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Electricity

Tenaska’s Taylorville Energy Center To Be Voted On Tomorrow

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At 10 a.m. tomorrow, May 16, we will face a critical moment in our fight against Tenaska’s Taylorville Energy Center project when it comes up for a vote before the Illinois House Public Utilities Committee.  That’s why today it’s more important than ever for customers who want to avoid being saddled with the costs of an unnecessary and costly power plant to tell their legislators that they oppose Nebraska-based Tenaska’s plan.

In anticipation of that vote, the Chicago Tribune issued an editorial yesterday and affirmed our view about what it would mean for businesses and families in…
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What Are Some Challenges for Electricity Markets Today?

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The benefits of competitive markets may vary, but one thing is clear. There isn’t a “one size fits all” approach to developing a sustainable competitive energy market.

This became even more apparent throughout the enriching conversations among  academic, business, and government participants at the 2012 Northwestern Workshop on Challenges for Electricity Markets held at Northwestern University earlier this month. Different perspectives were shared about the impact of renewable sources on electricity market design, policies and structures that support  a robust competitive energy market , and prospects for enhanced demand response that accompanies a next-generation…
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New COMPETE Report Shows Electric Choice Surge & Sustainability in its Growth

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Electric choice has grown significantly the past few years, according to a new report released by the COMPETE Coalition entitled Retail Electric Choice: Proven, Growing, Sustainable. While electric consumption was no greater in 2011 than it was in 2008, there has been substantial growth in the number of customers that have chosen a new competitive electric provider as well as definitive signs showing that growth in electric choice is feasible.

The report released last week noted several key areas of growth in electric choice since 2008:

– Growth of more than 53 percent of customers…
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AEP Ohio Proposes New Rate Plan

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American Electric Power (AEP) in Ohio recently proposed a modified electric security plan (ESP) for the period of June 2012 through May 2015.

Specifically, AEP has proposed:

•    freezing the non-fuel generation rates through 1/1/2015,
•    using a competitive auction to establish default service rates for the period of 1/1/2015 to 5/31/2015, and
•    limiting the amount of capacity provided at a lower rate.

The plan also proposes a two-tiered capacity approach. Retail shopping load would pay a capacity charge of $149.79 per MW-day under Tier I or $255 per MW-day under Tier II throughout the term…
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EPA Proposal & Standards Continue to Push the Power Industry Towards Natural Gas Plants

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The electric power industry typically relies on coal to generate half the power that is used in the U.S. every year. The burning of coal results in a host of pollutants including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, mercury as well as greenhouse gasses, most notably carbon dioxide.

Over the years federal, state and local governments have passed numerous laws and regulations to restrict the emissions of these byproducts OF coal combustion. One of the more significant of these rules, the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) which is designed to mitigate sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide, will be reviewed by the…
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How Do Lower Power & Natural Gas Prices Affect Long-Term Strategic Energy Planning?

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Businesses often ask our business development managers about what factors into their energy costs and how that translates into what appears on their electric bill. We’re holding a series of complimentary conferences with our Commodities Management Group in nine different locations throughout Illinois starting next week that will address creative strategies that our customers are implementing to reduce their overall energy cost.

Our conferences will also discuss how lower power and natural gas prices are affecting supply and demand as well as the latest information about shale gas…
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