Electric Light & Power articles from March 2002

Electric Light & Power archives from March 2002

TAGG seeks support to conquer the grid game.(TransAmerica Generation Grid)(Power generation)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Is TAGG a national answer to congestion and bottlenecks, to gridlock and energy woes? In other words, is TAGG it? The TransAmerica Generation Grid (TAGG)--originally labeled simply the TransAmerica Grid (TAG)--is a T&D/generation hybrid...

Enron implosion burns 401K funds for utility subsidiary.(at Portland General Electric)
March 1, 2002... Wherever you look there is shrapnel from the Enron disaster: executives pleading the Fifth before Congress, laid off employees scoffing at the "emotional" interview with former CEO Ken Lay's wife, even an unopened Enron ethics manual being sold...

Hey buddy, wanna buy an asset--real cheap? (Commentary).(the acquisition of NewPower Holdings by Centrica PLC)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... The British gas and home services company, Centrica PLC, announced its acquisition of NewPower Holdings, a U.S. retailer of gas and electricity, on February 23. Actually it may be more accurate to say NewPower cried uncle and acquiesced to...

Suit filed against Williams. (Legal & Regulatory).(Williams Companies Inc. class action shareholder lawsuit)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Scott + Scott LLC, Connecticut-based law firm, has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of purchasers of the common stock of Williams Companies. Inc. and/or Williams Communications Group Inc. between July 24, 2000 and January 29, 2002,...

Mergers & acquisitions.(Framatome to purchase)(Duke Engineering and Services Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Framatome to purchase Duke: Framatome ANP has signed an agreement to purchase Duke Engineering & Services Inc. (DE&S). The purchase will include three DE&S business groups--nuclear, federal, and energy and environmental. The sale is expected to...

Wartsila pulls in record order. (Projects & Contracts).(for Duke Energy power plant in San Jose, Guatemala)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Wartsila announced its largest power plant order ever in terms of contract value. The deal, which is valued in excess of $114.9 million, calls for Wartsila to supply Duke Energy with a new 160 MW power plant for its operations in San Jose,...

Enron's malfeasance harms energy sector, economy. (Guest Commentary).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... Enron was once dubbed the most innovative corporation in America and was clearly one of the most admired energy companies in the world. Today Enron has become a dirty word, with the company and its executives having come to personify corporate...

Immediate outlook for PBR lifeless. (Guest Commentary).(electric utilities performance-based rates)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Newton-Evans Research Co. recently completed a study of officials from all 50 state and D.C. public service commissions regarding the development of performance-based rates (PBR) and related incentives for America's electric utilities. ...

Moving the U.S. toward an international energy strategy. (News).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Barriers to expanding energy trade and investment need to be quickly removed by the Congress and the President, according to the United States Energy Association's (USEA) trade and development committee report. Congress should restore the...

Dominion takes over Enron deal. (Projects & Contracts).(Dominion Resources Inc. to provide power to The United Illuminating Co.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Dominion Resources Inc. and The United Illuminating Co. (UI) announced a $600 million power supply agreement under which Dominion will provide all UI's power needs for the next two years. The two companies reached the agreement after UI...

MidAmerican announces site. (Projects & Contracts).(planning electric power plant in Council Bluffs)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... MidAmerican Energy identified Council Bluffs as the preferred site for construction of a 900 MW, coal-fueled generating plant. Development of the $1.4 billion plant will proceed following environmental review, public hearings and regulatory...

Innogy completes power complex. (Projects & Contracts).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Innogy America has completed the Evander Andrews Power Complex, a new 100 MW generating facility for Idaho Power. The new gas-fired power plant, in Mountain Home, Idaho, uses two 50 MW Westinghouse 251B12 simple cycle turbines. Idaho Power has...

PG&E gets approval to upgrade Path 15. (Transmission).(Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to upgrade transmission facilities)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... A U.S. bankruptcy court authorized Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to spend $75 million to help alleviate transmission constraints on Path 15. The court also authorized PG&E to spend up to $136.9 million to upgrade transmission in the Tri-Valley...

