| Today's Top Stories
1. Consumers confused by energy efficiency
2. Future of coal unclear
3. Customers win in Duke Energy IGCC cost case
4. Gov't incentives will help Thailand meet increased energy demand
5. Vermont examining smart meter concerns Also Noted: Spotlight On... MECO powered by Auwahi wind facility
Identifying grid failure points and much more... NSA secret cyber security testing no longer secret
It's no secret that the nation's electric grid is vulnerable to potentially devastating cyber attacks. It's also no longer a secret that the federal government is targeting utilities to test the security of their grids. Article The Year of Smart Grid Consumer Engagement
Opportunities abound in 2013 for utilities to ramp up their consumer smart grid outreach and education. Since 2012, the opportunity for customer engagement has only increased. Armed with facts and research, the industry can better educate its customers. Feature News From Across the Energy Industry:
1. Smart grid emerging from infancy
2. PPL submits $200M reliability project proposal to PUC
3. UES seeks rate increase for reliability improvements
| This week's sponsor is SmartGrid Careers. |  | | Market Your Open Smart Grid Career Opportunities to 17K Qualified Smart Grid Professionals! |
Today's Top News 1. Consumers confused by energy efficiency
Consumers are not making energy-efficiency improvements due to confusion about the benefits, according to research from marketing company Soluxe Energy Solutions. The company says most confusion lies in payback periods and return on investment. "Most energy-efficiency upgrades produce immediate savings, but homeowners continue to believe it will be years before they realize a return on their investment in home improvements," said Gil Kernan, vice president of Contractor Relations. "The whole notion of 'payback time' leads customers to think that it will be years before they see any benefits from investing in energy savings," Kernan said. "Nothing could be further from the truth." According to Kernan, most energy-efficiency and renewable energy products yield immediate savings, even if the consumer borrows 100 percent of the cost of the upgrades. "If a customer's monthly payments to a bank are less than his or her payments to the utility, then the benefits are not delayed," he said. To move energy-efficiency upgrades along and spare some grid demand, utilities should explain how consumers can make investments in efficiencies and renewables, and swap their utility bills for lower bills that are debt repayments, as well as increase the value of their homes and businesses. For more:
- see this article
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Energy-efficient services market a good place to be
Building sector linking energy efficiency with financial gain
Utilities should pay attention to HVAC advances to tap energy efficiency
70% ROI found in unlikely place Read more about: energy-efficiency upgrades
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2. Future of coal unclear
China uses and produces the most coal globally despite oil remaining the world's largest energy source, according to research from the Worldwatch Institute. From 2001 to 2011, China accounted for 80 percent of the global increase in coal demand. China alone accounted for 49.5 percent of global coal production in 2011, according to the research. Driven mainly by rising demand in China and India, coal's share globally reached 28 percent in 2011-- its highest point since 1971 when the International Energy Agency began keeping track. China alone accounted for nearly half of all coal use in 2011. The U.S. remains the second largest coal user, even though U.S. demand decreased by around 5 percent in 2011 and continued to fall in 2012 due to the shale gas boom and the abundance of cheap natural gas. Even with declining demand, the U.S. still accounts for 45 percent of coal demand. Globally, China produces the most coal. However, the U.S. holds the largest coal reserves, with 28 percent of the global total. Growth in the global coal sector has been strong but could falter going forward. Coal demand could slow with the introduction of new energy technologies and policies to reduce the environmental and health effects of coal; rising global concern over carbon emissions and climate change could spur on the transition from coal to natural gas. Concerns about hydraulic fracturing cheaper natural gas could undermine growth in renewable energy. For more:
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Research: Global cleantech back sliding
Goodbye to coal?
FirstEnergy ready for more coal retirements
Exelon sells off Maryland Clean Coal Read more about: Coal
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3. Customers win in Duke Energy IGCC cost case
The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) has approved a settlement agreement in regard to Duke Energy Indiana's revised cost estimate for its new integrated gasification combined cycle facility (IGCC) in Edwardsport, Ind. The decision reduces the amount Duke Energy's Indiana customers will pay for an advanced technology, environmentally cleaner coal power plant and provides clarity to the company for cost recovery on the project. The settlement sets a hard cost cap for the project at $2.595 billion and requires Duke to absorb nearly $900 million in cost overruns given the plant is now projected to cost approximately $3.5 billion. However, the settlement does permit the allowance for funds used during construction in accordance with state law. A total of $28 million was allocated for ratepayers due to unwarranted cost control incentive payments and delays caused by project cost overruns. Further, Duke must not file a rate case prior to March 2013 or implement one before April 2014. In response to the settlement agreement, Duke Energy Indiana President Doug Esamann said that the "decision resolves key regulatory issues and allows us to focus on bringing into service a plant that will help us meet increasingly strict federal environmental regulations while still using an abundant local resource, Indiana coal." For more:
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Duke proposes settlement agreement Read more about: Duke Energy Indiana
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4. Gov't incentives will help Thailand meet increased energy demand
According to the Ministry of Energy, Thailand's demand for alternative energy will increase by 39 percent over the next nine years. The Thai government is backing the Alternative Energy Development Plan in support of alternative energy. In order to meet the estimated demand, the government will invest in the alternative and renewable energy needed for at least 25 percent of the country's energy consumption by 2021. The support comes, in part, because of Thailand's potential for use of biomass (the second major energy source in the country), biogas, biodiesel and ethanol as energy sources. Food industries further yield waste energy. And the country's natural resources such as sunlight and wind have energy generating potential. To support this investment, the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) will offer tax exemptions or reductions for imported machines and materials, as well as corporate tax exemptions or reductions. Other incentives include permission to bring in foreign skills and own land, and foreign currency cash flow where foreign investors can hold 100 percent of the shares. For more:
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Solar stability and emerging markets Read more about: wind
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5. Vermont examining smart meter concerns
Vermont legislators will take steps in 2013 to investigate customer concerns surrounding smart meters, according to a report in the Rutland Herald. State Senator Robert Hartwell said learning more about smart meters is one of his biggest priorities in 2013. The state Department of Public Service last month announced it was conducting a search for an outside source to evaluate how the wireless meters could affect health and security issues. But the burden of proof rests on the new research, as the state said it has no reason to believe the meters are harmful. "We need someone who's independent of state government, and independent of the special interests, who will do an honest assessment of what the impacts are," Hartwell said in an interview with the Herald. Smart meter opponents in Vermot are petitioning Governor Peter Shumlin to impose a moratorium on smart meters in the state. The state is working toward an opt-out for smart meters, which, as proposed, would be free for customers who take advantage. A similiar initiative is underway in Maine, where regulators this summer ruled that more research about smart meter health imapcts is warranted. For more:
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Texas to explore smart meter opt-out
Smart meters: 2012 year in review
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Read more about: Smart Meters, Vermont Legislators
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Also Noted SPOTLIGHT ON... MECO powered by Auwahi wind facility The result of a partnership between Sempra U.S. Gas & Power and BP Wind Energy -- the 21 MW Auwahi wind facility -- is now fully operational. The project includes eight new wind turbines and will provide power to Maui Electric Company (MECO) under a 20-year contract. Article >Consumer guide to Big Data. Article
>Verizon moving to fiber transmission. Article
>U.S. must identify single points of failure in electric grid. Article
>California's new fracking rules. Article
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