Former EPA chief touts nukes - Local / Metro - TheState.com

By SAMMY FRETWELL - sfretwell@thestate.com

The nation’s former top environmental regulator, in Columbia to promote nuclear power as a spokeswoman for the industry, said the performance of nuclear plants in the aftermath of Japan’s earthquake will say a lot about how safe that country’s atomic energy reactors are in a natural disaster.

In an interview with The State newspaper, one-time U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief Christine Todd Whitman said, “It’s going to be a very good lesson in how these things work,” Whitman said. “You can’t pretend (the quake) didn’t happen. You can’t pretend there aren’t nuclear reactors. We will be paying attention.’’

Explosion Rocks Japan Nuclear Plant After Quake

Matthew Wald,
March 12, 2011
WASHINGTON — An explosion at a nuclear power plant in northernJapan on Saturday blew the roof off one building, brought down walls and caused a radiation leak of unspecified proportions, Japanese officials said, after Friday’s huge earthquake caused critical failures in the plant’s cooling system.

Kinston City Council urges ElectriCities to seek ‘rate parity' | kinston, council, urges - ENCToday

DAVID ANDERSON

Freedom ENC

"KINSTON – The members of the Kinston City Council have unanimously approved a resolution, urging officials with ElectriCities — and the state’s eastern and western municipal power agencies — to work with Progress Energy and Duke Energy to find some way to equalize rates as a result of their impending merger."

Bill targets utilities, DHEC - Local / Metro - TheState.com

Sammy Fretwell, March 10, 2011

According to the bill approved Wednesday, utilities that chronically spill sewage would either have to undergo an audit or update sewer system plans to address the problem. Once the assessment has been done, the company would have to provide a plan intended to limit future leaks. DHEC would have to issue enforcement orders to make sure that happens, the legislation says.

A compromise amendment approved Wednesday gives utilities flexibility in how they come up with plans to fix problems. The audits would kick in for any utilities that spill 5,000 gallons or more into the environment multiple times in a year. The number of spills that require such reviews would depend on the size of the utility. Larger utilities would be allowed more spills than smaller ones because they have more pipe to keep track of. The bill also would require utilities to notify DHEC with 24 hours of any significant spill.

Utilities AEP, Progress Energy Shifting To Cheap Gas - Investors.com

By NORM ALSTER , INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY Posted 03/09/2011 05:38 PM ET

"'The shale play is a game changer,' said Richard McMahon, vice president with the Edison Electric Institute.

Still, many utility executives remain wary. 'In the past, gas has been very volatile,' said Lloyd Yates, CEO of Progress Energy's (PGN) Carolinas unit. 'People don't trust the price stability yet .'

Such worries are compounded by uncertainty over new rules on utility emissions. Political pressure from Republicans and coal-state Democrats, some argue, will result in soft rule-making for coal.

'EPA is coming under a lot of po litical pressure to back off,' said KeyBanc analyst Paul Ridzon."

With gas prices as incentive, bipartisan energy bill 'gang' could be revived - The Hill's E2-Wire

By Andrew Restuccia - 03/08/11 04:26 PM ET

"Klobuchar said she has reached out to Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), two of the founding members of the group, about whether they would like to hold talks on a bipartisan energy bill. Klobuchar has also reached out to Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.)."

Duke Energy to pursue more acquisitions - CharlotteObserver.com

John Murawski

March 7, 2011

"'We'll be in a stronger position to continue the consolidation, which I think is inevitable in a very fragmented market in the U.S.,' Rogers said. 'As you think about how this industry has consolidated over the last 20 years, it continues.'

Rogers told the British newspaper that talk of future acquisition is premature, but noted that post-merger, Duke will be in a stronger position to continue expanding. The Duke-Progress combination will create the nation's largest electric utility with 7.1 million customers and a market capitalization of about $38 billion."

How Energy Efficiency Can End Up Hurting the Environment - NYTimes.com

By JOHN TIERNEY

Published: March 7, 2011

"Some of the biggest rebound effects occur when new economic activity results from energy-efficient technologies that reduce the cost of making products like steel or generating electricity. In some cases, the overall result can be what’s called “backfire”: more energy use than would have occurred without the improved efficiency."

Have Plug, Will Travel | The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA)

By driving prototypes and collecting data on mileage and performance, Jackson Electric Membership Corporation (EMC) in Georgia is helping make that goal possible. The cooperative is testing one of a handful of after-market retrofits, a Toyota Prius. Alan Shedd, a commercial-industrial marketing engineer at Jackson EMC who drives the car all over the Jackson service territory outside Atlanta. Shedd has logged 30,000 miles since the conversion.

The converted Prius runs on a lithium-ion battery that recharges in four hours from a standard 120-volt house outlet, using about 40 cents of electricity. “If you’re driving in the range of 25 to 30 miles, the battery will power the car so you get infinite mileage – you’re burning electricity instead of gas,” Shedd explained. At this stage in development, however, the battery and conversion package increases the cost of the car by about fifty percent.
Basin Electric Power, a multi-state generation and transmission cooperative in North Dakota, Four County EMC in North Carolina, and Salem Electric in Oregon are also participating in the study. In 2008, the study will expand to include three more converted cars to be tested by Central G&T in South Carolina, Central Indiana Power in Indiana, and Bluegrass Energy in Kentucky.

Power struggle: Frequent power outages in McClellanville a 'nagging problem' with no outright solution | The Post and Courier, Charleston SC

BY WARREN WISE

wwise@postandcourier.com

Sunday, March 6, 2011

"Endangered or protected species, such as bald eagles, swallow-tailed kites, flatwoods salamanders and red-cockaded woodpeckers also inhabit areas along the proposed paths and have to be avoided.

'There are obstacles with each route,' said Bill Rogers, right-of-way services manager for Central Electric. 'But we see this as an extremely vulnerable area. If that (25-kilovolt) line goes out, there is no way to back feed that area"
File/ U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/AP

The red-cockaded woodpecker is one of the endangered species that could be affected by a plan to build a new power line near the Santee River basin.