TransEnergie asks for FERC approval. (Transmission).(transmission project)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... TransEnergie U.S. Ltd. filed a request for rate approval with the Federal Electric Regulatory Commission (FERC). The approval would be for its third U.S. merchant transmission project, the Harbor Cable Project, which will consist of...

Executive appointments. (News Briefs).(CEO and chief restructuring officer for Enron)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Enron: Stephen F. Cooper has been named interim CEO and chief restructuring officer. Avista: Jon E Eliassen, senior vice president and chief financial officer, will retire from the company in April 2003. Capstone: Karen Clark has been...

Project portfolios generate value, controversy. (Finance).(Since divestiture of utility-owned generation)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Since divestiture of utility-owned generation began in the mid-90s nearly 400 generating facilities have been sold in more than 75 transactions. While many sales involve individual power projects, most involve portfolios of projects. ...

Xcel Energy offers to buy back NRG shares. (Finance Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Xcel Energy Inc. offered to buy back the shares it doesn't already own of its independent power producer, NRG Energy, amid investor concerns about the strength of the market. The offer, valued at about $566 million, comes just after Xcel spun...

Stymied NE power plant development could cost consumers $1b. (Finance Briefs).(Northeast)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Stymied power plant development in the Northeast could cost consumers $1 billion per year, reported Energy Security Analysis Inc. Their latest survey of power plant projects indicated that only 19,000 MW of the nearly 100,000 MW of projects in...

NRG Energy revises growth projections. (Finance Briefs).(Revises down)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... NRG Energy, Minneapolis, will build 6,430 MW less of generating capacity by 2005 than previously planned. Its revised growth projection is 30,570 MW, down from 37,000 MW. The company will also reduce 2002 construction expenditures by $1.1...

South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. sells $300m bonds. (Finance Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... South Carolina Electric & Gas Co., a unit of SCANA, Columbia, S.C., sold $300 million principal amount of 6.625 percent first mortgage bonds due Feb. 1, 2032. The bonds were priced to SCE&G at 98.326 percent and are being offered to the public...

Ameren to offer $500m in securities. (Finance Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Ameren Corp., St. Louis, plans to offer $500 million in securities partly to help repay its short-term debt. The company said in a statement the offering would consist of $300 million of equity security units and 5 million shares of common...

AES to shed $1b to $1.5b in assets. (Finance Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... AES Corp. plans to improve its liquidity position this year through asset sales and seeks to avoid a recurrence of recent troubles by reducing its exposure to Latin America and divesting or contracting out its merchant energy business. AES...

El Paso Corp. sells some natural gas assets to raise cash. (Finance Briefs).(to El Paso Energy Partners)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... El Paso Corp. sold some of its natural gas transportation assets to El Paso Energy Partners for $750 million. El Paso Corp., which had total debts of $17 billion as of end of 2001, has been under pressure to restructure its balance sheet by...

8760 Inc. closes first round of VC funding. (Finance Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... 8760 Inc., formerly Group 8760 LLC, announced the completion of an approximately $1 million Series A round of venture capital funding. The investment will support the company's efforts to further develop, market and support its electronic...

EPRI secures $10m funding from VenturePath. (Finance Briefs).(Electric Power Research Institute)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) today announced that it has received $10 million in funding from VenturePath Inc., a Silicon Valley-based entrepreneurial investment firm. The funding will support expansion of EPRI's Eco-Solutions...

Quarterbacking power plays: Expect the unexpected. (Power Plays).(Enron Corp. failure believed to be cause of financial problems for other utilities)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... While it may be true the collapse of Enron Corp. could be cited as the root of all energy sector financial woes and diluted earnings represented in 4Q2001 annual profit reports, it clearly wasn't the underlying trigger of them. Just as sports...

Optimization offers alluring generation strategies. (Power Plays).(Bad economy affects electric industry)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Prevailing economic uncertainties have affected most, if not all, sectors of U.S. industry. The electric industry is no exception. In fact, merchant power has taken a particularly direct hit due to its reliance on financing--which not so long...

NeuCo Inc.(software)(helps electric power producers reduce emissions)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... NeuCo Inc. is an optimization software company that helps electric power producers reduce emissions, perform more efficiently and improve reliability. NeuCo's CombustionOpt product optimizes tradeoffs between [NO.sub.x], CO, boiler...

