Former FERC Chairman, Jon Wellinghoff spoke in an interview about the need to harden the electric grid from security threats by expanding the use of microgrids and distributed generation. “People are beginning to understand that they need their own onsite capabilities to island themselves from the grid. That’s because the grid’s external vulnerabilities will continue… Keep reading →
If vandals can do so much harm, what can determined terrorists accomplish Ever since The Wall Street Journal published an article on the threat that a few vandals with assault rifles inflicted on a critical substation, there has been heightened concern about grid security. The 18 Feb 2014 article titled Assault on California power station… Keep reading →
Malaysian state company Petronas has agreed to sell a 15% stake in its proposed Pacific NorthWest LNG export facility to be sited in British Columbia, and a 15% stake in the upstream shale assets designated to feed the plant to Chinese state-controlled Sinopec. Taking a page from Japan’s LNG supply playbook, which has companies secure… Keep reading →
Portland, Oregon-based law firm Stoel Rives announced Monday that Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Jon Wellinghoff will join the practice upon his departure from the regulator. Wellinghoff submitted his resignation on May 28, but no date has been announced for his departure. Stoel Rives is known for its energy law practice and claims to have… Keep reading →
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. Last year’s election season brought us an amazing series of zingers and gaffes from national politicians — including a number on Solyndra and the clean energy stimulus. Since 2013 isn’t an election year (well, sort of), cleantech hasn’t been in the national spotlight in the same way. That means most of the key… Keep reading →
The House passed a bill yesterday approving an offshore energy development agreement on the maritime border between the US and Mexico. But some Democrats opposed the bill, which waives the Dodd-Frank requirement that requires companies to disclose payments made to foreign governments. Nothing strange in that at all. [The Hill] Sources say that President Obama… Keep reading →
Everyone wants Washington to take action, but when politicians and regulators start moving ahead with reform plans it is a good bet almost no one is going to be happy with the outcome.
The energy sector, as one of the most heavily regulated industries in the country, has some surprisingly freewheeling elements following the piecemeal and incomplete deregulation of energy trading that followed decades of extreme centralization. Efforts to dismantle the old central-planning model of energy markets were halted by the extraordinary complexity of market disruptions in the late 1990s and early 2000s and have been lagging in the decade since. Keep reading →
The bad news – there are big, big challenges looming for the electric utility industry. The good news – agencies and regulators are increasingly aware of these painful truths and, therefore, increasingly willing to discuss solutions. That was the message from Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Jon Wellinghoff during a briefing on Capitol Hill this week.
1. Falling load growth. Wellinghoff cited a recent study from the Brattle Group that confirms a 30-year trend of falling growth in energy usage. Today, the average growth is roughly 1% per year, down from the 5-10% common in the middle of the last century. And no, today’s anemic growth is not due just to the recession. It is an unstoppable result of our march to energy efficiency, as evidenced by LED lights, Net Zero buildings, variable speed motors, and more. Keep reading →
Duke Energy President and CEO Jim Rogers (3rd L) testifies with (L-R) Alcoa Inc. Global Issues Director Meg McDonald, Natural Resources Defense Council President Frances Beinecke and ConocoPhillips Senior Vice President Red Cavaney before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Capitol Hill April 22, 2009 in Washington, DC.
July 2 was not supposed to be an ordinary day for Bill Johnson, the former chief executive of Progress Energy. But it ended in an extraordinary way that even he hadn’t expected. Keep reading →
The power industry has conducted a complex dance of consolidation and division over the past few decades in response to technological disruption, regulatory trends and financial shifts.
Recent years have brought about a new wave of consolidation and utility bankers have been busy ushering companies into new larger footprints through buying complementary assets rather than embarking on broad new competition-based construction and infrastructure investment programs. Constellation is now part of Exelon, and Duke Energy is adding further to its portfolio with the acquisition of Progress Energy, the two highest-profile deals in a spate of transactions all the more surprising for the tightness in financial markets since the 2008 crisis. Keep reading →
