Energy User News articles from November 2002

Energy User News archives from November 2002

Commission report faults independent generators in California crisis.(California Public Utilities Commission)
November 1, 2002... SACRAMENTO, CA--Nearly all the blackouts that swept California during the state's 2000-2001 energy crisis could have been avoided, according to a report released September 17 by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and Portland...

Judge says Pipeline Company exercised market power.(chief administrative law judge at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission says El Paso Corp. help drive up California natural gas prices)
November 1, 2002... WASHINGTON, DC--The chief administrative law judge at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) concluded on September 23 that the El Paso Corporation helped to drive up prices for natural gas in California during the state's power...

DTE Energy. (EUN Ticker).(powering an office with hydrogen fuel-cells)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... DTE Energy, Michigan's largest energy company, plans to power an office by building a hydrogen fuel-cell system capable of generating more than 15,000 kWh of electricity. DTE will work with several leading technology providers, including Plug...

Dynegy Inc. (EUN Ticker).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Dynegy Inc. agreed to pay a $3 million fine to settle a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) civil-fraud complaint that it artificially inflated revenue, earnings, and cash flow figures it reported to investors. Dynegy neither admitted...

ArcLight Capital Partners LLC. (EUN Ticker).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... ArcLight Capital Partners LLC, a Boston-based private equity firm, announced on September 30 the final closing of a $950 million fund to invest in power, utility, and energy industries. The fund will make equity and equity-like investments...

Kohler Power Systems. (EUN Ticker).(marketing agreement with Bowman Power Systems Ltd. )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Kohler Power Systems announced an agreement with Bowman Power Systems Ltd. of South-hampton (UK) to supply and market Bowman's microturbine-based combined heat and power systems (CHP) in the US beginning in the fourth quarter of 2002. The...

California Gov. Gray Davis. (EUN Ticker).(law regarding electricity produced from renewable sources )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... California Gov. Gray Davis signed a bill requiring that 20% of electricity produced by the state's utility companies be produced from renewable sources by 2017. Two utilities, Pacific Gas and Electric and Southern California Edison, are...

Bank of America Corp. (EUN Ticker).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Bank of America Corp., the nation's third-largest bank, has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for permission to enter the U.S. wholesale electricity market In June, the Treasury Department's Office of the Comptroller of...

American Electric Power Co. Inc. (EUN Ticker).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... American Electric Power Co. Inc. (AEP) said it will mothball as many as 16 Texas power plants. Columbus, Ohio-based AEP has asked the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to decide by the end of September which of the company's...

EUN Load profile.(imports of crude oil into the United States during June 2002)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
November 1, 2002... U.S. Imports of Crude Oil (In thousands of barrels per day, June 2002) Russia 78 Argentina 83 Equador 105 Gabon 123 Iraq 167 Columbia 204 Kuwait 243 Angola ...

EUN calendar. (News).(Energy User News calendar of events)(Calendar)
November 1, 2002... NOVEMBER 13-15 UPEx'02 The Photovoltaic Experience, Radison Hotel, Austin, TX. Solar Electric Power Association. For more information, call Julia Judd: (202) 857-0898, tax: (202) 223-5537, email: jjudd@ttcorp.com, or visit:...

Texas Public Utility Commission seeks huge fine against New Power. (News).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... AUSTIN, TX--The Texas Public Utility Commission (PUC) has recommended penalizing a bankrupt Enron offshoot about $3.9 million for errors on tens of thousands of bills, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. The fine against New...

FERC's SMD draws fire, comment deadline extended. (News).(Federal Energy Regulatory Administration proposed standard market design)
November 1, 2002... WASHINGTON, DC--The Federal Energy Regulatory Administration (FERC) extended the comment deadline on its proposed standard market design (SMD), for another month, from Oct. 15 to Nov. 15, 2002, after a number of interested parities complained...

Ex-CIA director tells Bush to rethink energy policy. (News).(James Woolsey, former director of the United States Central Intelligence Agency)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... WASHINGTON, DC--The Bush Administration must urgently rethink its energy policy if it is to succeed in the war on terrorism, former CIA director James Woolsey said September 11. Speaking on the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the...

Letters.
November 1, 2002... Small Solutions Can Help Solve the Big Problems EUN readers prove again that they understand the whole range of energy problems There is no substitute for experience, as one reader, Ben Bacon, illustrates in his letter about a...

Speak your mind: EUN is your tool. (Editorial).(Energy User News relations with readers)
November 1, 2002... Meeting and talking to readers is my favorite way to get a handle on what readers think of Energy User News. I enjoy hearing their comments about the magazine and want to learn what they think EUN should be covering. More than that, though,...

Re-Focus: annual reports tell a tale of an industry with new priorities. (Dow Jones Utilities).(annual reports for energy industry companies)
November 1, 2002... No one in the energy industry will forget 2001," writes Chairman John Rowe in the first sentence of Exelon's annual report. Virtually all the other annual reports from the 15 utilities in the Dow Jones Utility Index echo Rowe's sentiment. ...

Carbon copy: profitable ways to reduce emissions.(greenhouse gas emissions)
November 1, 2002... Recently enacted regulations in California concerning greenhouse gas emissions, particularly with regard to carbon dioxide, may soon spur similar laws around the country. As this new regulatory approach to addressing greenhouse gases takes...

