Costs for energy improvements can be wrapped into mortgage - Business - TheState.com

Eve Mitchell - Contra Costa Times

"Under the FHA’s Energy Efficient Mortgage program, a borrower can add up to $8,000 — or 5 percent of the home’s value, whichever is more — to the loan amount to pay for qualified improvements, and up to $2,000 for weatherization improvements."

How to Beat the High Costs of Dialing Abroad — Practical Traveler - NYTimes.com

Michelle Higgins

"First, ask your carrier if your phone can be unlocked. Customers of AT&T and T-Mobile will have the best luck with this because their signals are compatible with more foreign carriers. Most cellphones that operate on Verizon and Sprint aren’t compatible with networks outside the United States, making unlocking beside the point. If you use one of those carriers, decide whether it’s better to pay the carrier’s roaming rates and simply limit calls or buy a basic, unlocked phone for calls and texts (which can usually be found for $40 or so) in the country you’re visiting."

Progress Energy customers could soon pay much more for Levy County nuclear plant - St. Petersburg Times

Ivan Penn

"In December 2006, Progress Energy announced plans to build the nuclear plant in Levy County on a 3,000-acre site about 8 miles north of the utility's Crystal River nuclear and coal energy complex. The utility has been charging ratepayers for the new nuclear plant since 2009.

Early estimates indicated the new nuclear plant would cost $4 to $6 billion with the first of two reactors scheduled to go online in 2016 and the second in 2018. The estimates now range from $17 billion to $22 billion and the projected start date is 2021 for the first reactor and 2023 for the second."

Nuclear permits on the way - Business - TheState.com

Krsty Eppley Rupon

"The Cayce-based utility received a letter Wednesday from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission saying its application is complete and a final safety report should be issued next month, spokesman Eric Boomhower said. Once that report is issued, the commission has four months to schedule a final public hearing and issue licenses for the $9.8 billion project."

Tainted Water Well Challenges Claim of Fracking’s Safety - NYTimes.com

Ian Urbina

" The report is not recent — it was published in 1987, and the contamination was discovered in 1984. Drilling technology and safeguards in well design have improved significantly since then. Nevertheless, the report does contradict what has emerged as a kind of mantra in the industry and in the government."

NewsFactor Business | FCC Imposes Standstill Rule on Cable Providers

By Mark Long

"The Federal Communications Commission has introduced a new rule to prevent cable-TV providers from suddenly removing video content produced by independent program vendors as a way to gain leverage in contract disputes. The goal is to ultimately benefit consumers by promoting competition and diversity in the video-programming and video-distribution market, the FCC said."

Duke making request for rate hike in SC this week - State & Regional - Wire - TheState.com

"Duke wants to raise rates to offset the nearly $5 billion it has spent on its electricity generating and transmission system in the Carolinas since 2009."