Category

Electricity

Electricity, Natural Gas, Podcast, Regulations

Columbia Energy Exchange: Regulators in the Trenches

March 9, 2018

Interest in energy policy often focuses on Washington, where actions by the Trump administration, Congress and agencies like the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission receive much of the attention. But it’s easy to forget how much happens in the states, where utility commissioners play a big role in determining how energy is delivered to consumers and at what cost. That’s why I sat down with John “Jack” Betkoski III, the new president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, in this latest episode of the Columbia Energy Exchange podcast. Listen to it here, and let me know what you think!

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by Bill Loveless
cyber security, Electricity, Infrastructure, NERC, Podcast

Cyber attacks on U.S grid: How likely?

October 2, 2017

In the latest Columbia Energy Exchange podcast, I talk with Marcus Sachs, the chief security officer at the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, about recent incidents and what they tell us about the vulnerability of the U.S. grid to cyber attacks. Marc describes as well as anyone I know the risks that computer hacks pose for the electricity infrastructure and the steps being taken by the power industry and the government to guard against such attacks. Not surprisingly for someone from the industry, he’s confident in its ability to keep the lights on. But just as significantly, he also makes clear that dealing with such intrusions is no easy task, and one that demands constant vigilance. Please take a listen to our 30-minute discussion, and let me know what you think.

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by Bill Loveless
Electricity, Infrastructure, Podcast

Columbia Energy Exchange: Barry Perry

August 2, 2017

Barry Perry is a chief executive from a remote region of Canada whose company is gradually becoming a major player in North America’s electric power industry. We sat down recently for a discussion on the Columbia Energy Exchange podcast. From St. John’s, Newfoundland, the oldest city in North America, Perry runs Fortis Inc., the largest investor-owned utility in Canada. Since 2004, the company’s assets in Canada, the U.S. and the Caribbean have grown ten-fold to $48 billion. Fortis’ most recent acquisition, one that really put it on the map in the U.S., was ITC, the biggest electric transmission company in America, at a price of $11.3 billion. We visited with each other during one of his visits to Washington to talk about the electric and natural gas business in the U.S. and Canada, the different energy policies of the two…

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by Bill Loveless
Article, Climate, Electricity

Coal comeback unlikely after Paris climate pact withdrawal: utility CEO

June 5, 2017

From USA TODAY President Trump once again promised to revive the U.S. coal industry when he announced his intention to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement. But that reversal seems as unlikely as ever as electric power producers, the biggest consumers of coal in the U.S., continue to shift to natural gas and renewable energy sources like solar and wind power. In 2016, natural gas became the leading fuel for U.S. electricity generation for the first time, responsible for 33.8% of the output, compared with 30.4% for coal, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Nick Akins, the CEO of American Electric Power, one of the largest utilities in the U.S., says the preference for gas, renewables and energy efficiency, will only grow in response to increasing demands from shareholders and customers for cleaner energy, regardless of changes in…

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by Bill Loveless
Blog, Electricity, Natural Gas, Oil

Oil and gas M&A off to strong start in 2017

April 20, 2017

Investor interest in U.S. oil and natural gas soared in the first quarter of 2017, as measured in mergers and acquisitions. The professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers reports $73 billion in announced deals for the quarter, representing a striking 160% increase in deal value compared to results in the first quarter of 2016. That’s a record high for oil and gas deals in the first quarter of any year since PwC began tracking such activity in 2002. “Pleased by a pro-energy policy agenda taking shape, reassured by the relative steadiness of the price of oil, and encouraged by advances in shale technology, investors entered 2017 with renewed optimism,” PwC says in a report released April 20. The surge was driven by the upstream segment, with the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico continuing to stand out. In all, PwC cites…

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by Bill Loveless