Modus Operandi.(Power Generation Management (PGM) solutions)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2002... Modus Operandi's customized Power Generation Management (PGM) solutions focus on maximizing profitability and return on investment for a geographically dispersed portfolio of generating assets. PGM can gather, track, present and analyze the...

Siemens Westinghouse Power Corp.(Offers full spectrum of cost-effective, environmentally friendly products)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Siemens Westinghouse Power Corp. (SWPC), a single source provider to the power generation industry, is the only remaining OEM in the controls business. SWPC offers a full spectrum of innovative, environmentally friendly, cost-effective...

[NO.sub.x] compliance and pending regulatory changes. (Industry Report: On Environmental Compliance).(Industry Overview)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... The U.S. electric power industry will continue to face major uncertainties in growth, deregulation, and environmental compliance challenges. The Energy Information Administration projects that as many as 1,300 new power plants, representing...

RTOs plug into better market control. (Electric & Gas Trading).(Regional Transmission Organizations)(Brief Article)(Industry Overview)
March 1, 2002... The electric utility industry is in the midst of an historic restructuring process, which is intended to create greater competition in the marketplace. Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) are entities that manage or operate the...

Tech approach opens the books to trading floor. (Electric & Gas Trading).(Brief Article)(Industry Overview)
March 1, 2002... Syntegra USA's Energy Sector The events related to California deregulation and Enron's collapse will likely cause changes in energy company accounting practices. Many utility executives are addressing the issue proactively and looking for...

Aquila buys rights for natgas. (E&G Trading Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Aquila bought the rights to build a huge natural gas storage cavern in Arizona that will provide fuel for gas-fired power plants in the Southwest. Under an agreement with Southwest Gas Corp., Aquila bought the rights to build the Red Lake...

NEM to fill Enron void. (E&G Trading Briefs).(National Energy Marketers Association )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... The Executive Committee of the National Energy Marketers Association (NEM) met in Houston to review the aftermath of the Enron collapse and forge consensus on the legal and regulatory reforms needed to bring maximum confidence and reliability...

Competitive retailers ally for choice. (E&G Trading Briefs).(energy providers create Alliance for Retail Choice)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... The nation's leading companies offering customers retail energy choice announced the formation of the Alliance for Retail Choice. Founding members of the Alliance for Retail Choice are AES NewEnergy, Green Mountain Energy Company, The New Power...

New materials, methods boost HTS economics. (Technology).(division of Intermagnetics General Corp. building a facility to develop high-temperature superconducting technology)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... On a site in Schenectady, NY, IGC-Superpower, a wholly owned subsidiary of Intermagnetics General Corporation, is currently building pilot-scale second-generation high-temperature superconducting (HTS) technology. Until now, the promise of...

HTS drives the road to commercialization. (Technology).(high-temperature superconductor electric transmission lines could improve transmission capacity)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Solutions to avoid reoccurring blackouts and energy shortages have typically focused on the need for generating more power. Ironically, with the increase in construction of new power plants over the last decade we now have a surplus of power,...

EEM helps bear the load of grid stability. (IT & Customer Systems).(enterprise energy management systems improve electricity transmission)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Electricity cannot be stored; it's a real-time commodity--simultaneously delivered and consumed--and accurate and timely information of availability and price must be shared immediately among all players, 24x7, at lightning-fast speeds....

CIS upgrades favor function over flair. (IT & Customer Systems).(power utilities' customer information systems need to be improved)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Forget all the marketing and sales hoopla; what utility companies want from their customer information systems is functionality that improves customer service and streamlines operations. This is the reality for many energy providers that...

Five tests for spotting initiative. (Management Methods).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Choosing the right person to do a job is one of management's recurring challenges. But, how do you separate the doers from the daydreamers? Here are five questions to ask about any potential "doer." Does he present problems or solutions?...

Calendar.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... MARCH Mar. 17-20: GITA's 25th Annual Conf. GITA (303/337-0513), www.gitaorg, Tampa, Fla. Mar. 17-21: EPRI's 7th Distributed Resources Conf. Electric Power Research Institute (650/855-2560), www.epri.com, Dallas. Mar....