EarlyBird News

Yesterday, Nevadans voted to amend the state’s constitution and initiate legislature that would open a competitive electricity energy market. Currently, the Nevada Public Utilities Commission regulates utility rates and utilities are allowed to establish monopolies based on their respective service areas. The legislature would get rid of the present monopoly system. Under the legislature, “every […]

A proposal on the November 8 ballot will give Nevada voters the chance to open a competitive electricity energy market. A “yes” vote on Question 3 would initiate a replacement of the present monopoly system. Under this legislation, utilities would still charge for the delivery of electricity, but customers could buy their electricity supply. Currently, […]

Last week, National Grid announced that it was approved by the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) to raise electric distribution rates for its customers in Massachusetts. Residential customers can expect an increase of 7 percent. This figure is significantly lower than the original proposal, however. National Grid first lobbied for a 24 percent uptick, […]

Fitchburg Gas and Electric Light Company d/b/a Unitil recently filed electric basic service rates with the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) for the upcoming winter. The utility is set to charge Residential and Small General customers $0.09704 per kWh for December 2016 – May 2017, a 23 percent increase from the current rate of […]

On Tuesday, September 27, the U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C. heard arguments for the appeal of the Clean Power Plan, an EPA-issued regulation designed to abate power-plant carbon-dioxide emissions. The regulation, announced last August by the Obama Administration, requires significant reductions from 2005 levels by 2025 (26-28 percent) and 2030 (32 percent). President Obama […]

Last week, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) detailed a blueprint for the state to increase its energy storage to 600 MW by 2025. The report represents significant progress in the state’s efforts to taking advantage of energy storage. In May 2015, the Baker-Polito Administration introduced the $10 million Energy Storage Initiative to investigate […]

After weather adjustments, U.S. natural gas storage was 4 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) tighter year-over-year during last winter’s El Niño. Despite a surge in recent storage figures – for example, a 62 Bcf increase for the week ending September 9, 2016 – relatively low summer storage increases have been the norm. This development […]

Earlier this week, Eversource Energy predicted that its 300,000 natural gas customers in Massachusetts would pay an average of $144 per month for heat, water, and cooking this winter, down from $148 per month in 2015 and $171 per month in 2014. The decrease stems from decline in the price Eversource pays for natural gas. […]

Last Wednesday, August 17, the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled against a Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities proposal that would have charged customers for new natural gas pipeline projects. The Court intimated that the subsidy bid would unfairly expose consumers to higher energy costs. The proposition was made to expand natural gas supply and avoid high […]

Discussions between the Massachusetts Senate and House over the energy bill H.4568 came to a conclusion late Sunday, July 31. The mandate requires Massachusetts to solicit long-term contracts for 1,600 megawatts of offshore wind power. This figure marks a halfway compromise between the proposals from the House (1,200 megawatts) and the Senate (2,000 megawatts) put […]