Electric Light & Power articles from November 2003

Electric Light & Power archives from November 2003

Las Vegas casinos roll retail market snake eyes.(choosing new providers in Nevada)
November 1, 2003... Like a Southern belle rejecting unworthy suitors, the slightly ajar retail market in the state of Nevada continues to hide behind a fluttering fan of regulation and poorly constructed potential contracts. Of the 26 applications to move from...

A wolf in sheep's clothing?(commentary)(wind power transmission networks)
November 1, 2003... If you take look at our industry report this month on page 8, you'll read about some of the effects of higher natural gas prices and concerns regarding shortage of natural gas resources. Nuclear power and coal-fired plants have seen increased...

Industry success depends on an educated workforce.(executive insights)
November 1, 2003... To public utility insiders, the result of a recent U.S. Labor Department report predicting a mere five percent increase in jobs in the industry over the next decade will come as no surprise. Improved production methods and technology, increased...

LNG means more U.S. gas arriving by sea.(executive insights)(liquefied natural gas)
November 1, 2003... Energy planners and project developers are looking to liquefied natural gas (LNG) to supply a growing share of U.S. gas needs, while recent history and known constraints provide clues as to the potential role LNG will play. LNG is natural gas...

Four issues keeping energy executives up at night.(news)
November 1, 2003... The energy industry, currently is facing a significant period of retrenchment and challenges as financial markets, political pressures and events such as the Northeast blackout continue to affect the participants in the field. Energy company...

Benefit of counsel: reader responses.(news)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2003... I read with interest the article in the October 2003 issue of Electric Light & Power by Mr. Kevin T. Williams, entitled, "Benefit of Counsel: The coop knee-jerk." While Mr. Williams has some interesting points and opinions regarding...

The sticky wicket of balancing electricity markets and consumer needs.(U.S.)
November 1, 2003... Though restructured electricity markets are supposed to rely on market forces to control prices, restructuring problems have led industry stakeholders to turn back to state utility regulators for help. Now they are trying to determine how to...

EL&P exclusive: 2002 operating performance rankings reflect changes in market dynamics.(nuclear plants, U.S.)
November 1, 2003... EL&P again collaborated with Energy Ventures Analysis (EVA), Arlington, Va., for this report. Tom Hewson, EVA principal, discussed the following generation sector snapshots in a recent interview. Nuclear plants' capacity factors up slightly...

Diversified portfolio management strategy for the energy buyer.(electric & gas trading)
November 1, 2003... The concept portfolio management is nothing new to the energy industry. One only has to look at the dramatic rise of gas-fired generation over the last five years in response to stricter environmental regulations (i.e. more costly electricity)...

Federal-state agreement seeks better natural gas data.(electric & gas trading, U.S.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... As one part of a broad effort to improve the nation's natural gas supply data, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) has signed a new partnership agreement with the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC), which represents the...

KeySpan and BG LNG Services to upgrade Providence LNG facility.(liquified natural gas plant, Rhode Island)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... KeySpan and BG LNG Services to upgrade Providence LNG facility: KeySpan Corp., a natural gas distributor in the Northeast, and BG LNG Services LLC, an importer of LNG into the U.S., have announced a joint initiative to examine the feasibility...

El Paso Corp. sells its interest in Portland Natural Gas Transmission.(EGT Briefs)(to TransCanada Corp)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... El Paso Corp. sells its interest in Portland Natural Gas Transmission: El Paso Corp. announced that it executed an agreement to sell its 29.64 percent interest in Portland Natural Gas Transmission System to TransCanada Corp. for about $56...

Piedmont Natural Gas completes purchase from Progress Energy.(EGT Briefs)(closed on its purchase of North Carolina Natural Gas)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Piedmont Natural Gas completes purchase from Progress Energy: Piedmont Natural Gas announced that it has closed on its purchase of North Carolina Natural Gas, a natural gas distribution subsidiary of Progress Energy, and Progress Energy's...

Exclusive to EL&P: energy utility indices keep pace with overall market.(finance)
November 1, 2003... The C Three Group's Energy Utility Indices continue to keep pace with the S&P 500 Index for 2003. The C Three Composite Index matches the S&P exactly with an 18.8 percent gain thus far for the year, while the LDC and Electric/Electric & Gas...

S&P introduces new price assumptions for merchant power exposure.(gas prices, Standard and Poor's method)
November 1, 2003... New York Standard & Poor's credit analyst, Tobias Hsieh, New York, issued a research update in late October that outlined S&P's approach to analyzing merchant power risk in its credit rating process. Stating that the analysis of merchant...

Mirant finalizes Birchwood sale.(sells power plant in Virginia)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Mirant finalizes Birchwood sale: Mirant finalized the sale of its 50 percent stake in the Birchwood power plant (242 MW) in Fredricksburg, Va. to General Electric Co.'s finance unit for $71 million. Mirant will retain 0.5 percent ownership in...

Edison may sell its New Zealand stake.(Edison Mission Energy, stake in New Zealand power generator and retailer; Contact Energy Ltd.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Edison may sell its New Zealand stake: According to the Australian Financial Review, talk is brewing that Edison Mission Energy may sell its 51 percent stake in New Zealand power generator and retailer, Contact Energy Ltd. Edison faces $911...

