The newest measure of the oil industry’s falling fortunes came on Tuesday in the form of a $3.3 billion fourth-quarter loss reported by BP. [The NY Times] Germany has overtaken the UK in the rate at which it is installing wind turbines at sea, industry figures show. [The Guardian] NV Energy is proposing “grandfathering” existing… Keep reading →
Warren Buffett is apparently not an unadorned green but instead falls in the category of self-interested capitalist. Shocker, right? The billionaire is under scrutiny because one arm of his vast Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate – the Nevada utility NV Energy – is trying to keep a 3 percent ceiling on net-metered solar in the state. Meanwhile, other arms of Berkshire… Keep reading →
Starting October 1, CAISO will open its subhourly wholesale electricity market to PacifiCorp’s service areas, marking the first time that CAISO will dispatch electricity to regions outside its footprint. On September 30, 2014, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) released a report on the California Independent System Operator’s (CAISO) effort to open subhourly wholesale electricity markets to… Keep reading →
Persistently low natural gas prices and a search for stable cash flows helped drive a large year-over-year increase in power and utilities mergers and acquisitions in 2Q 2013, according to accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers. The value of North American power and utilities M&A deals worth $50 million or more rose sharply year-over-year, reaching $12.5 billion, up… Keep reading →
Oil companies love to say that their ownership is the average American retiree, and utilities can often claim the same. Look at your retirement account or, should you be so lucky as to have one, your company’s pension plan. Odds are that it is heavily invested in the US energy sector. Shifts in the parameters… Keep reading →
US oil inventories grew by 4.4 million barrels last week to 395.1 mn bbls, their highest level in three decades, according to oil and gas industry group API. But Energy Information Administration data out later today might show that supplies actually declined. Confusing. [Bloomberg] UPDATE: EIA data shows US commercial crude stocks for the week… Keep reading →
As advanced information technology continues to permeate the power sector and the two-way data flow between utility and customer deepens, countless opportunities to streamline the delivery and consumption of electricity arise. Across the US, utilities are taking innovative approaches to fostering energy efficient behavior by working with customers to build sustainable practices, programs and business models.
The key is to use all available channels – including social networking – to engage customers with a simple message, you need to “keep [customers] informed and show [them] results,” Bill Andrew, President and CEO of the Delaware Electric Cooperative told audience members at last week’s DNV Kema Utility of the Future Leadership Forum in Washington DC. Keep reading →
Although solar photovoltaic (PV) panel prices are rapidly dropping, integrating a high quality solar energy into the grid will have added costs, particularly because solar is an intermittent resource with highly variable output and repercussions for transmission grids.
To assess the issue, the US Department of Energy and Nevada’s utility, NV Energy, jointly sponsored a study conducted by Navigant Consulting on what the integration of solar in Nevada will mean for the utility. Download the full study here. Keep reading →
Recent claims of weakness at some geothermal energy projects may be more a matter of temporary local problems than an indication of widespread trouble, industry sources told Breaking Energy.
Despite the financial struggles reported by the high-profile Nevada Geothermal Power project, the slump is not necessarily a real indication of the industry’s health. Keep reading →
Las Vegas lights haven’t dimmed, thanks to NV Energy, but the Nevada generator isn’t rolling in money this year; profits slumped due to a mix of comparatively cool weather in July and a ruling on the utility’s energy efficiency program accounting.
The Nevada economy is stabilizing, NV Energy President and CEO Michael Yackira said in discussing the company’s second-quarter 2011 results, released today. But the recovery will be measured in “years not months,” and the company, smaller and more correlated with Nevada’a economy since the sale of its California operations completed in January 2011, will remain focused on cost control. Keep reading →
