Regulation

Montana-alberta Transmission Line Developer Wants Eminent Domain Power to Overcome Landowner’s Resistance

Michael Giberson The Montana-Alberta Tie Line, a transmission project linking Alberta and Western U.S. power markets, has stalled over the resistance of one landowner, who has claimed the proposed line would cross wetlands and native American heritage sites on her land. MATL tried exercising eminent domain last July to take the easement it wants, but …

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Using Regulation to Raise Rivals Costs

Michael Giberson An NPR Morning Edition story, “Indie Truckers: Keep Big Brother Out Of My Cab,” reports on a change of attitude at the American Trucking Association toward proposals for mandatory electronic logging of long-haul truck movements. This month, an industry group called the American Trucking Associations, which represents thousands of trucking companies, dropped its …

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Entergy Says It Will Join the Midwest Iso

Michael Giberson Entergy press release: New Orleans, La. – Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR) announced today that, based on comprehensive review and analysis, it has concluded that joining the Midwest Independent System Operator (MISO) will provide meaningful long-term benefits for the customers of the Entergy operating companies. The Entergy operating companies will provide detailed analysis supporting …

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Oil Speculator Witch Hunt, 2011 Edition

Lynne Kiesling Following up on Mike’s post yesterday about pandering politicians and their 2011 edition of the recurring petroleum price witch hunt … Others have weighed in on the idiocy of this “Oil and Gas Price Fraud Working Group”. Let’s start with KP’s go-to energy finance economist, Craig Pirrong: … it’s an opportunistic effort to …

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“What We Call ‘smart Metering’ Today Will Business As Usual Tomorrow.”

Michael Giberson The title is a quote from a Q&A conducted by the Financial Times Energy Source blog with a couple of top executives from smart meter maker Landis+Gyr. Part 1. Part 2. Questions were culled from suggestions from readers. First up in Part 1 are two questions from Tyler Slocum of Public Citizen: Does …

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Fracking Regulation Just Became a Little Bit More Difficult

Michael Giberson Tuesday night a Cheasapeake Energy fracking operation in Pennsylvania suffered a breakdown resulting in the spill of thousands of gallons of fracking fluids at the drilling site and into a local stream. The news reports so far are kind of sketchy on the scope of the potential damages. They report “thousands of gallons” …

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Natural Gas Fracking News Update

Michael Giberson Fracking for natural gas continues to make headlines. For example, USA Today: “‘Fracking’ for natural gas also splits towns and families” and from Bloomberg, “Oil, gas companies injected toxic chemicals into ground, U.S. report shows.” These stories extend the understanding of shale gas development a little, but mostly cover familiar ground. Another angle, …

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A Once-stable Price Now Responding to Demand Changes Brings Price Gouging Charge

Michael Giberson A letter to the editor of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: The Interstate 95 express lane authority is price gouging! The express lane toll increases dramatically relative to traffic congestion, roadway emergencies and increased demand by motorists. A merchant who increases his prices during a weather emergency and times of increased demand can in …

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Model Oil and Gas Resource Development Regulations for Arkansas

Michael Giberson The Arkansas Public Policy Panel, a citizen policy non-profit that has been around since 1963, has commissioned a study of recommended regulations to cover oil and gas resource development in the state. The resulting study, “Model Oil and Gas Laws, Regulations and Ordinances,” concludes that many states and localities offer stronger regulation than …

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Arizona Regulators Can Require Utilities to Buy Renewable Power Even if It Raises Consumer Rates

Michael Giberson The Arizona Court of Appeals has ruled that the Arizona Corporation Commission was acting within its authority when it decided to require utilities to secure a portion of their electric power from renewable resources. The Goldwater Institute had argued that the Commission’s authority was limited to setting rates and that the renewables mandate …

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