Energy
FERC Member Won't Pursue Another Term
WASHINGTON (AP) — One of the two remaining members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission says she will not seek a second term, a move that could leave the five-member panel with a single commissioner and further hobble its ability to make decisions. Democrat Colette Honorable said Friday ..
Northeastern U.S. Needs Pipelines, Report Says
The lack of pipeline infrastructure in the northeast has caused some of the highest electricity rates in the nation for families and business—and it will only get worse, according to a new report by the U.S. Chamber’s Institute for 21st Century Energy. The latest installment in the Energy Institute..
40 U.S. Utilities Recognized for Environmental Excellence
40 U.S. utilities have been recognized as 2017 Environmental Champions by Market Strategies International’s Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement™: Residential, a nationwide study of nearly 58,000 customers among 130 of the largest residential gas and electric utility providers. The study scor..
Utility to Use Recycled Sewer Biogas in Natural Gas Pipelines
HONOLULU (AP) — Honolulu officials say they are moving forward with plans to sell biogas produced at the city’s sewage plant to Hawaii Gas Co. The gas company says it plans to spend about $5 million on equipment to clean the sewage plant’s biogas before adding it into their pipelines. It also wants..
Commissioners Question Gas Pipeline Replacement
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A disagreement about who should take on the financial burden of replacing miles of dilapidated Kansas gas pipeline is dividing three commissioners no the state’s utility regulatory agency. Shari Feist-Albrecht, Pat Apple and Jay Emler discussed at a Kansas Corporation Commission..
NARUC Creates Natural Gas Access and Expansion Task Force
The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners have established a new Presidential Natural Gas Access and Expansion Task Force. Pennsylvania Commissioner John Coleman and Mississippi Commissioner Brandon Presley have been appointed as co-chairs, with North Dakota Commissioner Julie Fed..
Hearings Scheduled for Gas Distribution Project
BLUE ASH, Ohio (AP) – Two key hearings have been set to discuss if a proposed natural gas pipeline can be built under Cincinnati’s suburbs. The Cincinnati Enquirer reports (http://cin.ci/2ou6x8a ) a public hearing June 15 at the University of Cincinnati-Blue Ash campus will allow citizens to expres..
PECO Welcomes 12 New Apprentice Mechanics
PECO today announced they have welcomed 12 new apprentice mechanics to the company’s field force following their graduation from a comprehensive natural gas training program. The new apprentices will join the utility’s front lines – helping to ensure safe and reliable natural gas service for more th..
Eversource Invests $50 Million to Upgrade Connecticut Gas Lines
As part of Eversource’s effort to modernize its natural gas distribution system for customers, the company is investing $50 million in gas line improvement projects in Connecticut in 2017. The work involves replacing approximately 20 miles of existing cast iron and steel pipe in New London, Stamfor..
Power-to Gas Tech Could Be Used in NatGas Pipelines, Increase Renewable Energy
In a partnership with University of California, Irvine researchers, Southern California Gas Co. earlier this week announced that new research on power-to-gas technology shows the technique holds the ability to dramatically increase the use of intermittent renewable energy. “The ability to increase ..
Natural Gas Pipeline Initiative Launched in Massachusetts
The Northeast Gas Association has launched a year-long initiative to raise awareness about the importance of natural gas infrastructure to Massachusetts’ economy and its essential role as the Commonwealth transitions to an electricity grid that becomes more reliant upon renewable energy. “Massachus..
Water Gathering Pipeline to be Built in North Dakota
Buckhorn SWD Solutions, LLC has entered into a service agreement with XTO Energy Inc., a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corporation, to provide produced water gathering and disposal services in McKenzie County, North Dakota. Buckhorn will construct, own and operate an 87-mile pipeline and dispos..
Utility to Pay $8.5 Million to Settle Suit Over Gas Blowout
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Southern California Gas Co. agreed Wednesday to pay $8.5 million to settle a lawsuit over a well blowout that spewed natural gas for nearly four months and drove thousands of residents from their Los Angeles homes. The utility signed an agreement with the South Coast Air Qu..
Companies Announce Pipeline Construction to Provide Carbon-Neutral Renewable Natural Gas
Southern California Gas Co. and waste management company CR&R Environmental have broke ground on construction of an eight-inch pipeline that will bring carbon-neutral renewable natural gas into the Southern California Gas distribution system for the first time. The connecting pipeline, funded by CR..
