Michael Giberson A collection of news and commentary on the February 2 rolling blackouts on the ERCOT grid in Texas. KVUE: After blackouts, PUC member seeks authority to fire ERCOT CEO WFAA: Public Utility Commission grills ERCOT top exec on rolling blackouts Associated Press: Railroad Commission questions industry performance WFAA: Quest for cheap fuel led …
Roundup of News and Commentary on the Texas Rolling Blackouts Read More »
Michael Giberson The new Jan./Feb. 2011 issue of the Electricity Journal is now available, and it contains the usual range of interesting things to consider. Take, for instance, the article “Rede?ning Renewable Portfolio Standards: The Value of Installed Renewable Capacity.” The article observes, reasonably so, that some sources of renewable power can dependably generate power …
Michael Giberson Among the complications caused by the cold weather last week, short supply of natural gas throughout much of the southwest United States. Reports indicate some gas wells were freezing up and loss of electric power to gas production systems, but more of the problem was loss of power to natural gas pipelines. And, …
The Natural Gas That Didn’t Come in from the Cold Read More »
Michael Giberson In other commentary on ERCOT’s rolling blackouts: “Some Companies Made Millions Off the Texas Blackouts.” While Texans suffered rolling blackouts yesterday, some power generators were enjoying windfall profits. Starting around 5 a.m., prices in the wholesale market surged to the market cap, $3,000 per megawatt-hour, and stayed there, off and on, until around …
Texas Observer: Some Companies Made Millions Off the Texas Blackouts Read More »
Michael Giberson The Justice Department of the United States has agreed to a $12 million settlement with KeySpan Corporation on a Sherman antitrust act claim. The allegation was that KeySpan manipulated the New York ISO capacity market price in its part of the state from May 2006 through February 2008, reaping an estimated $49 million …
United States V. Keyspan Corporation Antitrust Case Settles for Paltry $12 Million Read More »
Michael Giberson In the February 2011 issue of Reason Ronald Bailey explains some interesting work in political and moral psychology on libertarian morality. The research – by Jon Haidt at the University of Virginia, Ravi Iyer and Jesse Graham at the University of Southern California and Spassena Koleva and Peter Ditto at the University of California …
Understanding Libertarian Morality: “Regulations Trigger a Sense of Resistance in Me” Read More »
Michael Giberson A new legislative session in Connecticut brings with it another bill proposing to ban zone pricing of gasoline in the state. But the simplicity of the proposed bill makes it look like they’re not really trying. Here is the body of the bill (all of it): AN ACT BANNING GASOLINE ZONE PRICING. Be …
An Act Purporting to Ban Gasoline Zone Pricing in Connecticut Read More »
Michael Giberson On Friday, the EPA announced it now believes it is safe to use fuels made with up to 15 percent ethanol in cars, SUVs and light-duty trucks manufactured between 2001 and 2006. EPA administrator Lisa Jackson said, “Whenever sound science and the law support steps to allow more home-grown fuels in America’s vehicles, this …
Ethanol Blather Courtesy of the Epa and the Financial Times Read More »
Michael Giberson It’s not easy out there for the solar power industry: Renewable power credits don’t provide long term security for developers… …and middlemen seem to make more money from RECs than renewable power producers do. Private homeowner association rules can frustrate desires of persons wanting to go solar. Local government zoning regulations and associated …
Troubles, from the Point of View of the Solar Power Industry Read More »
Michael Giberson The Wall Street Journal reports that a program to cut energy consumption by subsidizing consumer purchases of compact fluorescent light bulbs is not working out as planned. I think we can summarize this as: regulator approves cost recovery for subsidy program to reduce energy consumption, program doesn’t work as well as expected, so regulator approves …
Compact Fluorescent Bulbs Not Living Up to California Program’s Expectations Read More »
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