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Allegheny Power Proposes Transition Plan for Residential Rates in Maryland

Allegheny Power, the electric delivery subsidiary of Allegheny Energy, Inc. proposed a rate stabilization and transition plan for its Maryland residential customers, in accordance with a bill passed by the Maryland legislature earlier this year.

Allegheny Power's plan will gradually transition its residential customers from capped generation rates to market-based generation rates, while at the same time preserving for customers the benefit of previous rate caps. The key provisions of the proposed plan are:

• Beginning March 31, 2007, residential customers would pay a non-bypassable distribution surcharge. The application of the surcharge would result in an overall rate increase of approximately 15 percent for Allegheny’s residential customers;
• On January 1, 2008, the distribution surcharge would increase residential rates an additional 15 percent;
• With the expiration of the residential generation rate caps and the move to market-based generation pricing on January 1, 2009, the surcharge would convert to a credit on customers’ bills. Funds collected through the surcharge during 2007 and 2008, plus interest, would be returned to customers as a credit on their electric bills, thereby reducing the effect of the rate cap expiration; and
• The credit would continue, with adjustments, to maintain rate stability until December 31, 2010.

first published week of:   01/04/2007

Armed police move in at energy sites

Armed police were deployed for the first time Tuesday, January 16, at two key oil and gas facilities in Scotland following a government review of potential terrorist targets. The officers from the Ministry of Defense police force have begun foot and mobile patrols at the St Fergus gas terminal, near Peterhead, and the Garlogie gas compressor station in Aberdeenshire. Armed guards have also been stationed at two vital infrastructure sites in England -- the Bacton terminal in Norfolk and the Easington terminal, on Humberside. The deployment is scheduled to last until 31 March. The Home Office declined to reveal why the four specific sites in the UK had been chosen for the heightened security precautions, but insisted the deployment was not the result of a specific terrorist threat.

Details Here: news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=85642007

first published week of:   01/22/2007

AT&T Closes BellSouth Acquisition

AT&T has closed its acquisition of BellSouth, after clearing a final regulatory hurdle. On Friday, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission announced that it had approved the $86 billion deal, one day after AT&T made a number of concessions to help push the acquisition through, including a pledge to maintain a “neutral network” for two years after the merger.

The deal is the largest telecommunications merger in U.S. history, and the latest in a wave of telecom consolidation that has left only two major players--AT&T and Verizon Communications--standing in the U.S. market.

Critics have said that the deal would be a step toward the monopoly conditions that existed prior to AT&T's breakup in the 1980s, but the FCC said Friday that consumers would see a number of benefits, including increased deployment of broadband, more competition in the video services market, and enhanced national security.

Details Here: www.pcworld.com/article/128356-1/article.html?tk=nl_dnxnws

first published week of:   01/08/2007

Baker report finds 'material deficiencies' at BP's U.S. refineries

An independent panel chaired by former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker Tuesday, January 16, said that while BP has taken steps to improve safety at its five U.S. refineries, it still has not provided effective "“process safety” at the facilities. The panel was created at the recommendation of the U.S. Chemical Safety Board after the March 2005 explosion at BP's Texas City refinery that left 15 people dead and scores injured. The panel said that it found "instances of a lack of operating discipline, toleration of serious deviations from safe operating practices, and apparent complacency toward serious process safety risk existed at each of the U.S. refineries." The panel said BP should set up integrated and comprehensive process safety management to continuously identify and reduce risks at its U.S. refineries.

Details Here: www.platts.com/Oil/News/6338720.xml?sub=Oil&p=Oil/News

first published week of:   01/22/2007

California Energy Commission Praises Beacon Power Flywheel Technology

Beacon Power Corporation announced that the California Energy Commission, the state's primary energy policy and planning agency, issued a press release that highlights the advantages and benefits of Beacon's flywheel energy storage technology for grid frequency regulation. “We're grateful for the consistent and effective support we've received from the Energy Commission throughout the project,” said Bill Capp, Beacon Power president and CEO. “We're also very pleased that our technology has been certified by the California ISO, which we announced earlier this week. These two important authorities, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Energy, are demonstrating energy policy leadership and vision. They understand that new technologies will be required to maintain grid reliability while achieving ambitious goals for the deployment of renewable energy and the reduction of carbon emissions.”

Details Here: www.beaconpower.com/

first published week of:   01/19/2007

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Volume 31

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