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Posts Tagged ‘Electricity’

A Unique Chance for Commercial & Educational Buildings to Get Paid to Reduce Energy

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By Sonya Ulen
Director, Load Response, Constellation Energy

If you could see just how much energy or water that is used in your building, or even the floor that you work on, would you stop to take a look?

Some businesses have dedicated energy managers that monitor electric power use and water consumption for their organization. But now everyone can have a “behind the scenes view” because energy monitoring has reached a whole new level — now businesses can install customer-facing software platform and kiosk that will allow their employees to view, compare, and share their building consumption…
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Snowpack’s Influence On Winter Heating Demand

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Both natural gas and power prices continue to experience considerable downward pressure due to the persistent above average temperatures present in the eastern two-thirds of the country.  Weather-related demand, which is typically measured in Heating Degree Days (HDD’s), has been significantly lower than normal this winter.  

This lack of demand has delayed the price support that we typically see at this point of the heating season.  The HDD’s from Nov. 1, 2011 to the current day are -13% lower than the same period last year and are -8% lower than the 30-year normal.  As a result, the prompt-month natural gas…
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ABACCUS Report: Competitive Electricity Markets Encourage Innovation

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States with competitive electricity markets have seen a surge in consumer-driven product and service innovation, according to the Annual Baseline Assessment of Choice in Canada and the United States (ABACCUS) released last week. This is primarily because electricity suppliers that are competing for business in well-structured competitive electricity markets are able to introduce new products and services previously unavailable in traditional monopoly markets.

So where would a consumer be more likely to reap the benefits of innovative energy solutions, lower prices, and savings?
•    The ABACCUS report identifies Texas as the competitive retail market leader for the fifth consecutive…
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How Customers with a Blended Electricity Solution Can Create a Reliable Budget

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Since I last posted about the different approaches that some customers with a blended electricity solution may take to create a reliable budget, one of my colleagues came to me with an interesting story. From time to time, customers with blended electricity solutions would come to him with questions about why a certain bill was higher or lower than expected.

One customer, a large property management firm with more than 100 commercial condo buildings, no longer has that question since they began using our i2i platform. i2i, which includes a suite of services and reports, gave this…
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CA Solar Power Project Gets $1.2 Billion Loan

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Image Source: NASA's Earth Observatory, courtesy of National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) is undergoing something of a renaissance in the solar-rich areas of the world, especially Spain and the Southwestern U.S.  The Department of Energy secured a $1.2 billion loan for the Mojave Solar concentrated solar power (CSP) project.  The facility will supply 250MW and is sponsored by Abengoa Solar, a leading developer of solar power based in Spain.  The plant will be built in San Bernardino County, CA.

CSP focuses sunlight…
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Mini-Series Part 1: Creating a Reliable Budget With a Blended Electricity Solution

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Some businesses may question how procuring and managing a blended electricity solution may impact their ability to create a reliable budget.

With variables such as market fluctuations (which impact energy prices), and operational questions regarding whether your facilities will need to expand or shut down a line (which impact the quantity of power you need), it may seem difficult to manage a blended solution.

The larger question then becomes: how flexible is your business to the amount of predictable and unexpected changes that may impact your electricity cost?

Businesses can review the possible risks and evaluate the…
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