US senators renew call for more pipeline inspectors, shutoff valves

Two of California’s U.S. senators have renewed legislative efforts to tighten the U.S. pipeline inspection regime in response to the September 2010 fatal Pacific Gas and Electric explosion. The two congressmen have reintroduced the “Strengthening Pipeline Safety and Enforcement Act,” which matches legislation the pair introduced in 2010, except for a new section ordering pipeline operators to comply with National Transportation Safety Board recommendations issued in January 2011. The new provision would require pipeline operators to establish records of all pipe components to verify that the "maximum allowable operating pressure" is calibrated for the weakest section. Pipelines with incomplete records must be pressure-tested or replaced and must operate at reduced pressure until testing is completed, the bill says. The bill, introduced January 31, proposes doubling the inspector staff at the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, requiring automatic shutoff valves, mandating “smart pig” devices and prohibiting high-pressure lines from operating if they do not use up-to-date inspection technology.

Details Here

first published week of:   02/07/2011

USDA Announces Smart Grid, Transmission System Improvements To Create Jobs, Benefit Consumer in 14 States

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that rural electric cooperative utilities will receive funding for smart grid technologies and improvements to generation and transmission facilities. These loans will benefit more than 19,000 rural consumers in 14 states.

“Rural electric cooperatives provide direct jobs and support economic growth in our rural communities,” Vilsack said. “By financing electrical system improvements USDA and the Obama Administration helps ensure sustainable growth and business job creation. Investments in smart grid technologies will give rural electric utilities and their consumers one more tool to better manage use of electricity, increase reliability and lower costs.”

Among the rural electric cooperative utilities that will receive funding are Hoosier Energy Rural Electric Cooperative, Inc., which serves Indiana and parts of Illinois. Hoosier received a $462.5 million loan to fund system projects to improve reliability and comply with environmental requirements. The loan will also finance smart grid technologies and transmission line improvements.

Northeast Oklahoma Electric Cooperative, Inc., received a of $23.5 million loan to build or improve nearly 250 miles of distribution line and make other system improvements. The loan includes $1.2 million for automated metering.

The $900 million in loans announced … are provided by USDA Rural Development’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) to help electric utilities upgrade, expand, maintain and replace rural America's electric infrastructure.

Details Here

first published week of:   09/12/2011

Utility Shelves Ambitious Plan to Limit Carbon

A major American utility is shelving the nation’s most prominent effort to capture carbon dioxide from an existing coal-burning power plant, dealing a severe blow to efforts to rein in emissions responsible for global warming.

American Electric Power has decided to table plans to build a full-scale carbon-capture plant at Mountaineer, a 31-year-old coal-fired plant in West Virginia, where the company has successfully captured and buried carbon dioxide in a small pilot program for two years.

The technology had been heralded as the quickest solution to help the coal industry weather tougher federal limits on greenhouse gas emissions. But Congressional inaction on climate change diminished the incentives that had spurred A.E.P. to take the leap.

Company officials, who plan an announcement on Thursday, said they were dropping the larger, $668 million project because they did not believe state regulators would let the company recover its costs by charging customers, thus leaving it no compelling regulatory or business reason to continue the program.

The federal Department of Energy had pledged to cover half the cost, but A.E.P. said it was unwilling to spend the remainder in a political climate that had changed strikingly since it began the project.

Details Here

first published week of:   07/18/2011

Water contaminent remains elevated

The Milford Water Company recently disclosed that levels of a specific water contaminant remain high, based on testing at several sites in Milford, Massachusetts. The water company posted test results from the August 25 samples on its Web site, according to the Milford Patch September 20. In all six spots, the results indicate the levels of the contaminant Total Trihalomethanes (TTHMs) are above the maximum allowed for drinking water, and higher than the most recent quarterly average. According to the state department of environmental protection, the amount of contaminant allowed for drinking water is 80 parts per billion (ppb). In Milford, levels in samples taken at six locations ranged from a low of 87 ppb, on Main Street, to 122.5 ppb, at a site on Countryside Drive, according to the report. Samples taken on Purchase Street, Beaver Street, and South Main Street were all above 100 ppb. The last quarterly report on testing, in July, showed a town-wide average of 82 ppb. The long–term solution to the problem is a new water treatment plant, which is not scheduled to be finished until 2013. By the end of October, the company hopes to have the first unit of a so–called “carbon sandwich” installed at its Dilla Street site.

Details Here

first published week of:   09/26/2011

Wider U.S. nuclear evacuation zone unneeded, official says

The United States should not widen the minimum evacuation zone around nuclear plants to 50 miles from 10 miles, said a member of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission May 26. It is “unreasonable” to require the wider zone just because U.S. citizens were urged to stay 50 miles from a nuclear plant damaged by an earthquake and tsunami in Japan, he said at a conference in Washington. U.S. officials made a decision on the evacuation zone in Japan based on incomplete information, he said. The 10-mile “emergency planning zone” around U.S. nuclear plants can be expanded during an accident if the situation worsens, he said.

Details Here

first published week of:   06/06/2011

Wind leading to congestion
It's a problem in some states

Wind generation is contributing to congestion in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, affecting both the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator (MISO) and the PJM Interconnection.

It is a problem that is only beginning to manifest on the electric grid, but may lead to significant congestion if not addressed, according to panelists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) congestion study workshop held in Philadelphia on Dec. 6. The workshop is the first of four the DOE will hold to inform its 2012 national electric transmission congestion study.

“Illinois, Indiana and now northwestern Ohio are seeing a tremendous growth in wind integrations,“ said Bob Bradish, head of American Electric Power’s (NYSE:AEP) transmission planning group. ’A lot of that is now starting to show in the way of congestion on our system out there.“

There is a disconnect between the transmission planning perspective and resource planning perspective on what the impact of capacity will be on the transmission system, he said.

“Capacity is driven by the resource planning team,” he said. “They have a definition of capacity; they hand it to the transmission team, that team uses that in planning,” Bradish said.

Details Here

first published week of:   12/19/2011

Volume 31

-->