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Regulatory

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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Department of Interior Releases Draft Rule for New Fracking Guidelines

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Today, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar released a draft rule requiring natural gas and oil companies that drill on public or Native American lands to comply with new procedures.   These rules are intended to increase the transparency of the fluids used in “fracking” process as well as ensure adequate protection of ground water supplies from contamination just below the well head casing.…
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The LNG Revolution

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Last month the EIA released a study focused on the long-term impact of increased domestic natural gas demand from LNG exports. This assessment is timelier than ever considering the Department of Energy now has a total of seven LNG export applications and several projects in progress.

The two main reasons for this surge in project development is cheap domestic supply of natural gas relative to global markets and increasing global demand.

The tragedy of the March 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami has forever altered global natural gas demand. Japan…
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Decrease Expected for Purchased Cost Indifference Amount (PCIA) on California Direct Access Electric Customer Bills

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Direct Access customers in California should take note of a change in non-bypassable charges as it directly impacts their electricity costs.

What are Non-Bypassable Charges?
Non-bypassable charges include utility charges that all customers must pay, including transmission and distribution charges.  Direct Access customers must also pay a non-bypassable charge referred to as the Purchased Cost Indifference Amount (PCIA), that is the Direct Access customer’s share of “stranded costs” associated with purchases made by the utility before the customer left utility service.

The PCIA rate paid by customers varies depending on when the customer leaves utility service, referred to…
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Regulatory Changes to Impact Demand Response Compensation in Organized Wholesale Energy Markets

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Customers and aggregators that act as demand response resources in organized wholesale energy markets should take notice of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)’s Order 745, issued on March 15, 2011.  FERC Order 745 directs each organized market operator (ISO) to institute incentive payments for demand response resources that curtail energy consumption during certain hours that would confer a “net benefit” to purchasers of wholesale supply by reducing price volatility during those hours.  

The incentive payment structure provides that demand resources will be paid the prevailing locational marginal price (LMP) at the wholesale market location at which the curtailment…
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AEP Ohio’s New Plan: A 3-Year Transition to Competitive Markets

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Exciting news for those of you in central Ohio. On Sept. 7, AEP Ohio filed a settlement before the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) that will result in a fully competitive market structure for the utility and its service territory.  The transition to a competitive market model will occur over the next three years and contains some near-term benefits for central Ohio businesses and residents. 

The full benefit of the change phases in over time.  A percentage of businesses and residential consumers that switch to a competitive retail supplier will be subject to market-based, lower capacity charges…
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