Utility Infrastructure
Westar, Great Plains Announce New Plans for $14B Merger
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Westar Energy and Great Plains Energy have announced a revamped plan to merge after Kansas regulators scuttled an earlier deal. The Topeka Capital-Journal (http://bit.ly/2u9t3IX ) reports that the deal announced Monday morning would form a utility with a combined equity value of..
Judge Denies Water Crisis Legal Settlement
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A federal judge has declined to grant preliminary approval to a $151 million settlement stemming from a 2014 chemical spill that sparked a water crisis in West Virginia. Local news outlets report Judge John T. Copenhaver Jr. said in an order Thursday that he wants changes t..
Berkshire Hathaway to Buy Oncor
NEW YORK (AP) — Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is buying the Texas power transmitter Oncor for $9 billion, one of his biggest acquisitions. Last year, Berkshire completed its biggest acquisition in its history, a $32.36 billion deal for aviation parts maker Precision Castparts. Oncor se..
City Water Department Van Slides into Sinkhole in Cleveland
CLEVELAND (AP) — Officials say no one was injured when a city water department van slid into a sinkhole that opened up beneath it in Cleveland. The Cleveland Division of Water says the van fell through the ground on the city’s east side on Thursday afternoon. Officials say the water department e..
Peak Utility Services Group Acquires Kelly Cable
Peak Utility Services Group, a utility services provider serving natural gas, telecom, and electric utility markets in the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain West regions of the United States, has acquired Kelly Cable of New Mexico. As part of the transaction, Mike Ford, the President of Kelly Cab..
Connecticut Water Acquires the Avon Water Company
Connecticut Water Service, Inc. (CTWS) has completed the acquisition of The Avon Water Company (AWC). AWC serves approximately 4,800 water customers in the Connecticut communities of Avon, Farmington, and Simsbury. The Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority approved the acquisition on Apr..
Vermont Utility Regulator Officially Changes Name
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Vermont’s newly named Public Utility Commission says it’s going paperless. The commission, formerly known as the Public Service Board, which regulates utilities, starting using its new name on July 1. On Wednesday, it announced its “declaration of independence” from paper as..
West Virginia Water Agency Head to Retire After Ethics Probe
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The head of a West Virginia water agency will retire after an ethics investigation. The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that a letter from Gov. Jim Justice’s office says West Virginia Water Development Authority Executive Director Chris Jarrett will step down and reti..
Water, Sewer Infrastructure Investment Drives Utility's Proposed Rate Increase
Missouri American Water has filed an application with the Missouri Public Service Commission (MOPSC) requesting a change in the rates for the company’s water and sewer customers, including an annual revenue increase of $73.9 million for water customers and $800,000 for sewer customers. The main dri..
CMS Energy and Consumers Energy Announce Leadership Change
CMS Energy and Consumers Energy have announced Jean-Francois (JF) Brossoit, currently senior vice president of transformation and shared services, will succeed Dan Malone, senior vice president of engineering, effective when Malone retires Nov. 1, 2017. Brossoit will assume the new role..
Louisville Gas and Electric Nearing Completion of 20-year Gas Main Replacement Project
Louisville Gas and Electric Company (LG&E) has announced it is completing the final steps in a gas main replacement project in Louisville, Kentucky that began more than two decades ago. As part of the project, LG&E upgraded 540 miles of cast iron, wrought iron and bare steel pipes with more durable..
Artesian Resources Acquires Cantwell Water Company
Artesian Resources Corporation’s principal subsidiary, Artesian Water Company, Inc., has acquired the water assets of the Cantwell Water Company of Odessa. The purchase leverages Artesian’s newly expanded franchise area in southern New Castle County and allows the 40 customers previously on the Cant..
American Water Makes Leadership Change
American Water today announced Loyd “Aldie” Warnock, currently senior vice president of External Affairs, Communications and Public Policy, will expand his role and also oversee the company’s Corporate Business Development department, effective Aug. 1, 2017. Warnock will replace Mark Strauss, who is..
$14 Million Pipeline Construction Contract Awarded
Crossfire, LLC has been awarded a $14 million contract from New Mexico Gas Company to reroute approximately six miles of natural gas pipeline in the Río Grande Gorge along State Road 68. The project consists of replacing 8-inch-diameter natural gas pipe with a larger 12-inch-diameter pipe to accomm..
New Series Highlights "Utility of the Future" Challenges
The Retail Energy Practice of global economic consultancy The Brattle Group is producing a series of briefs that provide an integrated view into potential utility responses to the challenges and trends associated with the “Utility of the Future” (UoF). “The business model that has worked for utilit..
