Eagle LNG Partners Jacksonville LLChas received approval from the Department of Energy to export up to 1 million metric tons/year of liquefied natural gas (LNG) worldwide. The small-scale Eagle Maxville LNG facility plans to export to markets in the Caribbean Basin and elsewhere in the region from Jacksonville, FL, in Duval County. With the Eagle Maxville approval, DOE said as of Friday (Sept. 15) it has authorized a total of 21.35 Bcf/d in LNG exports to anywhere in the world not prohibited by U.S. law or policy from existing and planned facilities in Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia and Maryland.

The New Jersey Pinelands Commission has voted 8-4 to approve New Jersey Natural Gas Co.’s Southern Reliability Link project, clearing the way for construction. The project would provide an interconnect with the Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line system to improve the utility system’s resiliency and carry more natural gas to customers at its southern end. The project calls for 28 miles of 30-inch diameter pipeline that would cross Burlington, Monmouth and Ocean counties. The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities approved the project in 2016. The Pinelands Commission oversees the Pinelands National Reserve, which encompasses one million acres of farms, forests and wetlands.

Xcel Energy’sDenver-based utility has proposed a quarterly 1.6-2.9% increase in retail natural gas utility rates beginning Oct. 1, and retail electricity rate hikes of up to 3.7% from 3Q2017. Xcel filed the quarterly gas cost adjustment with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC). Based on the filing by subsidiary Public Service Co. of Colorado, residential monthly gas bills would increase by about $1 and for small businesses by about $7. If approved by the PUC, the rates would be effective through the end of 4Q2017.

Staff at the Washington state energy regulatory commission reached a multi-party settlement on a pending 4% retail natural gas rate decrease for Puget Sound Energy (PSE). The settlement also includes a 1% electric utility rate increase for the Bellevue, WA-based combination utility, and its eventual exiting from coal-fired generation. The parties have agreed to a 9.5% return on equity (ROE), a 0.3% decrease from the company’s current ROE, and PSE has committed to providing $2 million in low-income westernization funds.