utilities

Thirteen Massachusetts-based municipal public power entities have agreed to purchase more than 110 GWh/year of electricity from two hydroelectric power plants in Connecticut owned by FirstLight Power Resources Inc. The offtaker under the power purchase agreement (PPA) is Energy New England (ENE), a wholesale risk management and energy trading organization serving municipal utilities in New…

A myriad of factors is contributing to a sharp rise in natural gas rates heading into the winter, as U.S. consumers face price hikes of as much as 38% compared with last year in some parts of the country.

A buffer against higher natural gas prices that has traditionally been available to U.S. electric utilities, gas-to-coal switching, has become less tangible as more coal-fired power plants are retired and supply chain challenges linger, according to analysts. “I do not think utilities have any options, other than to burn dry gas in their” combined cycle…

Houston-based CenterPoint Energy Inc.’s natural gas and electric utility is “on track to meet our current capital investment plan for the year, having invested over $2 billion in the first six months of 2022,” said CEO Dave Lesar.  During the second quarter conference call, the CEO said CenterPoint has increased its $19.3 billion, five-year capital…

Pennsylvania-based natural gas and electric utility UGI Utilities Inc. plans to buy 331,785 MMBtu/year of renewable natural gas (RNG) sourced from an in-state Archaea Energy Inc. facility under a sales and purchase agreement. “This is our second term agreement signed with a U.S. utility, and we are excited to be expanding our partnerships with entities…

California commissioners last week approved a ruling that opens the door for programs that would allow utility customers to adjust their electricity use in response to price signals. In late June, the Energy Division (ED) of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) recommended in a white paper that the commission take on policies that promote…

Additions in U.S. grid-scale energy storage during the first three months of the year outpaced the same period last year four times over, with a record 2,399 MWh brought online despite supply chain-related delays.  A recent report by consultancy Wood Mackenzie and the American Clean Power Association (ACP) found that residential, nonresidential and grid-scale storage…

Black Hills Energy is pursuing a voluntary renewable natural gas (RNG) and carbon offset pilot program for its residential and business customers, said parent company Black Hills Corp.  The Rapid City, SD-based utility filed a proposal with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) for a program that would offer customers the opportunity to offset 100%…

A partnership between Wärtsilä Corp., WEC Energy Group Inc., the Electric Power Research Institute Inc. (EPRI) and construction company Burns & McDonnell has been tapped to carry out hydrogen fuel testing at the A.J. Mihm natural gas-fired generating station near L’Anse, MI. “As we bring more renewable energy online, we must ensure that we can…