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Archive for November, 2011

Michigan Legislators: Businesses are Speaking Up Against the State’s Current Energy Policy

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Businesses in Michigan will continue to be negatively impacted by the state’s current energy policy until legislators recognize that the 10 percent cap must be eliminated or raised to a much higher level. The legislation (PA 286), as it stands today, has frustrated businesses that were not fortunate to have entered into a contract with a competitive supplier prior to the cap being hit may lead them to move their businesses elsewhere, which would hurt the state’s economy and business climate.

About a week and a half ago, the Jackson Citizen Patriot published an editorial by the newspaper’s…
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GreenGov 2011: The Future of Sustainability for Government Agencies

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It can be challenging for federal agencies to determine which energy management solutions will most effectively help them meet the performance goals set by the Congress in the 2007 Energy Bill and by President Obama in his Executive Order 13514 on Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy and Economic Performance.

Earlier this month, my colleague Jim Connaughton, Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs & Public and Environmental Policy, and I were thrilled to discuss both tried and true, as well as dramatic new energy management, financing and contracting innovations with a distinguished gathering of more than a thousand leaders from…
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The Impact of Our New All-Time Record for Natural Gas Storage

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Well, it happened. We have a new all-time record for natural gas storage.

With the release of the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA’s) natural gas storage report Thursday morning, total domestic natural gas inventories rose last week by 19 bcf to 3.85 trillion cubic feet (tcf). This is a new all-time record for natural gas storage, surpassing the previous record of 3.84 tcf set in November 2010. And as we look a little further into the future, chances are we’ll see two more records set this month as current weather forecasts suggest the mild start to winter will linger…
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End of Season Gas Supply Update

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As heating ramps up in the fall and winter, major end users of natural gas need easy access to supply sources. The U.S. gas infrastructure is made up of an extensive network of transportation pipelines connecting supply basins and demand centers. This network of pipelines is also linked to approximately 400 underground storage facilities which become critical supply pockets as winter demand increases (see map of storage locations).  Underground storage facilities can be categorized into three types: (1) depleted oil and gas reservoirs, (2) aquifers, and (3) salt caverns. Depleted reservoirs are the most common underground storage facilities in the…
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TEC Proposal To Be Voted On By Members of the IL House & Senate This Week

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The General Assembly is returning for three days this week to conclude the legislative session, which includes further review of the Taylorville Energy Center (TEC) proposal. 

The proponents still are primed to push both the House and Senate to enact the latest incarnation of the TEC proposal (SB 678 and SB 1567).  They intend to seek a vote Tuesday in either the House (SB 1567) or the Senate (SB 678) and if successful seek passage in the other chamber  over the next two days. 

As we’ve blogged about in the past, the TEC proposal would require Illinois…
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Crude Oil Forward Curve Shifts to Backwardation for First Time Since Fall 2008

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Crude oil prices for the prompt month have risen 20% over the past 30 days on optimism that the U.S. economy may be improving and hopes that the cancellation of a Greek referendum clears the way for the country’s financial rescue.  However, the more interesting story is the change in the price structure of the crude oil forward curve.

Since November 2008, crude oil futures have been trading in contango, which occurs when futures contracts for near-term delivery are cheaper than further-out contracts. But last week, the oil market…
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