Grid

The wholesale electricity market last year in California stayed competitive despite record low hydroelectric supplies and rising natural gas prices, according to a report released Monday by the market monitoring unit at the California Independent System Operator.

The wholesale electricity market last year in California stayed competitive despite record low hydroelectric supplies and rising natural gas prices, according to a report released Monday by the market monitoring unit at the California Independent System Operator (CAISO).

In a rough and tumble roundtable meeting at FERC headquarters in Washington, DC, electric generators and grid operators, most of them from the Northeast, said they want natural gas markets and infrastructure altered to meet their peak demand needs. Gas pipelines and producers who rallied to defend their market made it very clear that they don’t think it needs radical changes.

National Grid has asked state regulators in Massachusetts and Rhode Island for permission to recover some of approximately $67.5 million in under-collected natural gas costs, stating that near-record demand this winter and associated price spikes make rate adjustments necessary.

The chief issue facing the electric industry as it seeks to coordinate with interstate natural gas pipelines is how far is it willing to go to ensure the reliability of the power grid, interstate pipeline officials said Friday.

The chief issue facing the electric industry as it seeks to coordinate with interstate natural gas pipelines is how far is it willing to go to ensure the reliability of the power grid, interstate pipeline officials said Friday.

Six investor-owned natural gas and electric utilities in New York — Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp., Consolidated Edison Inc., National Fuel Gas Distribution Corp., National Grid, New York State Electric & Gas Corp. and Rochester Gas and Electric Corp. — have formed Energy Coalition New York “to provide public policy leadership on energy issues” in the state, a coalition spokesman said Wednesday.

California regulators established privacy and security rules for smart grid elements such as smart meters. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) unanimously approved rules to prohibit utilities or others from using consumer data for purposes other than utility operations without individual written customer consent. Earlier at the CPUC meeting consumers complained about smart meters causing health problems, an issue that earlier in the year prompted the CPUC to start an opt-out program for consumers who do not want one of the new meters. That proceeding is now ongoing.

The unfolding story of Lower 48 shale gas supply and the buildout of the nation’s natural gas pipeline grid have done a lot to beat down gas prices and minimize volatility. So much so that one academic suggests in a new paper that some utilities and their regulators are out of step with the latest in price-risk hedging strategies.