Michael Giberson More than a month has gone by since the one-year anniversary of the 2005 Energy Policy Act, which means that the final report to Congress of the five member inter-agency Electric Energy Market Competition Task Force is more than a month past due. The task force, composed of staffers from the Department of …
Inter-agency Task Force Misses Energy Policy Act Deadline Read More »
Michael Giberson In a follow up to my post earlier in the week, I noticed this headline from the Contra Costa Times, “Utilities fall behind on green goals: State officials admit report showing conservation, use of renewable resources not on track is troublesome.” Not that California state officials aren’t dedicated, but perhaps more than dedication …
California’s Dedication to Efficiency and Conservation, Ii Read More »
Michael Giberson Speaking of “hedge” funds, how about those folks at Amaranth Advisors LLC? As of a few weeks ago, they were up to about $9 billion in assets. One 32-year old trader alone was up $2 billion for the year. Who are these financial wizards? From the Amaranth web site: Amaranth’s investment professionals deploy …
Michael Giberson Still, the rise in oil prices from an average of $28 in 2003 has made commodity traders far superior performers than investors in the stock market. And for a while, that performance encouraged even more investors to pour even more money into oil futures. Now some of the traders themselves wonder if they …
Michael Giberson On the Washington Monthly site, Kevin Drum took the occasion of a New York Times story on California’s new greenhouse gases law to praise California for its dedication to energy efficiency and conservation. Drum reported a decline in per capita energy use in the state since 1970, which happened, he said, “largely because …
California’s Dedication to Efficiency and Conservation Read More »
Michael Giberson Maryland’s highest court has ruled that the state’s legislature overstepped its authority when it passed a law firing the five members of the Public Service Commission and directing the Governor to appoint replacements from a legislature-selected list of candidates. All is not yet sweetness and light in Maryland, however, as one prominent gubernatorial …
Maryland Court Says Legislature Overstepped Authority in Regulatory Battle Read More »
Michael Giberson Consumer Reports magazine put a 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe flexible-fuel vehicle running on E85 (an 85 percent ethanol/15 percent gasoline mix) through a battery of tests, and concludes it will cost consumers more than a gasoline burner. A chief limitation comes from ethanol’s lower energy content, which means that vehicles running on ethanol will …
Michael Giberson What makes an old power plant new again? It is a complicated question, possibly deeply philosophic and suggestive of a zen koan. Perhaps the answer is that there is no answer. Unfortunately, that answer isn’t good enough for public policy. The Clean Air Act requires new generators to get permits, and even old …
Judge Posner on Incentives and the Clean Air Act Read More »
Michael Giberson No shameless self-promotion involved in this posting, but in otherwise related electric rate news the Boston Globe reports that Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is favoring a proposal to implement time-of-use rates for residential customers in the state. According to the article, the plan would have a higher afternoon rate between 2 PM and …
Michael Giberson A year hence and clean up continues in New Orleans. Dave Tufte at voluntaryXchange notes a New York Times story reporting on entertainer/club owner Harry Anderson’s decision to leave town. (Try this link to the NYT article.) The energy news element to the story: This spring, the local power company, Entergy, which is …
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