For Pennsylvanians with natural gas wells on their land, chances are they won’t know if a safety violation occurs on their property. That’s because the state agency charged with regulating the wells — the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) — does not have to notify landowners if a violation is discovered. Even if landowners inquire about safety violations, DEP records are often too technical for the average person and incomplete. While some landowners would like more transparency around safety issues, as a group they are not pushing for stronger regulations. Landowners, who are paid royalties by the companies that drill on their property, generally want the drilling to proceed.
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In the brave new world of the smart grid, it won’t be enough for utilities to just provide their customers with the technology and hope they take advantage of it.
To reap the full benefits of a system that matches supply and demand, utilities will have to work a lot harder to deliver real-time information about pricing, energy use, and the status of smart appliances to desktop computers or mobile devices. Keep reading →
Two people walk through a forest in Easton, Connecticut identified as at risk for development.
Connecticut has made a controversial choice in selecting a unique reverse auction system to foster renewable generation. Keep reading →
The natural gas industry in Pennsylvania is trying to disprove criticism of its fracking practices by preemptively issuing new voluntary guidelines even as the sector comes under greater scrutiny.
A group representing the natural gas industry in the Marcellus Shale issued its first recommendations on industry best practices in an effort improve its conservation ethic and deflect criticism that operators are damaging natural landscapes with wells, roads and compressor stations. Keep reading →
According to the US Energy Information Administration, 47% of all greenhouse gas emissions are from existing buildings. From a global perspective, reducing energy consumption in buildings is imperative for a sustainable future.
So when property owners and managers transform an existing facility into one that’s a high-performance building, what does that mean? Essentially, it means doing more with less. High-performance buildings are energy efficient, and therefore, easier and more affordable to operate and maintain. They provide healthier and more comfortable workspaces, making them more attractive to tenants and more desirable to own. Keep reading →
A new service that tracks wholesale electricity prices in real time is designed to build consumers’ understanding of how power is generated and how it gets to them.
The Electricity Price Ticker, launched on April 17 by the grid operator PJM Interconnection and the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Institute for Urban Research, provides pricing updates every five minutes for wholesale electricity in the southeastern Pennsylvania territory covered by PECO. Keep reading →
Natural gas industry calls for relying on statewide standards of regulation received a setback when a Pennsylvania court placed a temporary injunction on a new law that limits local control over the industry.
Commonwealth Court Senior Judge Keith Quigley ordered on April 11 that local ordinances over zoning for oil and gas installations must remain in place for the time being, placing a temporary hold on part of Pennsylvania’s new Act 13, a wide-ranging law governing development of the Marcellus Shale, one of America’s biggest natural gas fields. Keep reading →
While gas prices soar to record levels, many U.S. refineries that make and sell gasoline are going broke. Nearly 50% of the refining capacity on the East Coast has either shut down or may shut down within the next few months. If gas shortages develop due to the closed refineries, East Coast drivers could face higher prices than they otherwise would later this year. Sunoco , which closed its Philadelphia-area Marcus Hook refinery in December and is trying to sell another facility nearby, said its refining businesses has been losing $1 million dollars a day for three years running.
The Capital Building in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
A new Pennsylvania law that soon goes into effect will require natural gas drillers to comply with stricter environmental sustainability and transparency measures. The law, called Act 13, was signed by Governor Tom Corbett in February of this year and goes into effect on April 16th. Keep reading →
Dallas Smith is saving $250 a month on his business’s electric bill thanks to increasing competition spurred by Pennsylvania’s ongoing market deregulation.
The president of Smith Village Home Furnishings, a family business in Jacobus, southern Pennsylvania, has signed up with NextEra Energy Services, one of dozens of new energy suppliers in the state, to get power at 8 cents a kilowatt hour for 24 months, saving him 8% compared with power from his old supplier, the utility Met-Ed. Keep reading →
