September 10, 2008

The nation's largest publicly-owned utility is telling its customers that their electric rates will rise by 20 percent beginning in October. The price jump is the combination of a long-lasting drought and escalating natural gas and coal prices. The increase is the utility's biggest in 30 years, although it says they remain comparatively low.

It's a sign of the times. Electricity prices are swelling around the United States, largely because the cost of underlying fuels is moving up. And while TVA says that it is unlikely to expect such prices to fall back to where they have traditionally been, it says that its aim is to stabilize them. The fix, it adds, is to be implemented over time and involves the wider use of conservation and nuclear energy.

September 8, 2008

Ocean Renewable Power Co. says that the waters off Maine's coastline will provide the foundation by which it can spawn a new generation of electricity. Its project there will start small and build over time. In the long term they say that the plant, to be placed in the Passamaquoddy Bay, would produce as much as 20 megawatts.

As the world's largest solar collectors, oceans generate thermal energy. The motion is unending and can therefore be more predictable than other renewable energy forms. Moreover, seawater is 832 times as dense as air, providing a six mile-per-hour ocean current with more kinetic energy than a 217 mile per hour wind, say experts. To bring the idea into the mainstream, however, scientists and engineers must still show that their work can be done on a large-scale basis.

September 3, 2008
Source: IndyStar.com

Electric co-ops conference focuses on stemming nation's looming shortage, surge in prices

A gathering in Indianapolis this week of rural electric companies will raise the issue of a looming power shortage and higher costs for consumers.

To sidestep the problem, the rural utilities are calling for government to help clear the way for new power plant construction, alternative energy facilities like wind farms and new transmission lines to feed energy to cities where most of it is used.

The U.S. electric industry needs to create four times the current generating capacity found in California to meet the annual demand for power in the next 20 years, said Glenn English, chief executive of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

September 3, 2008

The public may be aware of increased efforts to beef up grid reliability, but it isn't focused on the work being done to secure the bulk power system from cyber attacks.

According to the General Accountability Office, the nation's wires infrastructure is comprised of $1 trillion in assets that entail 200,000 miles of transmission lines. Altogether, over 800,000 megawatts of power serve more than 300 million people. While this system was once proprietary and closed to others, it has become increasingly connected to the outside world through the Internet and corporate intranets. This leaves it vulnerable to intrusions that can cause major disruptions.

August 29, 2008

Many utilities are once again in a position to invest in new power plants. But will regulatory impediments and community concerns stifle those efforts?

The skepticism is healthy. Rosy projections more than a decade ago prompted regulators to ease restraints and lenders to loosen their standards. As a result, many power companies overreached and hurt their backers in the process, but the industry is again warning of an impending generation shortage.