Vocal

John Pinkerton, executive chairman of Range Resources Corp., said his company’s decision in 2010 to be the first to voluntarily disclose the contents of the chemicals it uses in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) was the right call, and one that now has received nearly unanimous industry support.

California regulators Wednesday unanimously moved to accommodate a small, but increasingly vocal segment of residential utility customers that have rebelled against advanced meters in their homes and apartments.

While the most vocal opposition to Laser Northeast Gathering Co. LLC’s bid to gain public utility status for a proposed gathering system in northeast Pennsylvania is coming from members of the public, there is opposition from within the industry as well.

California continues to deal with vocal dissenters opposing the widespread switch among energy utility customers — gas and electric — to advanced metering systems. While a growing number of small suburbs in the San Francisco Bay area are trying to make themselves smart meter-free zones, objective studies have verified the safety of the meters, which depend on radio frequency-emitting devices similar to — but less powerful than — cell phones. The Los Angeles Times on Sunday editorialized in favor of the new meters, noting particularly that on the electric side that they “have the potential to change the delivery of electricity as profoundly as the Internet changed the delivery of information.” Utilities save money by eliminating the decentralized house-by-house meter reading function and customers can save by being able to take advantage of time-of-use pricing and smart appliances. With at least four Northern California towns passing moratoriums against the meters, the Times said Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has “rightly ignored the nonsensical bans,” noting that it is regulated by the state, not local governments.

The controversy over hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the production of shale gas was a key issue in a congressional race in upstate New York. Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), a vocal critic of fracking who is seeking his 10th two-year term, was leading George Phillips, a Republican from Broome County, NY, who supports shale development and state regulation of fracking, by 90,412 to 82,292, or 52.4% to 47.5% on election night, but Phillips refused to concede as of Friday, the Daily Freeman reported. Phillips said he was awaiting the outcome of 12,600 absentee votes that remain to be counted. Fracking was an issue in House races in Pennsylvania and in Texas, but the race in New York was “the most contentious one,” said Phillips spokesman Jazz Shaw. Fracking, which is used to stimulate many shale wells, is a process in which fluids are injected at high pressure into underground rock formations to fracture the rock and increase the flow of fossil fuels. “The public made [fracking] an issue” in the congressional race, Shaw said.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), a vocal critic of FERC’s handling of liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects, last Monday called on the agency to refrain from taking any action on Bradwood Landing LLC’s proposed LNG terminal in the Pacific Northwest and associated pipeline facilities until critical environmental and economic issues have had an opportunity to be vetted in a public meeting.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), a vocal critic of FERC’s handling of liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects, has called on the agency to refrain from taking any action on Bradwood Landing LLC’s proposed LNG terminal in the Pacific Northwest and associated pipeline facilities until critical environmental and economic issues have had an opportunity to be vetted in a public meeting.

Felipe Calderon, Mexico’s popular and vocal energy minister, submitted his resignation last week following a political rally in which some of his supporters urged him to run for president in 2006. President Vicente Fox, who had appointed Calderon in September 2003, said the rally was “both out of place and the wrong time.”

Felipe Calderon, Mexico’s popular and vocal energy minister, submitted his resignation Monday following a political rally in which some of his supporters urged him to run for president in 2006. President Vicente Fox, who had appointed Calderon in September 2003, said the rally was “both out of place and the wrong time.”