Judge: PG&E Must Run Ads Publicizing Pipeline Safety Convictions
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday sentenced California’s largest utility to pay a $3 million fine and run television commercials publicizing its pipeline safety convictions as punishment in a criminal case stemming from a deadly natural-gas explosion in the San Francisco Bay Area. U...
Judge Delays Sentencing PG&E for Natural Gas Explosion
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge says he is inclined to require Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to mention its convictions in ads and have employees do thousands of hours of community service as part of its sentence in a criminal case stemming from a deadly natural gas explosion in the San Francisco ..
PG&E Found Guilty of Violating Pipeline Safety Regulations
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Pacific Gas & Electric Co. says it is prepared to pay the maximum fine of $3 million after a jury convicted the company of deliberately violating pipeline safety regulations before a deadly natural gas pipeline explosion in the San Francisco Bay Area. But California’s largest u..
Utility to Replace Aging Gas Pipelines in Ohio
CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio (AP) – Dominion East Ohio has announced plans to replace more than 15,000 feet of the utility’s aging gas pipelines in Cuyahoga Falls. The Akron Beacon Journal reports (http://bit.ly/2jxff50 ) the work will be split up into two projects totaling more than $3 million. The proje..
Controversial BLM Rule Could Stimulate Gathering Line Construction
It is not often that a federal regulatory dictate is good for one section of the oil and gas industry but bad for another. But the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which is part of the Department of Interior, manages to create that divergence with its November final rule which affects nearly 100,000..
America Will Lose One-Third of its Electricity Generation Capacity Without More Infrastructure
A new report released by Consumer Energy Alliance found that rejecting pipeline infrastructure would remove almost one-third of U.S. electricity generation capacity by 2030, dangerously raising electric rates nationwide, especially for poverty-stricken households. The report, titled “Families, Comm..
Interior Gas Utility Board Approves Merger
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — The board of directors for Interior Gas Utility has agreed to purchase Fairbanks Natural Gas from the state for more than $58 million. As part of the deal approved Tuesday, Interior Gas Utility would also get a processing plant in Point Mackenzie and transportation trucks. ..
SoCalGas to Use Fiber Optic Technology to Monitor Pipelines in Real Time
Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) will be one of the first natural gas utilities in the United States to incorporate innovative fiber-optic cable technology to detect impacts and leaks along its transmission and high-pressure pipeline system. The technology uses fiber-optic strands to tran..
Eversource Files Appeal Over Gas Pipeline Capacity Agreement
Eversource has filed an appeal with the New Hampshire Supreme Court to overturn a regulatory decision on the company’s proposal to purchase natural gas pipeline capacity to be used to create electricity. The additional gas would be made available by the expansion of an existing pipeline and used to ..
PHMSA Appoints 24 Members to Pipeline Safety Working Group
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) today appointed 24 members to the pipeline safety Voluntary Information-Sharing System (VIS) Working Group. The newly created advisory committee that will provide the Secretary of Tran..
Incoming New Hampshire Governor Pledges to Support Natural Gas Projects
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Incoming Republican governor Chris Sununu is pledging to put his “political capital” behind projects designed to bring more natural gas into New Hampshire. Sununu told business leaders Thursday he hopes to see more companies look to build natural gas pipelines in the state, New..
Trump Chooses Rick Perry to Lead Energy Department
WASHINGTON (AP) – Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who famously forgot the Energy Department was one of the agencies he pledged to eliminate, is President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to become energy secretary, two people with knowledge of the decision say. Perry is likely to shift the department away..
Study: Electric and Gas Utilities Post All-Time High Customer Satisfaction
According to the 2016 Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement™: Residential study from Market Strategies International, customers are satisfied with electric and natural gas utility service but don’t trust their advice or digital competency. Consumers also doubt the industry’s ability to keep tr..
IEEE, FERC Join Forces on Energy Infrastructure, Market Challenges
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and its Power & Energy Society (PES) entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to address energy infrastructure and related market challenges created by recent significant changes..
The Great Lakes Water Utility Energy Challenge Launches
The Great Lakes Protection Fund and American Water Works Association have launched The Water Utility Energy and Efficiency Challenge, an innovative program which engages water operators in a competition to reduce the emissions sourced in their energy generation. The competition is aimed at connectin..
Commission: Michigan Should Spend $4 Billion More Annually on Infrastructure
(AP) – A report ordered by Gov. Rick Snyder says Michigan must spend $4 billion more annually to upgrade infrastructure that includes roads, water systems and the power grid. The study released Monday says the state and local governments spend less than the U.S. average and in surrounding states. ..
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