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Article, Defense, Government and Politics, Technology, Utilities and Providers

Could hackers knock out our power? It happened in Ukraine

December 18, 2016

Worries over cyberattacks on the USA are increasing in the aftermath of a presidential election in which the CIA alleged that Russia used such means to influence our electoral process. For the moment, the vulnerability of polling and political operations to hacking gets most of the attention. But this week will mark the one-year anniversary of the first publicly acknowledged cyber incident to take down portions of a power grid, one of the most critical components of a nation’s infrastructure. (Read More)

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by Bill Loveless
Article, Consumer, Corporations, Economy / Finance, Energy

Utilities? Relatively safe investments, sure, but …

December 11, 2016

U.S. utilities have traditionally been a safe bet for investors, and by and large they will continue to be in 2017. Still, there are worrisome undercurrents for the sector that deserve close attention as we approach a new year. So advises Fitch Ratings in its annual look at the credit-worthiness of investor-owned companies that provide households and businesses with electricity and natural gas. (Read More)

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by Bill Loveless
Article, Corporations, Defense, Economy / Finance, Energy, Government and Politics

OPEC’s power slips amid a spurt in U.S. oil production

December 4, 2016

Only time will tell whether OPEC will effectively implement its recent decision to curb oil supplies and reverse a price slump that’s persisted for 2½ years. But amid the many prognostications over oil prices, something else is clear: When it comes to energy security, the U.S. is in a much better position today than it has been in years. (Read More)

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by Bill Loveless
Article, Climate, Corporations, Government and Politics

Look to places like Mars (the company) for greenhouse-gas reform

November 27, 2016

Just where Donald Trump stands on climate change seems more uncertain than ever now that he’s acknowledged to The New York Times that he sees “some connectivity” between human activity and increasing global temperatures. Trump’s remarks last week followed his disregard of climate change during his election campaign, including his pledge to pull the U.S. out of a 2015 agreement with nearly 200 other nations to keep temperatures from rising to catastrophic levels. (Read More)

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by Bill Loveless
Article, Climate, Energy, Government and Politics

Coal’s decline may continue even under Trump

November 21, 2016

During his campaign for the White House, President-elect Donald Trump promised to eliminate regulations that target coal-fired power plants, one of the primary causes of carbon emissions responsible for climate change. For Trump, a climate-change skeptic, getting rid of the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan, which would curb carbon emissions from power plants by 32% by 2030, would give a boost to the declining U.S. coal industry and its decimated workforce across Appalachia. Even if the next president were to succeed, he would probably not reverse a years-long movement away from coal in the U.S. electric power industry, the biggest consumer of the black rock, according to the head of one of the nation’s leading electric utilities. (Read more)

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by Bill Loveless
Article, Energy, Government and Politics

Coal’s decline may continue even under Trump

November 20, 2016

During his campaign for the White House, President-elect Donald Trump promised to eliminate regulations that target coal-fired power plants, one of the primary causes of carbon emissions responsible for climate change. For Trump, a climate-change skeptic, getting rid of the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan, which would curb carbon emissions from power plants by 32% by 2030, would give a boost to the declining U.S. coal industry and its decimated workforce across Appalachia. Even if the next president were to succeed, he would probably not reverse a years-long movement away from coal in the U.S. electric power industry, the biggest consumer of the black rock, according to the head of one of the nation’s leading electric utilities. (Read more)

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by Bill Loveless
Article, Climate, Corporations, Energy, Government and Politics

What Trump’s pro-drilling stance means for oil, gas industry

November 13, 2016

The election of Donald Trump as president raises the  hopes of oil and natural gas producers, thanks to his full-throated support for the removal of regulations that many say hamper the industry. Only time will tell if the Republican’s policies will provide much more of a boost to U.S. oil and gas, which has rallied in recent years thanks to technologies that enable production from previously untapped shale reserves. Moreover, it’s price, not government regulation, that really determines the extent of oil and gas exploration and production, as Thomas Watters, a managing director with S&P Global Ratings, observed the other day. (Read more)

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by Bill Loveless
Article, Climate, Government and Politics, Regulations

‘Just scrap’ Obama energy rules, Trump adviser says

November 9, 2016

The man that Donald Trump calls the “king of energy” in the U.S. predicts quick action by the next president to roll back Obama administration policies opposed by the oil and natural gas industry. “There are so many of them. You just scrap them,” Harold Hamm, the billionaire CEO of Continental Resources, said Wednesday, hours after Trump’s surprising win over Democrat Hillary Clinton. (Read more)

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by Bill Loveless
Article, Energy, Government and Politics

Solar showdown among energy reforms on state ballots

November 6, 2016

Ballot measures Tuesday in Colorado, Florida, Nevada and Washington could reshape the future for fossil fuels, electricity and renewable energy in those markets. Each initiative illustrates how significant decisions on the production and consumption of energy in the U.S. are often made at the state level, especially with gridlock in Washington over federal policies. (Read more)

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by Bill Loveless
Article, Economy / Finance, Energy, Government and Politics

Loveless: U.S. looks to Canada for green power

October 30, 2016

Free trade in North America has become a contentious issue this year, thanks to attacks by Donald Trump on a wide-reaching agreement implemented by the U.S., Canada and Mexico in 1994. But even as the pros and cons of the North American Free Trade Agreement continue to be debated in the U.S. election campaigns, new opportunities for commerce among the three countries are emerging, including opportunities in energy. (Read more)

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by Bill Loveless