utilities

Dominion Energy Inc. Executive Chairman Thomas F. Farrell II, 66, died on Friday after battling cancer.  Tom, as he was known to family, friends and employees, was chairman, president and CEO of Dominion from 2007-2020. He had joined the Richmond, VA-based company in 1995 as general counsel after serving in private practice for 15 years. …

Global investment firm KKR is buying a stake in a Sempra Energy business unit that manages liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects on the Gulf Coast and in Mexico as it anticipates growth in North American energy infrastructure. Under the terms of the deal announced Monday, KKR will pay  $3.37 billion for a 20% non-controlling interest…

Customers are more satisfied with their natural gas service than those who use electric service, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). The ACSI’s Energy Utilities Report 2020-2021 surveyed 21,736 residential customers via email between January and December 2020. Even with household energy use skyrocketing for the period covered in the survey period, customer…

Canadian utilities are starting trials of green uses for a natural gas substitute, hydrogen, that has to date chiefly served the Alberta oilsands production often criticized by environmentalists. In the 2021-22 heating season, household blends of hydrogen and gas are scheduled to enter field tests in Ontario and Alberta residential fuel markets. A Quebec variation…

In an attempt to avoid a repeat of last summer’s rolling blackouts, California regulators have proposed a set of actions by the power utilities to add grid safety and reliability. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) proposal addresses added efforts to shave demand in peak load periods of summer heat. Earlier the CPUC had ordered…

From the Arctic to the Sahara, Texas is expected to experience quite the swing in temperatures this year. A preliminary summer forecast issued by WeatherBell Analytics LLC is projecting a hot summer centered in the Lone Star State. “Our summer outlook calls for above-normal temperatures for most of North America,” said chief forecaster Joe Bastardi.…

San Diego-based Sempra Energy said it plans to target nearly 90% of its capital investments this year in its three major utilities operating in California and Texas. In its current capital expenditure (capex) plan for 2021 through 2025, most of the budget would be earmarked for Dallas-based Oncor Electric Delivery Co. LLC at $9.8 billion.…

Natural gas utilities can help lead the transition to a carbonless energy future in the United States, Sempra Energy CEO Jeffrey Martin said last week.  California, where two of Sempra’s three major U.S. utilities operate, has a regulatory proceeding to develop a strategy for a phased approach to developing a multi-decade strategy for gas. Martin…

Natural gas is a long-term player and not a transitional fuel for the eight states in which Rapid City, SD-based Black Hills Corp. operates, CEO Linn Evans said Tuesday. During a 3Q2020 earnings call, Evans said he was not expecting any local lockdowns in the utility service areas, with the worst of the Covid-19 impacts…