stalled in the Legislature last session.

More: Wisconsin Watchdog