Gas

As expected, President Obama vetoed two resolutions on Dec. 18 that would have blocked the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) rules on CO2 emissions and halted the administration’s Clean Power Plan. Senate Joint Res. 23 was Congress’ attempt to nullify the EPA’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards for new, modified, and reconstructed power plants, while Senate […]

North America’s reserve margins are trending downward, even though electricity demand has generally fallen, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) warned in a new report. The international regulatory authority established to gauge and improve the reliability of North America’s bulk power system (BPS) said in its annual long-term report that electricity demand has dropped […]

In a major boost to the wind and solar industries, Congressional leaders agreed on a multiyear extension of renewable energy tax credits, which could provide several years of predictable policies, encouraging investment in new projects. The tax credits are part of a 2,009-page omnibus-spending bill unveiled by the House Appropriations Committee on Dec. 15. The […]

Delegates of 195 nations, including the U.S., on Dec. 12 reached a landmark deal at the Paris COP21 conference that commits the world to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in an effort to combat the effects of climate change. Though scientists have said global temperature increases need to kept below 2 degrees C to avoid […]

American Electric Power (AEP), through its subsidiary AEP Ohio, announced on Dec. 14 that it had filed a stipulated agreement with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) in support of the company’s expanded power purchase agreement. Details of the Agreement The stipulated agreement, which the company expects the PUCO to rule on in early […]

American Electric Power (AEP), one of the biggest coal generators in the U.S., is withdrawing funds and staff resources from heavy lobbying efforts against the Clean Power Plan, sinking them instead into preparations for compliance with the controversial climate rule. The company has informed the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) that it will not be […]

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Clean Power Plan (CPP) is likely to be complicated at least as much by political and legal opposition as by technological challenges in reducing carbon emissions, several speakers at POWER magazine’s inaugural conference on legal issues in the generation industry noted on Dec. 7 in Las Vegas. “Navigating Legal Implications of […]

FirstEnergy Corp., which may enter into a settlement with Ohio to safeguard the future of its Davis-Besse nuclear plant—a deal critics have blasted as “corporate welfare”—just got the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s permission to operate the 1978-built reactor until 2037. The 20-year license extension marks a milestone for Akron-headquartered FirstEnergy, which has warned it might have […]

New rules from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have several unintended consequences for the power sector, an expert said at a POWER magazine event on Dec. 7. Floyd Self, an attorney with Florida-based law firm Berger Singerman, said that the bevy of new EPA rules have helped forged mergers between electric and gas utilities and necessitated […]

Climate change litigation in the U.S. has far outpaced climate litigation in any other jurisdiction. In fact, according to Teri Donaldson, partner with DLA Piper, more lawsuits concerning climate change have been decided or settled in the U.S. than in the rest of the world combined. “The success rate in these cases is very low,” […]