Items Tagged with 'utility'

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Hawaii Gas Files LNG Plans With State Regulators

Hawaii Gas, the island state's principal gas utility, has filed with the state regulatory commission to convert up to 30% of its synthetic natural gas (SNG) production at an Oahu-based plant to lower-cost liquefied natural gas (LNG) it plans to import from the North American mainland. Read More

Peevey Departing CPUC at Year-End Amid Ex Parte Scandal

California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) President Michael Peevey won’t seek another term after his expires at the end of this year, he said Thursday after more revelations emerged of inappropriate communications with Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) executives. Read More

Heads Roll as PG&E Divulges Internal Regulatory Scandal

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) dropped a grenade on state regulators Monday, admitting a number of inappropriate contacts between utility and regulatory staff over the past five years. The initial fallout has cost the jobs of three PG&E executives and a top aide to the state's chief regulator, Michael Peevey, who himself has been accused of violating ex-parte rules. Read More

Consumer Watchdog Alleges CPUC-PG&E Rule Violations

As another one of the negative twists in the nearly four-year-old saga of Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) and the fatal September 2010 natural gas transmission pipeline rupture in San Bruno, CA, the consumer watchdog The Utility Reform Network (TURN) on Tuesday charged both the utility and state regulators with malfeasance in handling the aftermath of the tragedy. Read More

Would-be Utility Air Force Gets Initial FAA Approval

Sempra Energy's San Diego Gas and Electric Co. (SDG&E) combination utility on Friday became the nation's first utility to gain Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification for potential future use of unmanned aircraft, or drones, in safety and maintenance programs for natural gas pipeline and electric transmission line systems. Read More

Settlement Reached on Closed California Nuke Plant

In a move that, longer term, will impact California's network of natural gas-fired electric generation plants, a multi-billion-dollar settlement was reached Thursday among the two principal utility owners, state regulators and consumer representatives for handling utility customer charges tied to the closed San Onofre Nuclear Generating Stations (SONGS) in Southern California. Read More

NW Natural Gets OK to Offer CNG Service to Fleets

The Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) on Wednesday approved Portland-based NW Natural's proposal to offer compressed natural gas (CNG) services for the first time. The service is restricted to business vehicle fleets. Read More

Amid Political Fight, LADWP Head Resigns

The nation's largest municipal utility, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), a major force on the California energy landscape, is surrounded by public controversy at the start of the new year, caught between political infighting with a newly-elected mayor and an entrenched utility union boss. As a result, LADWP General Manager Ron Nichols resigned suddenly last Thursday. Read More

Black Hills Acquires Anadarko Wyoming Gas Utility Pipelines

Following its plan to add utility assets, Rapid City, SD-based Black Hills Corp. said Thursday it has agreed to acquire the natural gas transmission pipeline and distribution utility assets of Anadarko Petroleum Corp.'s utility pipeline operator, MGTC Inc., in Wyoming where Black Hills has existing combination utility operations. Read More

MDU Utility Gets $4.25M North Dakota Gas Rate Hike

Bismarck, ND-based MDU Resources Group's Montana-Dakota Utilities operations received approval Monday from the North Dakota Public Service Commission (PSC) for a $4.25 million (3.9%) annual natural gas rate increase. MDU said it was its first rate hike since 2004. Read More