Free Republic

The “public interest” does not mean “special interest.” Regulators of Colorado’s public utilities corporations should learn the difference. The full mission of Colorado’s Public Utilities Commission is it “serves the public interest by effectively regulating utilities and facilities so that the people of Colorado receive safe, reliable, and reasonably priced services consistent with the economic, environmental and social values of our state.” That means serving the highest values of nearly 6 million diverse individuals with every imaginable set of priorities. It does not mean serving the highest values of wealthy climate change activists or the political party in power. The...

California’s electric rates are among the highest in the country. Three big power companies propose charging fixed rates based on income, saying low-income customers will save money. Critics doubt it’ll work.

Xcel Energy-Colorado has filed a request for a new electric rate increase, which follows a recently approved natural gas rate hike and a $182.2 million jump in revenue for electric service that took effect in April. The request submitted to regulators Wednesday proposed a $312.2 million revenue increase. ... Critics of Xcel’s recent rate cases have accused the utility of “a pancaking” of increases. The PUC approved a $64.2 million rise in the utility’s natural gas rates in October. Regulators slashed the utility’s original proposal by $138 million. ... If the increase is approved, the typical residential bill would rise...

22,000 people lost control of temperatures in their homes for hours Tuesday.. DENVER — During the dog days of summer, it's important to keep your home cool. But when thousands of Xcel customers in Colorado tried adjusting their thermostats Tuesday, they learned they had no control over the temperatures in their own homes. ... Xcel confirmed to Contact Denver7 that 22,000 customers who had signed up for the Colorado AC Rewards program were locked out of their smart thermostats for hours on Tuesday. "It's a voluntary program. Let's remember that this is something that customers choose to be a part...

Customers to pay 3x as much during 'peak' hours.. DENVER — Xcel Energy will soon start charging higher electricity rates during peak hours, and that is causing a lot of confusion and anxiety among customers like Tamara Casillas. “I’m a grandmother and I’m on a pension,” Casillas said. She points out that families are paying more for everything right now, from groceries to gas. “With inflation and everything that’s going on in the world, things are going to go up a little, and it’s getting harder and rougher for everybody,” she said. So, Xcel’s announcement that it will be raising...

Late last summer, and with great fanfare, Xcel Energy announced its proposal to close the Comanche I & II power units in Pueblo a decade ahead of schedule. They offered as replacement the euphemistically titled “Colorado Energy Plan” , a massive $2.5 billion fuel-switching scheme to move its Colorado customers away from baseload, reliable hydrocarbons in favor of intermittent renewables. ... the Minneapolis-based monopoly utility will force captive ratepayers to cough up at least another $287 million. That’s on top of the modeling errors we already found in their accounting, and Xcel acknowledged. In other words, ratepayers will pay higher...

Good power quality can be defined as a steady supply voltage that stays within the prescribed range, steady a.c. frequency close to the rated value, and smooth voltage curve waveform (resembles a sine wave). In general, it is useful to consider power quality as the compatibility between what comes out of an electric outlet and the load that is plugged into it. The term is used to describe electric power that drives an electrical load and the load’s ability to function properly. Without the proper power, an electrical device (or load) may malfunction, fail prematurely or not operate at all....

In 2001, Colorado electricity consumers enjoyed some of the lowest electric rates in the country. The 15 years since haven’t been so kind to ratepayers. For more than a decade, elected officials, PUC commissioners, industry and advocates have told Colorado ratepayers that they could transform the state’s electricity generation away from coal and toward industrial wind, solar and natural gas with little cost to ratepayers. However, the actual numbers tell a much different story. Colorado electricity rates have risen sharply – 62.1 percent – across residential, commercial and industrial sectors, despite a slight decrease in recent years. Colorado electricity rates...

EPA has proposed one of the largest, most expensive regulations in American history. These rules will impact our entire economy, hurt America’s diverse energy portfolio, and result in higher electricity prices while having little benefit to the environment. EPA is asking for public comment on this vast, regulatory overreach between now and December 1, 2014. We need you to share your views with EPA by sending the letter below, or using the open space to personally tell EPA how higher energy prices will impact you, your business, and your family.

