July 22, 2009

Not long ago, the notion of adding reliability and intelligence to utility operations seemed arcane and dull. Now it has become vogue. The latest such advance is in the area of reducing transmission line losses and thereby increasing reliability.

The so-called high-temperature superconducting cable can virtually eliminate the resistance to electricity flow, thereby greatly increasing the efficiency of the wire. And while the technology is now expensive, government agencies are pitching in and trying to get those next generation wires into the mainstream. In time, it will succeed. The demand for power will not abate and will therefore necessitate the deployment of cutting-edge tools to enhance grid security.

July 20, 2009

Exelon Corp. hungers to buy NRG Energy. But its "final" offer may still be inadequate. NRG's board is urging its shareholders to reject the hostile bid, noting that the utility has exceeded expectations while Exelon has not.

Exelon's July 2 proposal to buy the merchant generator that sells its power at market prices comes eight months after its first bid. But this time, the Chicago-based conglomerate has upped the ante by 12 percent and thereby pegged the total value at $7.73 billion in stock. And while Exelon has said the reason it increased its bid is because it has identified an additional $1.5 billion in synergies, the reality is that NRG's share price has graduated higher than the original bid.

July 17, 2009

Telecommunications giant AT&T says that it will renovate its gasoline-powered fleet of vehicles so that they can use alternative fuels such as natural gas. Over the next five years, it will convert 8,000 of those cars. It then hopes to have 15,000 clean-burning vehicles on the road by 2019.

It is part of a trend that began in the mid-1990s when the federal government enacted mandates to require government fleets as well as those provided by large utilities to make the leap to cleaner burning fuels. Natural gas is eager to get noticed and its primary market is large fleets. Such vehicles drive substantial distances and are therefore able to recoup their higher initial costs through reduced fuel charges. They also have access to centrally located fueling and repair stations.

Below are a few letters received at EnergyBiz Insider on topics that appeared in the past few weeks. They capture the essence of how many readers say they feel.

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July 15, 2009

The quandary surrounding natural gas drilling is deepening. While natural gas is both cleaner and prevalent in unconventional forms, environmental groups have expressed concerns that it is becoming too easy to get exploratory permits and that drinking water supplies are becoming endangered as a result.

Accessing natural gas deposits is difficult because of environmental laws. And getting to unconventional sources is not any easier. But the difference is that the conventional fields are becoming depleted while the output from coal-bed methane and shale formations are expanding. Today, such fuel sources that can be transformed into natural gas represent a trend in energy production.