By Paul Davidson, USA TODAY

Here's a shocker: Electricity bills are heading up. Way up.

Utilities across the USA are raising power prices up to 29%, mostly to pay for soaring fuel costs, but also to build new plants and refurbish an aging power grid.

Even more dramatic rate increases are ahead. The mounting electric bills will further squeeze households struggling with spiraling gasoline prices.

"Consumers now face a tough reality on electricity," says Mark Cooper of Consumer Federation of America.

June 4, 2008

Electricity is in the air now that that NRG Energy had bid $11.3 billion for Calpine Corp. If the deal between the two unregulated power merchants goes through, it would send a positive economic vibe that, despite liquidity concerns, the sector will remain vibrant.

After a severe trough, independent power producers appear poised for takeoff. As individual enterprises, though, they lack the financial wherewithal and the economies of scale to increase productivity and efficiencies. Through consolidation, they can achieve such gains -- all within the context of expected generation shortages combined with projected rises in demand. Risks still exist, however, as uncertain regulations, escalating construction costs and stiffer lending standards dampen the atmosphere.

June 6, 2008

Coal will continue to be the engine that carries the nation forward. But it will have to be re-invented to comport with changing environmental and economic standards.

That is the tone set by the National Coal Council, which in a presentation to the U.S. Department of Energy says that "clean coal" will become the foundation of national energy policy. It provides energy security and economic prosperity -- all at a time when the global demand for power and gas is expected to continue rising.

The coal group has a tough job ahead. The international community is focused on reducing global warming pollution and on promoting the use of alternative fuels. As such, state regulators in this country are clamping down on proposed coal facilities while key investment bankers have said they will compute the cost of carbon emissions when deciding how much to charge for such loans.

May 23, 2008

Some utilities are going full steam ahead. They are going after rail carriers, saying that those enterprises are exploiting their market power and causing captive shippers to pay inflated prices.

As such, utility associations and coal operators say that railroads' exemptions from federal antitrust laws must be deleted. While they have strong support, those interest groups face an uphill fight. Rail transportation is gaining appeal from those who say its energy and environmental advantages are the wave of the future.

May 21, 2008

California's dream is to host a carbon-free power plant. By 2011, the 50-megawatt facility would use natural gas or synthetic gas made from coal and subsequently re-inject all heat trapping emissions more than one mile underground.

It's all part of a new public-private initiative set forth by the Bush administration to reinvigorate its clean coal push -- especially in the wake of the demise of FutureGen, which was to be the world's first zero-emissions power plant that could bury carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The U.S. Department of Energy has just said it will invest at least $1.3 billion in various carbon sequestration technologies.