An Ignoble Experiment

2. Pacific Gas and Electric invests $6B annually toward system improvements

If approved by the Florida Public Service Commission, Duke Energy Florida will embark upon building a state-of-the-art, highly-efficient combined-cycle natural gas plant in Citrus County and two simple-cycle combustion turbine generators at the Suwannee Plant near Live Oak. The company will also install new equipment at the Hines Energy Complex near Bartow to increase efficiency and power output. The projects would increase system-wide reliability and efficiency while reducing emissions.

Duke Energy Florida's Crystal River nuclear plant

After a months-long request for proposals process, Duke Energy Florida has selected its self-build option to construct a 1,640- MW combined-cycle natural gas plant to help serve approximately 1.7 million Florida customers beginning in 2018. The anticipated cost is approximately $1.5 billion, including financing costs.

The new plant will be located on 400 acres adjacent to the existing Crystal River Energy Complex. If all regulatory approvals are received, construction should start in early 2016. The plant's first 820 MW are expected to come online in spring 2018; the second 820 MW should be available by December 2018. Once the Citrus County combined-cycle plant becomes operational, Duke Energy Florida will retire Crystal River coal-fired units 1 and 2 due to changing federal environmental regulations.

As identified in Duke Energy Florida's 10-year site plan, the company also plans to build two simple-cycle combustion turbine generators on 68 acres at the Suwannee Plant. The 320 MW of generation will accommodate peak electricity demand and serve customers beginning in 2016 at an anticipated cost of approximately $197 million, including financing. The steam plants, built in the 1950s, are expected to be retired in 2016 when the combustion turbine generators become operational.

At the Hines Energy Complex, which has four combined-cycle power blocks, Duke Energy Florida plans to install inlet air chilling units to increase efficiency and power output during summer months. By 2017, these upgrades will add about 220 MW to the plant's existing 1,912 MW of generation. The anticipated cost to install the chillers is approximately $160 million, including financing.

For more:
- see Duke Energy Florida's 10-year site plan

Related Article:
Duke retires decades-old nuclear plant

Read more about: natural gas plant
back to top

By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

Comment |

3. Utilities Beware: Retailer wants same-day flip ability for customers

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is continuing to improve upon the safety and reliability of its service as it lays the foundation for meeting customers' future energy needs – at a cost of $6 billion a year, according to statements made at a recent shareholder meeting.

"We've implemented enormous change across the company, and we're making tremendous strides," Tony Earley, president, chairman, and CEO of PG&E Corporation, told shareholders. "We know we have more work to do, and we are going to do it right."

Among those strides, Earley noted the recently opened state-of-the-art Gas Control Center in San Ramon, which allows the company to identify safety or reliability issues on the gas system and respond to them faster than ever before. Pipeline safety work has also been completed over the past three years, including hydrostatic pressure testing, pipeline replacement, and new valves that allow for faster gas shut-off during emergencies.

Earley also noted that PG&E's electric customers experienced fewer outage minutes in 2013 than in the company's history due to grid modernization investments. These investments include devices on power lines to isolate outages and reroute power automatically.

A number of initiatives are underway to "lay the groundwork for customers' utility of the future," including building a robust, modern electric grid that can integrate energy innovations such as rooftop solar, electric vehicles and smart appliances.

For more:
- see this video

Read more about: pipeline safety
back to top

By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

Comment |

4. NREL, IRENA collaborate on global renewable energy policy support

The impacts of the recent, unprecedented Polar Vortex have highlighted the potential for improvements to better protect customers from extraordinarily high energy bills during short-term market events. In light of this, Direct Energy is proposing new reforms to enhance the competitive marketplace across Massachusetts.

Direct Energy is proposing the following improvements to the state's competitive retail energy market to enable customers to have both choice and control of their energy bills:

A new standard for retail suppliers to offer residential variable electric rates with price protection, providing a specific cents-per-kilowatt-hour maximum variable rate for any residential variable electric price products, and providing customers 30 days advance notice of any changes the retail supplier makes to that price protection level.
Clearer customer disclosures that would identify and communicate clearly to customers all pricing and term information, any early termination penalties, and the details for how the supplier will serve the customer after the expiration of any initial contract period.
Accelerated switching to retail suppliers by moving to a same-day switch model.
Full smart meter deployment and timely access to usage data to enable retail suppliers to offer advanced products and services across the state.
Direct Energy also supports enhancements that include increasing the financial fitness standards for retail suppliers, stronger enforcement against suppliers and sales representatives that violate customer protection regulations, and new measures to promote fixed price contracts.

For more:
- see this article

Read more about: Retail Energy Market
back to top

By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

Comment |

5. PJM prepared for higher summer energy use

The Renewable Energy Policy Advice Network (REPAN) is coordinating a global network of practitioners to help countries design and implement renewable energy policies and programs. They are doing this by providing expert assistance for establishing stable regulatory frameworks that encourage deployment of renewable energy, and leveraging the resources of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Clean Energy Ministerial.

Credit: Clean Energy Solutions Center

The Clean Energy Solutions Center -- an initiative of the Clean Energy Ministerial -- and IRENA have formalized a collaboration that will help accelerate the global deployment of renewable energy. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for REPAN was established between IRENA and the Solutions Center's operating agent, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and NREL's managing and operating contractor, the Alliance for Sustainable Energy.

"This collaboration benefits policy makers looking for support to implement policies and programs designed to increase their countries' deployment of renewable energy," said Jonathan Pershing, deputy assistant secretary for climate change policy and technology, Office of International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Energy. "By taking a coordinated approach to renewable energy policy assistance, our collaboration will ultimately increase the implementation of renewable energy policies throughout the world."

As renewable energy costs continue to fall and new markets open up, policy makers around the world are looking for the most effective policies and regulatory frameworks to scale up renewables. This partnership will put the latest thinking and best practices in renewable energy policy in the hands of key stakeholders, helping countries commit to concrete actions that advance renewable energy deployment.

REPAN will focus on delivering no-cost, fast-response consultations on renewable energy policy and program strategies, regulations, and standards, and expanding this service to include additional experts from developing countries. REPAN will also provide expert assistance for Renewables Readiness Assessments (RRAs) conducted in eight countries each year and for developing renewable energy and grid integration roadmaps in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

For more:
- see this report

By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

Comment |