Solar electricity is growing, promoted, and most importantly, heavily subsidized. The promoters of solar electricity claim that it is close to being competitive with conventional sources of electricity. That is a fantasy. Solar electricity is expensive and impractical. If it weren't for government subsidies, some explicit and some disguised, the solar industry would collapse. The many claims of competitiveness are always based on ignoring subsidies provided to politically correct renewable power, ignoring the costs associated with unreliability, and ignoring the cost of backup fossil fuel plants. An example of a hidden subsidy is the California Renewable Portfolio Standard that mandates...

7 cents per Kwhr equals $2.338 per gallon. Electricity Costs for 1 GGE = 33.40 kWh For Local Rate Per kWh $/Gallon Equivalent $0.07 = $2.338 $0.08 = $2.670 $0.09 = $3.006 $0.10 = $3.340 $0.11 = $3.674 $0.12 = $4.000 $0.13 = $4.342 $0.14 = $4.670 $0.15 = $5.010 $0.16 = $5.344 $0.17 = $5.678 $0.18 = $6.012 $0.19 = $6.346 $0.20 = $6.680 $0.25 = $8.350 $0.27 = $9.018 $0.28 = $9.352 $0.29 = $9.686 $0.30 = $10.020

Editor's Note: Murray Energy Chief Executive Officer Robert Murray has been called the most controversial CEO in America. He doesn't hold back on his views of America's current political climate -- and the Ohio Valley's future- as he joins us for this month's Sunday Sit-Down. -- Many people believe the federal government, through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is waging a war on coal. How concerned are you that your business could be regulated to such an extent that it would make coal mining unprofitable in the near future? Murray: I am 100 percent certain that will happen, the way...

The healthy growth of mankind depends on continuously decreasing the cost of water and energy everywhere.Nice thought. Why mention it?Its a mission statement.For who?Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett — and through them America’s billionaires. Why Bill Gates? Why Warren Buffett?As to Bill Gates, his passion; According to a recent interview Understanding science and pushing the boundaries of science is what makes me immensely satisfied. What I’m doing now involves understanding maths, risk-taking. The first half of my life was good preparation for the second half.’ Now in the context of the interview he was...

An unexpected drop in U.S. electricity consumption has utility companies worried that the trend isn't a byproduct of the economic downturn, and could reflect a permanent shift in consumption that will require sweeping change in their industry. Numbers are trickling in from several large utilities that show shrinking power use by households and businesses in pockets across the country. Utilities have long counted on sales growth of 1% to 2% annually in the U.S., and they created complex operating and expansion plans to meet the needs of a growing population. "We're in a period where growth is going to be...

ANNAPOLIS — Gov. Martin O'Malley yesterday said he plans to do all he can to restore state regulatory power over utilities, a day after Constellation Energy announced a lawsuit to recoup $386 million it says Maryland shouldn't have forced them to give customers. "I also want to add that we will spare no expense when it comes to investing in whatever additional legal help that we need, or whatever professional experts and consultants we need, or expert witnesses in order to stand up for the best interests for the people of our state," Mr. O'Malley said. The governor, who reconfigured...

BALTIMORE (AP) — Gov. Martin O'Malley is asking the Public Service Commission to hold expedited hearings on a breakup of Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. and corporate parent Constellation Energy Group. In a letter to commission Chairman Steven B. Larsen obtained by the Baltimore Sun, Mr. O'Malley said he is concerned that roles some executives play at both companies led BGE to pay more for electricity than it should have. Mr. O'Malley, a Democrat, also said he wants the commission to consider whether the utility's 1.1 million customers should receive rebates. "We need to know whether the relationship between BGE...

<p>Last year's rate hikes are still in effect, although wholesale prices are lower.</p> <p>LOS ANGELES -- Blackouts have ended and wholesale power costs have plummeted, but California's energy crisis continues to haunt consumers.</p> <p>Californians aren't paying any less for electricity even though wholesale power costs one-tenth of what it did when the state Public Utilities Commission approved a 30 percent rate hike 15 months ago.</p>