In my five decades in journalism, one of the best things I have learned is the value of skepticism. There’s an old journalism saw – “Your mother says she loves you? Check it out” – that serves ink-stained wretches well (although few of us are ink-stained anymore). Don’t take anything at face value. Question everything … More On skepticism
A partisan split has revealed itself at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission over, predictably, the commission’s role in analyzing the environmental impacts of natural gas pipelines. At the March 15 open FERC meeting, the commission’s two Democrats – Cheryl LaFleur and Richard Glick – issued combined partial dissents in a case involving the Birdsboro pipeline … More FERC displays a split on environmental analysis
Acting at the bureaucratic equivalent of warp speed, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission today adopted a series of actions to apply the impacts of last year’s federal income tax cuts to its jurisdictional wholesale electric markets and oil and natural gas interstate pipelines. When Congress last made major federal income tax reductions in 1986, it … More FERC responds to new federal tax law
As the Trump administration bench appears to completely unwind, with the firing of Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State, and the subsequent ousting of his deputy for telling the truth about the firing, attention has now shifted. The latest is the prospect of moving Energy Secretary Rick Perry to the Veterans Administration, replacing Dr. David … More Perry from DOE to VA?
Public Service Co. of New Mexico (PNM), the principal asset of Albuquerque-based PNM Resources, sits at the distant southeast corner of the western power grid, unruffled by many of the competitive forces that are roiling much of the country. Indeed, there is a remote feeling about the state, one of the nation’s poorest and one … More Was NM high court-approved San Juan plan tainted by regulator impropriety?
A fractured Federal Energy Regulatory Commission late Friday approved a plan from Independent System Operator-New England for a dual capacity market to accommodate state-mandated policy goals for renewable energy. The notational vote (not done at a public meeting but through the passage of paper among the commissioners) was 4-1, with Commissioner Robert Powelson dissenting, … More Divided FERC OKs ISO-NE plan to deal with state renewables subsidies
Is this a trend? * NextEra Energy in Florida is stalking South Carolina’s state-owned Santee Cooper utility. * JEA, Jacksonville, Fla.’s city large electric and water utility is pondering selling itself to an investor-owned utility. * Puerto Rico’s PREPA electric utility, staggering before hit by Hurricane Maria in September, further disabling the … More Is U.S. public power under new assault?
President Donald Trump’s threatened tariff of 25% on imported steel is roiling major segments of the energy industry. The expanding natural gas pipeline industry is particularly concerned about the administration’s direction on steel imports, designed to aid the U.S. steel industry. A coalition of oil and gas trade groups today sent a letter to the … More Trump’s steel tariff threat causes energy industry heartburn
The Tesla bears are huffing and growling. Now they have a vehicle to ride as they rip into the iconic electric car maker’s high profile and astronomical market value. Jaguar last week unveiled its challenge to Tesla’s Model X sport utility vehicle, going on sale in the 2018 second quarter. The Jag I-Pace SUV looks … More Tesla, meet Jaguar and let the competition begin
The nuclear construction fiasco at South Carolina’s cancelled V.C. Summer nuclear units continues. The state could easily end up with both of its large electric utilities in the hands of outsiders. While much of the attention has been on the vultures circling over the corpse of Summer’s half-owner, investor-owned utility SCANA Corp., the giant state-owned … More More financial fallout in SC’s nuclear mess