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On June 2, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed the Clean Power Plan, a plan to cut carbon pollution from power plants. The EPA aims to reduce CO2 emissions by 26% below 2005 emission levels by 2020 and 30% by 2030. Following the release of this plan, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation...
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With winter once again upon us, many business and homeowners in the Northeast are wondering if we will see the elevated prices for natural gas and electric as we did last year. Venture partners Cabot Oil and Gas, Piedmont Natural Gas, Williams Partners, and WGL Holdings, Inc. have been diligently working to gain approval for...
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Last month, PJM released a new online learning portal. As a Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) that “coordinates the movement of electricity through all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia”, this user friendly website is designed to be...
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As the temperature drops across the nation and cities brace for early winter blizzards, energy pricing in New England skyrockets!   Massachusetts consumers were anticipating the price hikes but it’s a tough pill to swallow as other energy costs are dropping throughout the country. National Grid, the largest utility in Massachusetts, recently received approval for a...
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Renewable energy sources have been getting a lot of attention and over the past few months we have highlighted a few different topics; this week we are focusing on wind power. Generating energy by the wind is not a new concept. In short, wind energy works with the combination of lift and drag causing the rotor to...
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Our last blog illustrated the significance of capacity charges on the overall cost of a customer’s energy supply. When rendering figures for a customer’s capacity charge, the utility calculates what is called the Peak Load Contribution (or PLC), which is a number used to show how much generation could be needed for the system’s peak...
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Capacity in the electric market refers to the capability to produce energy to meet your “peak” electrical use during a specific period.  There must be enough power to maintain grid reliability during periods of peak demand, regardless of when it occurs.   If there is an insufficient amount of electricity generated to meet the demand,...
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A common question we get asked as energy consultants is, “When is the best time of year to shop for gas or electric rates?” The short answer is there is no “best time”, but as experts in energy management there are certain factors we use to best advise our clients who are looking into new...
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There are different types of supply pricing options for electric customers, and many times each of the various suppliers have their own unique pricing systems.  However, there are common factors in every electric price.  In order to fully comprehend electric pricing, whether it be from a utility or an alternate supplier, you need to understand...
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Almost immediately after releasing last week’s blog regarding slamming, we were made aware of a recent scam affecting customers that are served by Rochester Gas and Electric Corp. (RG&E) and New York State Electric & Gas Corp. (NYSEG). Customers are being warned about scammers claiming they represent the utility and who say they are calling...
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In the energy industry, slamming is a term used when an individual gathers enough information about a customer to enroll them with a supplier without consent and most times, little or no knowledge by the customer of this happening. Many times customers don’t find out they’ve been slammed until they get a bill from a...
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FirstEnergy Solutions (FES), a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp., announced Tuesday that it will be exiting the electric retail market for mass market and mid-sized commercial and industrial customers.  FES will serve their existing customers through their contract terms but will eliminate any selling or renewal efforts to mid-C&I and mass markets.  “[W]e intend to exit...
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Among other places, you may notice the mention of the natural gas injection or inventory “storage reports” if you receive our emails, or read the Energy News Flashes or Power New Energy Updates. Each Thursday (except for weeks that include Federal holidays) around 10:30 a.m. the Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report is posted on the U.S Energy Information...
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What is the Block Bidding Program? The Block Bidding Program is a sealed-bid auction that was established by NYSEG and RG&E utilities to help New York State reach their goal of reducing energy by 15% by 2015.  NYSEG and RG&E purchase “blocks” of electricity savings – reduced electric usage – from commercial, industrial and municipal...
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What Is ReCharge New York (“RNY”)? Statewide economic development power program for qualified businesses and not-for-profit corporations. The program is designed to retain and create jobs through allocations of low-cost power. This replaces the Power For Jobs Program. Who Is Eligible? Many businesses and non-profit organizations are eligible however, there are certain entities that do not qualify....
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As you may be well aware, solar has become a very hot topic. It may be surprising to learn however that only about 15-20% of electric customers are actually able to access solar energy on their own. Various factors such as physical characteristics of a home or business, consumers who lack ownership of the property,...
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Improved technologies, tax credits, Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS), and Renewable Energy Certificates/Credits (RECs) have all helped to increase and encourage the use of renewable energy sources over the years.  In 2013, according to the EIA, 13% of electricity produced in the United States was generated by renewable energy sources.  Hydropower, wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass are...
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The vocabulary used to reference individuals who provide services in the energy industry many times can be confused with one another.  The terms energy broker, energy consultant and energy management company many times are used interchangeably and can sometimes be misinterpreted as the entity that supplies the energy. However, typically this company is responsible for...
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f you’ve been watching the FIFA World Cup games in Brazil you may have noticed prominently displayed PV solar panels on stadium roofs and in parking lots.  Solar energy will play an important role in the World Cup games as the majority of stadiums are powered by this clean energy source.  According to Joseph F....
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In 2010, commercial buildings consumed roughly 20 percent of all energy in the U.S. In response to this alarming number, the Better Buildings Challenge was introduced by President Obama in December 2011, as an added component of the Better Buildings Initiative launched earlier that year. With the introduction of the Better Buildings Challenge, President Obama hoped to...
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