Electronics in energy conversion: a key to distributed generation.(Industry Overview)
November 1, 2002... In 1967, 2.85 million passengers flew from Detroit Metro Airport. By the turn of the century the number had increased to an impressive 35.5 million. The infrastructure and technology had to change several fold to meet the demand for safe,...

Microturbine. (Products Literature & Services).
November 1, 2002... Microturbine is a compact, low-emission generator providing up to 60 kW of power and 150 kW of heat for combined heat and power applications. Solid-state power electronics permit 0-60 kW load following and safe zero-hardware grid...

Battery selection program. (Products Literature & Services).
November 1, 2002... Battery selection program is available on the company's website (www.cdpowercom.net). The application provides access to the latest sizing tools and product information to help engineers, customers, and distributors select the proper product...

Automatic transfer switches. (Products Literature & Services).
November 1, 2002... Automatic transfer switches feature programmable inputs and outputs to provide flexibility. Easily customized in the field, the devices feature Modbus communication and password protection with direct or remote computer interface...

Gaseous-fueled generator sets. (Products Literature & Services).
November 1, 2002... Gaseous-fueled generator sets are now available within the company's modular power system (MPS), which was first introduced as a diesel standby product last year. The gaseous version is a fully integrated and expandable package that combines...

Active air-draw sampling systems. (Products Literature & Services).
November 1, 2002... Active air-draw sampling systems combine infrared detection of refrigerants and are available in single, four, eight, and sixteen zone models with remote sensing capabilities for other gasses. Each zone is capable of monitoring and responding...

Gas-powered modular gen sets. (Products Literature & Services).
November 1, 2002... Gas-powered modular gen sets combine field-proven gas engines and generators with new switchgear controls. At 60 Hz, the power module packages are rated 1250 kWe continuous. The modules are equipped with a standardized set of features,...

Exit lights. (Products Literature & Services).
November 1, 2002... Exit lights feature die-cast aluminum construction, LED technology, Energy Star listing, and self-diagnostics. The system will automatically perform all tests required by UL924 and NFPA 101, which consist of a 30-second test at least once...

HVAC four-loop controller. (Products Literature & Services).
November 1, 2002... HVAC four-loop controller can pick up miscellaneous input/output points and perform internal PID control for up to four individual loops without increasing control system network traffic. It can function as pure I/O expansion, exchanging...

Studio generators. (Products Literature & Services).
November 1, 2002... Studio generators, designed for applications where noise must be minimized, feature a lightweight aluminum sound-silenced housing that protects the unit. The generators also have a critical grade exhaust silencer, an oversized radiator with a...

Uninterruptible power supply (UPS). (Products Literature & Services).
November 1, 2002... Uninterruptible power supply (UPS) allows users to purchase just the power they need and scale up to protect from 50 to 300 servers as their infrastructure grows. The new family includes six scaleable models in power ratings from 100 to 225...

Power quality solution. (Products Literature & Services).
November 1, 2002... Power quality solution focuses on the interconnection of the utility to the critical load. Designed to minimize field installation and operational requirements, the unit operates automatically under self-contained control, combining power...

Competitive wholesale power market still needed, DOE committee says. (News).(United States Department of Energy's Electricity Advisory Board)(Industry Overview)
November 1, 2002... NEW YORK, NY--Standardized markets and uniform pricing policies are among the practical remedies that can reduce uncertainties currently hampering development of a nationwide, competitive wholesale market for electricity, said Richard C....

Global warming activists allege illegal funding. (News).(Export Import Bank and Overseas Private Investment Corp. sued for funding energy facilities without environmental considerations)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... WASHINGTON, DC--Friends of the Earth (FoE), Greenpeace, and the City of Boulder, CO, filed a lawsuit August 27 in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco on behalf of their members and citizens who are victims of global warming, according to...

Connecticut wary of Northeast RTO proposal. (News).(regional transmission organizations)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... NEW YORK, NY--Concerned that New York would siphon off the region's excess power and that power costs would rise, Connecticut is balking at a merger of the New York and New England independent system operators (ISOs). Connecticut joins a...

Nevada utilities consider partnering with casinos. (News).(Sierra Pacific Resources companies look for power plant partners)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... LAS VEGAS, NY--Sierra Pacific Resources, the parent of Nevada Power Co. of Las Vegas and Sierra Pacific Power Co. of Reno, is exploring partnerships with casinos and gold mines to build power plants, according to a report in the Las Vegas...

Pacific Northwest can diversify electricity sources without harming economy. (News).(according to Rand report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... WASHINGTON, DC--The Pacific Northwest can diversify its sources of electricity over the next two decades by embracing modest amounts of alternative energy sources without significant impact on the region's economy, according to a Rand report....

Will FERC's new market design affect power customers? (News).(Federal Energy Regulatory Commission)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... CROTON, NY--The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has proposed a sweeping revision to wholesale power markets that could lead to big changes at the retail level. While it may he 2-3 years before those impacts trickle down to them,...

ARI announces pool dehumidifier certification program. (News).(Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... WRLINGTON, VA -- Following three years of development, the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI) in September announced initiation of its Indoor Pool Dehumidifiers Certification Program. The certification program, based on...

Marketplace.(degree days and energy prices for selected US cities in September 2002)(Illustration)
November 1, 2002... Marketplace Statistics, Trends and Energy Data DEGREE DAYS For Selected Cities September Monthly Monthly Deviation Monthly Deviation City Total from Norm from Last Year ...