Fired

Rapid City, SD-based Black Hills Corp.’s Wyoming combination utility proposed Monday to build and operate a $158 million natural gas-fired electric generation peaking facility in the city of Cheyenne. In a filing to the state Public Service Commission (PSC), Cheyenne Light, Fuel & Power proposed the development of three 40 MW simple-cycle peaking units. If approved by the PSC, the utility plans to begin construction in 2013 and have the facility operable by 2014. Located within close proximity to existing power lines, the proposed plant would provide added tax benefits and electric reliability for customers, according to the utility. Mark Stege, vice president for operations, called the proposal the “right investment” to serve increasing electric demand in the area and maintain “reliability that customers expect from our company.”

Under fire in lawsuits filed on behalf of victims of the San Bruno pipeline rupture last September, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) fired back at its accusers, saying it was not blaming residents and other third-parties for the natural gas transmission line explosion.

The capital costs for building a typical natural gas-fired electric generation plant are going up, and it appears to be a trend in that upward direction for the first time in nearly a decade, according to the IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) capital cost index for North America released on Wednesday.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) has begun to reduce operating pressures on an additional 7.5 miles of natural gas transmission pipeline segments and in some cases gas-fired power generation plants could be impacted, according to a recent filing the utility made to state regulators. Separately, the utility’s ongoing hydrostatic testing of pipe also may be impacted by the additional pressure drops.

Connecting wellheads — particularly those in shale gas fields — to gas-fired turbines and burner tips will require billions in spending on midstream infrastructure over the next 25 years, according to a new report. Adding to the projected demand for new pipe, storage and other facilities is the increasing focus on liquids-rich gas production.

In what could be a harbinger for a string of energy projects, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has exempted a proposed 600 MW natural gas-fired electric generation plant in California from new federal emissions rules. The action follows a strong dressing down of EPA’s handling of the case by a judge in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia May 26.

In what could be a harbinger for a string of energy projects, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has exempted a proposed 600 MW natural gas-fired electric generation plant in California from new federal emissions rules. The action follows a strong dressing down of EPA’s handling of the case by a judge in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia last Thursday.

Entergy Services Inc., a unit of Entergy Texas Inc. signed a 10-year power supply deal with Calpine Corp. for gas-fired electricity from Calpine’s Carville Energy Center in St. Gabriel, LA. The contract requires approval of the Louisiana Public Service Commission. Calpine is to provide Entergy Texas with baseload, intermediate and peaking capacity, along with energy and ancillary products. Carville Energy Center began operations in 2003.

A 45-member coalition has fired off a letter to House committees opposing a bill that would delay implementation and enforcement of derivatives market reforms under the sweeping Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act for 18 months.