| | | | This week's sponsors are FierceEnergy & FierceSmartGrid. |  | Fierce Innovation Awards 2013: Energy Edition
This utility-reviewed awards program from the publishers of FierceEnergy & FierceSmartGrid is designed to recognize the innovative companies and products that are defining the future of the energy & smart grid industries. Applications due August 23. Apply Today! |
Also Noted: SmartGrid Careers
Improving IT and much more... Natural gas dominates new capacity; renewables close behind
In the first half of 2013, renewable energy sources, including biomass, geothermal, solar, water, and wind, accounted for 24.93 percent of all new domestic electrical generating capacity -- a total of 2,144 MW -- according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) Office of Energy Projects. Article
Conventional biofuel production to grow steadily; advanced biofuel slows y
According to Navigant Research, biofuel production revenue will reach $7.6 billion by 2023, with $69 billion invested in new production capacity worldwide over the next 10 years. This is even as the global expansion of advanced biofuel production slows due to delays in the development of advanced biofuels, the boom in fossil fuels production in key markets like the United States, and a decline in global biofuels investment. Article News From Across the Energy Industry:
1. GMI ranks top 15 states' smart grid progress
2. Data dissection an issue for utilities
3. Harmonizing EV and smart grid technology
| This week's sponsor is Oracle. |  | Whitepaper: Customer Experience for Service
This Executive Brief explores the role of service and support in creating great customer experiences, the service goals market leaders use related to customer experience and the Oracle approach for empowering new service experiences.
Download today!
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Today's Top News 1. CPUC could lose certification over San Bruno turmoil
Weeks after City of San Bruno officials raised serious concerns about the ongoing turmoil within the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the U.S. Department of Transportation's Administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is challenging the CPUC to demonstrate compliance and prove its ability to carry out pipeline safety in the wake of the 2010 Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) San Bruno explosion and fire.  | | Credit: Brocken Inaglory/Wikimedia Commons | PHMSA scheduled an audit of the CPUC this month and requested immediate response from CPUC president Michael Peevey, warning that if it finds the CPUC not in compliance to "enforce satisfactorily applicable safety standards," it may reject the state's certification or take other action to achieve enforcement. San Bruno also renewed its call for the firing of CPUC President Michael Peevey for his failures, ex parte contacts with PG&E and his conflicts of interest in the case as the former head of Edison International and Southern California Edison Company. City officials have long questioned the CPUC's ability to appropriately regulate -- and penalize -- PG&E for its decades of gross negligence that caused the tragic explosion and fire in San Bruno. Prompted by ongoing controversies at the CPUC, including the recent reassignment of senior CPUC attorneys investigating the PG&E explosion and fire, City officials in June filed a series of requests with PHMSA, the California Attorney General, the Governor of California and other agencies to investigate the embattled CPUC and make a determination about its ability to carry out pipeline safety under mandates of the federal Pipeline Safety Act. Calling the CPUC "on the verge of becoming a national disgrace and hazard to public safety," San Bruno Mayor Jim Ruane implored state and federal leaders to investigate the CPUC's failure to oversee pipeline safety regulations. "Finally, federal regulators are investigating what we believe to be serious ethical and political conflicts at the CPUC that have rendered this State agency largely unable to perform its duties," Ruane said in a statement. "We are heartened that the federal government has heard our concerns, and we are hopeful about this first step to improving the State's ability to regulate pipeline infrastructure and create a new regulatory model for California." For more:
- see this article Related Articles:
Speculation swirls around Pacific Gas and Electric, CPUC relationship
San Bruno recommends $2.25B in fines for gas pipeline explosion Read more about: PG&E, Pacific Gas & Electric
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| This week's sponsor is AESP. | | 
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2. Utilities face a perception problem
New research shows that 43 percent of customers are less than satisfied with their electric utility. That is according to Shelton Group, a marketing communications firm in the sustainability and energy efficiency sectors, who also found that nearly 25 percent say there is nothing their utility could do to earn a perfect customer satisfaction score. The research revealed that 60 percent of respondents find it important for utilities to offer tips, programs and rebates on products to help improve their homes' energy efficiency; 80 percent would check for rebates and incentives before making an energy-efficient home improvement purchase decision. However, only 30 percent of those who have made such a purchase took advantage of a rebate or incentive -- because only 30 percent were aware their utility offered them. "Customers have unrealistic expectations when it comes to utilities, so utilities have to find a way to deal with that perception problem," said Suzanne Shelton, founder and CEO of Shelton Group. "Utilities also need to do a better job of engaging their customers with rebate programs. More often than not, those that need the rebates and incentives the most are the least aware of them." Not only are many consumers not aware of rebates or incentives that can help them take advantage of energy efficiency, but energy-efficient behaviors themselves are decreasing. For example, 50 percent of respondents don't unplug chargers and unused appliances; 40 percent do not use energy-saving thermostats, and 70 percent haven't changed their water heater setting to save energy. "If utilities can get a customer to make some energy-efficient improvements, modify their behavior and manage their savings expectations, things will improve. Essentially, they have to help customers understand what they expect," said Shelton. For more:
- see this article Related Article:
Consumer trust in utilities lowest since 2009 Read more about: Shelton Group
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3. ACEEE, NRDC research promotes clothes washer efficiency