Trial Delay Sought for Former Utility Regulator, 3 Others
PHOENIX (AP) — Trial for a former Arizona utility regulator accused of accepting payments from a water company owner in exchange for a boost in rates will likely be delayed. Federal prosecutors and attorneys for former Arizona Corporation Commissioner Gary Pierce and three others agreed to th..
Study: Customer Support of Energy Utilities Directly Related to Brand Trust
According to the 2017 Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement™: Residential Cogent Reports™ study by Market Strategies International, support of utility rates and attracting consumer use of alternative energy offerings requires brand trust among residential electric and natural gas utility consu..
Chicago Utilities Celebrate Grand Opening of New Training Center
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel yesterday joined Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas President and CEO Charles Matthews, Alderman Ricardo Muñoz (22nd), Illinois State Senator Martin Sandoval and other community leaders in celebrating the grand opening of Peoples Energy Training Center, a new utilities tr..
Board Orders Review of Vermont Utility Regulation System
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — The Vermont Public Service Board has ordered a review of the state’s utility regulation system saying it wants to make sure it’s equipped to handle modern utilities. The review would include a look at an alternative regulatory model used by Green Mountain Power and Verm..
2 Dead, 3 Injured After Indiana House Explosion
EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) — Firefighters found two bodies in the basement of a southwest Indiana house after it was destroyed by an explosion and fire Tuesday that also injured three people. Searchers located the first body amid the rubble about four hours after the explosion was reported around 8:45 a..
Georgia Utility Awards Sewer Contract
The Walker County Water & Sewerage Authority (WCWSA) has awarded a $297,000 contract to Insituform, an Aegion Company, to combat millions of gallons of stormwater infiltrating its system. The project involves renewing and extending the life of 11,000 feet of sewer line, utilizing a cured in place p..
Water Utility Nears Safety Milestone
Mesa Water District has announced it is approaching four years without a lost time accident due to a robust environmental health and safety program that has helped the district achieve a “gold standard” of safety performance. Mesa Water’s overall safety rating improved 15 percent between 2014 and 2..
Artesian Water Completes Infrastructure Project
Artesian Resources Corporation’s principal subsidiary, Artesian Water Company, Inc. has achieved full regionalization of drinking water throughout its growing southern New Castle County service area. In June 2017, Artesian’s transmission and distribution teams completed several critical service con..
Vermont Utility Regulators Give Final Nod to FairPoint Deal
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) – Vermont utility regulators have given final approval to a deal that will allow the state’s largest landline telecommunications company to be acquired by an Illinois Company. The Vermont Public Service Board decision that was released Monday says the combined company that wi..
West Virginia American Water Begins Infrastructure Upgrades
West Virginia American Water today announced it is beginning work on the following water infrastructure improvement projects: An approximately $70,000 project to replace 500 feet of 1950s-era water line with new six-inch PVC line in South Hills. The project will take place along Bridg..
Pennsylvania American Water Names New Senior Supervisor
Pennsylvania American Water today announced that Jamie Yakes has been named to the position of senior supervisor of the company’s Yardley District, which provides water service to Yardley Borough, Lower Makefield Township and Falls Township. In his new position, Yakes is responsible for overs..
Pennsylvania American Water Names New Coatesville Operations Superintendent
Pennsylvania American Water today announced the appointment of Justin Brame to the position of operations superintendent of its Coatesville area water and wastewater systems. In his new role, Brame will oversee all aspects of the Coatesville operations, including distribution, collection, wat..
American Water Announces Recipients of 2017 James LaFrankie Scholarship Awards
American Water has announced the recipients of the 26th annual James V. LaFrankie Scholarship Awards. The awards were distributed nationwide to nine college-bound children of full-time American Water employees who demonstrate an interest in water-related industry occupational fields. Out of 66 comp..
Vermont Public Service Board Is Changing Its Name
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — The Vermont Public Service Board is changing its name to the Vermont Public Utility Commission. The board announced on its website that the new name will go into effect on July 1. The panel will continue its mission of approving the siting of energy project and ove..
California's Giant Water Tunnels Win First Crucial Approval
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — U.S. wildlife officials gave crucial first approval Monday to California Gov. Jerry Brown’s decades-old ambitions to build two massive tunnels that would re-engineer the water system in the nation’s most populous state. The National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wi..
- OSHA cites Florida contractors for trench safety violations at sewer and excavation sites
- Cadiz to reuse steel from terminated Keystone XL pipeline for California groundwater project
- Lynchburg, Va., breaks ground on largest-ever Blackwater CSO tunnel project
- Biden-Harris administration invests $849 million in aging water infrastructure, drought resilience
- The EPA announces $6.2 billion in funding for Iowa and Kansas water infrastructure