Hike

A proposal to hike rates by Missouri Gas Energy (MGE) of Kansas City, MO, also includes incentives to encourage energy efficiency among consumers and options for the financing of energy-efficient appliances, the Laclede Gas Co. utility said.

FERC should reject outright or suspend for the maximum five months the proposed rate hike of CenterPoint Energy-Mississippi River Transmission Co. (MRT), which would “drastically increase” costs for both transportation and storage service on its system and make other tariff changes, said industrial users, municipals, distribution companies and the state of Missouri.

A whopper of a service cost hike is built into TransCanada Corp.’s effort to salvage its foundering natural gas Mainline from Alberta to central Canada and the United States, the National Energy Board (NEB) has been told.

A whopper of a service cost hike is built into TransCanada Corp.’s effort to salvage its foundering natural gas Mainline from Alberta to central Canada and the United States, the National Energy Board (NEB) has been told.

The Senate Appropriations Commission Thursday narrowly approved a $21.7 billion appropriations bill that provides an 18% funding hike for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in fiscal 2012 to implement reforms under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act.

General Electric views the future of energy globally as upbeat, citing several “positive trends in energy” in reporting a 58% hike in its operating earnings to $3.5 billion in the first quarter this year, compared to the same period in 2010. Both CEO Jeffrey Immelt and CFO Keith Sherin talked bullishly about GE’s various energy plays, particularly global turbine orders, during a conference call with financial analysts Thursday.

Unable to ignore the 22-cent hike in April natural gas futures values on Thursday, cash point averages across the country followed suit on Friday with upticks mostly between a dime and 20 cents.

Arkansas state Rep. Tommy Lee Baker (D-Osceola) has withdrawn legislation (HB 1992) that would have ended severance tax exemptions for natural gas drillers due to a lack of support in the House Insurance and Commerce Committee.

West Virginia lawmakers have drafted revised rules and fees for Marcellus Shale drillers that could hike drilling and license fees by thousands of dollars.