Dynegy to sell Illinois Power to Exelon.(Finance Briefs)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Dynegy to sell Illinois Power to Exelon: The sale of IP for $425 million in cash will leave Dynegy with unregulated power generation and natural gas liquids businesses. It will also relieve Dynegy of $1.8 billion in debt (Dynegy's total debt is...

Telematics: providing new paths for transmission reliability.(information technology customer systems, U.S.)
November 1, 2003... We live in an age electricity, but the ability of the transmission/ distribution grid to deliver electricity from source to destination is hampered by the lack of adequate infrastructure. As attention focuses more closely on the need to upgrade...

Working with a weather services provider to avoid risk.(information technology customer systems, U.S.)
November 1, 2003... Reliability and outage management are vital components in the day-to-day operation of utilities. They keep the lights on, customer service up-to-speed and power flowing to end-users. Commercial weather services providers, like Meteorlogix, work...

Power to the people: giving options with DG, CHP.(generation)(distributed generation)(combined heat and power)
November 1, 2003... On August 14, 2003, the world found out what many of us in the energy industry have known for some time: our domestic power infrastructure is fragile and inadequate. More than 50 million people in the U.S. and Canada were plunged into darkness...

EPA adds Encorp to CHP partnership.(generation)(United States Environmental Protection Agency's Combined Heat and Power Partnership)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Windsor, Colo. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has added Encorp to its Combined Heat and Power Partnership. The goal of the EPA partnership, comprised of approximately 93 companies, institutions, end users and government...

Lowe's goes solar.(Generation Briefs)(home improvement warehouse chain installed a 370 kW commercial solar rooftop electric system at its West Hills store)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Lowe's goes solar: Lowe's home improvement warehouse chain has installed a 370 kW commercial solar rooftop electric system at the company's West Hills store in L.A. PowerLight Corp. furnished the system, which uses Shell solar technology.

MidAmerican breaks ground.(Generation Briefs)(MidAmerican Energy Co. has begun a $1.2 billion generation project)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... MidAmerican breaks ground: MidAmerican Energy Co. has begun a $1.2 billion generation project that incorporates "advanced supercritical" technology, where supercritical boilers create steam at higher temperatures and pressures than traditional...

Contractor dies.(Generation Briefs)(painting contractor dies after becoming trapped in a coal stockpile at Conemaugh Generating Station)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Contractor dies: A painting contractor has died after becoming trapped in a coal stockpile at Conemaugh Generating Station in Indian County, Pa. The deceased, Michael Kuhns, was washing the coal feeder room ceiling and walls when he fell into a...

GE to supply turbines.(Generation Briefs)(General Electric Co.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... GE to supply turbines: GE Wind Energy has supplied two 1.5 MW wind turbines to Coram Energy LLC for a wind farm in Tehachapi, Calif. (The power produced will be sold to Southern California Edison.) Construction began in October and is expected...

Money for coal.(Generation Briefs)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Money for coal: The Ohio Coal Development Office received approval for nearly $1.4 million in grants for four projects that will encourage the use of coal or advance efforts to reduce coal-related emissions in the state. Ohio University,...

Substation transformer asset management solutions.(transmission & distribution, United States)
November 1, 2003... The influencers of asset management fans are numerous--shrinking capital expenditure budgets, an uncertain timetable for the nation's economic turnaround, and a slow but steady demand growth are factors utilities consider before implementing an...

Transmission caught between market & utility paradigms.(transmission & distribution)(Energy Security Analysis Inc.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Boston The forthcoming energy bill, FERC actions. RTO plans, and state regulatory preferences are producing an investment climate that is somewhere between the market and utility paradigms, according to Energy Security Analysis Inc. ...

Give them time to think over your idea.(management methods)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... To work more effectively with associates and get your ideas accepted, you must give them time to consider your ideas. An idea that can't stand a bit of mulling over is apt to be unsound. Different individuals have different rates of mental...

Scared?(management methods)
November 1, 2003... Being human, managers are often afraid of someone or something: their bosses, their peers, their people, error, failure. Think you're immune? Check yourself out with this brief quiz: * Am I indecisive because I'm afraid of being wrong? ...

Try this tested teaching trick.(management methods)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Some people have a built-in resentment to being taught anything by anybody. They are mildly insulted by the suggestion that there may be something they do not already know. They hate to admit their limitations by word or deed. Others can't...

Primer on geothermal energy.(power pointers)(Alameda Power & Telecom)
November 1, 2003... Alameda Power & Telecom has firsthand experience with geothermal energy. For the past 20 years, our municipal utility, a department of the City of Alameda, Calif., has used this clean, renewable resource to generate electric power for our...

Calendar events.(power pointers)(Brief Article)(Calendar)
November 1, 2003... NOVEMBER 17-19 Clean Coal & Power Conf. DOE & People's Republic of China (202/586-7920) www.doe.gov Washington, D.C. 19 2nd Annual Oil & Gas Conf. Deloitte & Touche (713/982-3301) www.deloitte.com ...