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) are collaborating to identify opportunities for energy and water savings in a sector that utilities will find interesting -- clothes washers -- as part of the development of an innovative program for the Great Lakes region.  | | Credit: Samsung/Wikimedia Commons | Two washers dominate the residential market -- front loading and top loading. Front loading are typically more efficient due to lower water consumption and faster spin cycles. Virtually all washers on the market today are covered by federal energy and water efficiency standards. Utility programs can lead to energy and water savings by targeting washers. In the Great lakes states, energy utilities are required to implement energy-efficiency programs to meet annual energy savings targets. Only Wisconsin requires water utilities to implement minimum conservation and efficiency measures, according to ACEEE. Numerous utilities within the Great Lakes region offer rebates for the purchase of more efficient clothes washers, with the large majority in Michigan and Minnesota followed by Ohio and Wisconsin, according to ACEEE. Rebate programs in Illinois are no longer active and Indiana and New York do not have rebate programs, according to the research. Within the Great Lakes region in 2004, the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance conducted an innovative clothes washer rebate program with ComEd and Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Authority where more than 4500 rebates were issued during the first three months of the program. Estimated annual energy and water savings for the program were approximately 1.5 million kWh of electricity, 61,100 therms of natural gas and 38.5 million gallons of water, according to ACEEE. For more:
- see this blog Related Article:
Smart appliances need time to flourish Read more about: ComEd
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4. Targeted demand response saves NCEMC members money
The North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation (NCEMC) is announcing the successful deployment of its demand response and meter data management applications, which will offer its members more flexibility in their efforts to modernize their distribution networks while strengthening decision making with improved data analytics. The generation and transmission cooperative installed the applications to act as core components to NCEMC's Control, Data and Settlement System (CDSS), part of the foundational investment in NCEMC's grid modernization effort for 20 of its member cooperatives. NCEMC and its member cooperatives are participating in demand response by notifying customers and engaging distributed energy resources like backup generators to shed load from the distribution network to coordinate the combined demand response activities of their participating member cooperatives and then compensate the member cooperatives for their participation from a single system. NCEMC's territory spans multiple transmission areas, each having different physical limitations and costs which fluctuate throughout the day. By utilizing the targeted demand response application, NCEMC and its member cooperatives can notify customers to reduce power usage during periods of high electricity demand based on specific transmission area information. This allows customers to reduce demand when and where it is needed and helps to mitigate increasing power costs for the electric member cooperatives. Synchronization of the MDM system and advanced metering infrastructure at multiple member cooperatives validates energy usage data and creates baseline calculations, enabling the measurement and verification of actual demand reductions. By utilizing this, NCEMC and its members will be able to validate at end-user sites without having to install additional metering equipment, reducing the need for additional infrastructure investment. For more:
- see this report Related Article:
Evolution of demand response |
5. White House "caving to coal?"
Federal court rulings against utility coal operations have been hailed as a victory by various environmental groups. However, after a review of the Environmental Protection Agency's proposed coal plant water pollution standards sent to the White House' Office of Management and Budget (OMB), these same environmental groups claim that the OMB "caved to industry pressure and took the highly unusual and improper step of writing new, weaker options into the draft rule prepared by the EPA's expert staff."  | | Credit: Stuart Brabbs/Wikimedia Commons | "EPA sent over a strong rule to OMB that proposed affordable treatment solutions for a serious water pollution problem. But after closed-door meetings with industry, OMB decided to overrule the experts at EPA and propose so-called 'preferred' options that will give coal plants a free pass to continue dumping toxics into our waterways," said Abigail Dillen, Earthjustice's climate and energy vice president. "It's outrageous that OMB is caving to coal interests instead of getting arsenic and other poisons out of our drinking water." According to the EPA, more than half of all toxic water pollution in the country comes from power plants, making coal-fired power plants the number one source of toxic water pollution in the U.S. Research from a coalition of environmental groups, including Earthjustice, highlights power plant water pollution and cites that coal plants have become by far the largest source of toxic water pollution in the country, based on toxicity. Of 274 coal plants that discharge coal ash and scrubber wastewater into waterways, nearly 70 percent (188) have no limits on the toxics most commonly found in these discharges and more than one-third (102) have no requirements to monitor or report discharges to government agencies or the public, according to the research. The groups contend that EPA has repeatedly acknowledged that existing guidelines have not kept pace with developments in the industry, but for more than three decades has failed to set standards to curb water pollution from power plants. For more:
- see this report Related Article:
EPA finalizing water pollution standard Read more about: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
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Also Noted
> Fierce Innovation Awards 2013: Energy Edition - Deadline: August 23 This utility-reviewed awards program from the publishers of FierceEnergy & FierceSmartGrid is designed to recognize the innovative companies and products that are defining the future of the energy & smart grid industries. Applications due August 23. Apply Today! > RETECH 2013 - September 9-11 - Washington, D.C. RETECH, the Renewable Energy Technology Conference & Exhibition educates and informs its international attendee base with a technical program that addresses cutting-edge topics in renewable energy technologies, power generation, military and government, & business. Learn more at www.retech2013.com > 2013 Smart Grid Hiring Trends Study Zpryme Smart Grid Insights and Smart Grid Careers would like to invite hiring managers or employees who play an active role in hiring, recruiting and/or retaining employees for Smart Grid roles in the U.S. to participate in the 2013 Smart Grid Hiring Trends Study. Participants receive a FREE Executive Summary and a discount on the report. Get started here.
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