Energy Exchange

Ohio’s FirstEnergy Buys Customers’ Electricity Using a No-Bid, Self-Dealing Contract…It’s Déjà vu all over again

By John Finnigan / Published: September 9, 2015

In a long-awaited hearing which began last week, Ohio’s largest utility is seeking approval for a rate hike of $3 billion. FirstEnegy is asking the Public Utilities Commission (PUCO) to force customers to pay for its old, dirty, uneconomic coal plants and a nearly-expired nuclear plant.

Although there are many reasons to oppose the bailout proposal, one key objection is that FirstEnergy’s sister company – FirstEnergy Solutions – owns these power plants. Rather than undertaking a competitive bid to find the best deal and most affordable prices available, FirstEnergy agreed to buy the power from FirstEnergy Solutions. Imagine if the owner of your company forced you and every employee to buy expensive health insurance from their cousin, even though you could easily get a better price if you shopped around.

If this sounds bad, it gets worse – this isn’t the first time FirstEnergy has tried this tactic. The utility did the same thing in 2013, and the PUCO slammed FirstEnergy for doing so. This is just a case of déjà vu all over again, and FirstEnergy should expect the same result. Read More »

Also posted in Electricity Pricing, Ohio / Comments are closed

Three Technologies that will Keep Energy Costs in Check

By Jim Marston / Published: September 2, 2015

Many American households and businesses saw energy costs soar this summer with July being the hottest month in Earth’s hottest year on record.

Utilities rely on “peaker plants” during these record-setting heat waves to avoid blackouts. Such plants are more expensive and often more polluting to operate, and utilities pass the higher costs straight on to their customers.

Fortunately, this energy equation is changing. Innovative pricing and smart energy systems are gradually taking hold across the United States, already allowing homes and businesses to save energy and cut costs. It’s just the beginning of what I call our next energy revolution.

Here are three technologies on the market today that are fueling this trend: Read More »

Also posted in General, Renewable Energy, Time of Use / Read 1 Response

How Energizing Renewables can Spur Carbon Pricing

By Jim Marston / Published: September 2, 2015

To avoid the worst effects of climate change, we must do more to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, we still do not have a price on carbon, one of the most prevalent greenhouse gases in the world and the biggest contributor to climate change. Despite knowing that a carbon price creates broad incentives to cut emissions, the current average price of carbon globally (which is below zero, once half a trillion dollars of fossil-fuel subsidies are factored in) is much too low relative to the hidden environmental, health, and societal costs of burning a ton of coal or a barrel of oil.

Policies that comprehensively reform the energy sector—a sector designed around fossil fuels—are necessary even as the price of renewable energy declines. The cost of solar photovoltaics, for example, has declined 80 percent since 2008. Prices will continue to fall, but not fast enough to make a dent in the climate problem.

Policymakers are more likely to price carbon appropriately if renewables are competitive with (or cheaper than) fossil fuels. But reducing the cost of renewable energy requires substantial investment, and thus a carbon price. The best hope of resolution is through controlled policy experiments designed to drive down the cost of renewable power sources even further and faster than in the past five years. Read More »

Also posted in Cap and Trade, Climate, Electricity Pricing, General, Renewable Energy / Tagged Energy Storage, Nature | Comments are closed

Critics of Clean Energy in North Carolina: You Got Your Facts Wrong

By David Kelly / Published: August 31, 2015

Critics of North Carolina’s clean energy industry recently bought some radio ads asking state lawmakers who support North Carolina’s clean energy policies to change their minds and turn their backs on this growing industry. These opponents mistakenly argue our state’s clean energy policies burden North Carolinians with rising energy costs that hurt families and cost the state jobs. These claims are baseless.

Yes, energy costs in North Carolina have increased – $40 or $50 per month for many households since 2001. But the growth of renewable energy is not the reason why. Conventional energy sources like coal are getting more expensive, accounting for as much as 84 percent of this increase.

The truth is, renewable energy is helping to slow rising energy costs, saving North Carolina electricity customers $162 million since 2007. And while clean energy continues to grow, so will the savings for our state’s families and businesses – delivering nearly half a billion dollars in additional savings over the next 15 years. Read More »

Also posted in Renewable Energy / Tagged North Carolina | Comments are closed

Everything You Need to Know about FirstEnergy’s Bailout Request

By Dick Munson / Published: August 30, 2015

After a long summer and several delays, the Public Utility Commission of Ohio (PUCO) is scheduled to begin hearing FirstEnergy’s plea for subsidies today. Over the past few months, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and other stakeholders have hit the streets, airways, and internet to explain the company’s proposal. Thankfully for you, we’ve summarized the high-points of all this analysis in an easy-to-read outline. Here are the basics:

What is First Energy requesting?

FirstEnergy is asking PUCO to approve non-competitive purchase agreements that would enable the utility’s distributors to buy power at above-market prices from FirstEnergy’s subsidiary power plants. August 31 marks the beginning of testimony and cross examination of FirstEnergy executives, as well as diverse stakeholders, including EDF. This process may take up to seven weeks.
FirstEnergy is seeking subsidies for the 52-year-old Sammis coal-fired plant; two 60-year-old coal-fired power plants (Kyger Creek in Cheshire, Ohio, and Clifty Creek in Madison, Indiana); the Davis-Bessie nuclear plant, which is two years from the expiration of its 40-year license; and for the utility’s share of the Ohio Valley Electric Corporation. The subsidies essentially shift the financial risk of these older and more expensive generators from FirstEnergy’s shareholders to its customers, who would fund the proposal through fees and higher rates.

Also posted in Demand Response, FirstEnergy / Read 2 Responses

Building Energy Retrofits Just got a lot Easier with this New Toolkit

By Guest Author / Published: August 28, 2015

By: Karen Penafiel, Vice President, Advocacy, BOMA International

At its Every Building Conference this summer, the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International announced the relaunch of its BOMA Energy Performance (BEPC) toolkit. BEPC is an industry-vetted, proven process to plan, procure, and implement performance-driven building retrofits that has been used in successful projects around the world. For this reason, BEPC and the I nvestor Confidence P roject (ICP) are a “natural fit.”

ICP, an Environmental Defense Fund initiative designed to unlock investment in energy efficiency, is accelerating the development of a global energy efficiency market by standardizing how projects are developed and energy savings are calculated. Together, BEPC and ICP can be used to execute successful, reliable, investment-grade energy retrofit projects from concept through measurement and verification.

ICP’s Roadmap to Investor Confidence lays out six major steps in the project development cycle: origination, project development, quality assurance, certification, underwriting, contracting, and performance. BEPC includes a flexible framework and supporting toolkit of template documents that can assist building owners, operators, and program managers at each stage of this process. Two key areas where the BEPC toolkit is particularly useful in the ICP project development cycle are: Read More »

Also posted in California, Energy Efficiency, Energy Financing, Investor Confidence Project / Read 1 Response