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Western embassies including the United States and Australia have advised their citizens in the country to stock up on “several days worth” of food and water and be on high alert during extended blackouts sweeping the country. South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national “state of disaster” on February 9 in response to the record electricity shortage, which has seen state-owned power company Eskom institute rolling blackouts

For at least two decades, nuclear engineers have been talking about new reactor designs, but few have progressed to become important components of the industry. Naturally, as with any new technology, there are always boosters and their enthusiasm should be treated with caution, but there is definitely potential for advances that could mean a surge in nuclear power. One aspect that needs greater attention is the benefit of smaller reactors, which greatly reduce risk on the part of investors. Some new designs are more incrementally advanced, such as the European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) developed by Areva and EDF in France,...

Hope you like increasing prices, everyone! #ForTheMiddleClass https://twitter.com/WSJPolitics/status/627796768328183808 … It’s not like Americans weren’t warned. All in the name of fighting “climate change,” of course. Has that ever really been a barrier for this administration?

There is never a good time for bad public policy. For few policies is this more evident than renewable energy mandates (REM), variously known as renewable portfolio standards, alternative energy standards and renewable energy standards. The first renewable energy mandate was adopted in 1983, but most states did not impose these mandates until the 2000s. Though the details vary from state to state, in general, renewable energy mandates require utilities to provide a certain percentage of the electric power they supply from “renewable” sources, notably wind and solar, with the required percentages rising over time. At the height of the...

“Load sixteen tons, and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt… ” — Tennessee Ernie Ford Coal is very low on the scale of subjects for ballads or charming folklore. Like Rodney Dangerfield, it just doesn’t get any respect. What does a naughty boy get in his Christmas stocking? A lump of coal. As a career, few brave souls outside Appalachia would have a goal in life of riding a rail car several miles — down several thousand feet below the surface — to attack the “face” of a coal seam. The thought terrifies me —...

WASHINGTON _ The Senate on Tuesday resoundingly rejected a sweeping measure to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other protected areas to oil drilling, as well as to approve construction of the Keystone pipeline project. Tuesday's vote was the first time in four years that the Senate has voted on a measure including ANWR drilling, and it failed miserably.

Electricity rates now depend more on public policy and regulatory decisions than on actual costs. Based on a newly released report from Oliver Wyman, a leading global management consulting firm, “There is a growing need to increase electricity prices. These rate increases are largely being driven by environmental, regulatory, and security requirements.” And they are adding to “financial strain at the worst possible moment.”The report, designed to help utility companies deal with customer wrath, states that “the increases have been the most significant in the residential segment”—where they grew more quickly than other sectors. Despite declining pricing on some fuels,...

My wife and I just watched a History Channel show, "After Oil." It is one of the most unintentionally funny shows we have seen in a long time. The premise is that, one day, all the undrilled oil in the world vansihes. Not used up, just vanished. Perhaps it has a temper tantrum; perhaps it is just out of town on a trip. Perhaps it has been stolen by aliens. However, this fantasy is to be taken seriously. The world after running out of oil or after some catastrophe has been a staple of science fiction since H.G. Wells. The...

Brazilian authorities defended the reliability of the nation's electric grid after a massive power failure Tuesday darkened about half the country and revived concerns about Brazil's ability to provide energy infrastructure to match its surging economy. Blackouts hit about 800 Brazilian cities, including Rio de Janeiro and the economic hub of São Paulo, around 10 p.m. Tuesday night after three high-power transmission lines collapsed, triggering a domino effect that prompted a 14,000-megawatt hydroelectric plant to go offline, officials said. Paraguay, which shares the dam with Brazil, also suffered a major blackout. Energy Minister Edison Lobão said the outage was provoked...

KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 4, 2008 – The provincial reconstruction team in Afghanistan’s Zabul province has finished installing 90 solar lights to benefit commerce and improve security in the province. Solar-powered lights illuminate the Qalat bazaar in Afghanistan’s Zabul province. The provincial reconstruction team in Zabul helped to install 90 lights across the province to improve commerce and security. U.S. Air Force photo by 1st Lt. Amber Balken  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The lighting problem originally was identified in Shajoy city, where citizens wanted to illuminate their bazaar, the largest in Zabul. Conducting business after sunset was difficult...

A contractor pushes a button to start a micro-power generator that will provide power to 300 families in Zafaraniyah, Nov. 1, 2008. Local government officials conducted ribbon-cutting ceremonies for two micro-power generators that day, one in Hayy Sindabad and one in Hayy Diyala. Leaders from 5th Battalion, 25th Field Artillery, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, assisted with the project and hosted a celebration feast after the ceremonies. Photo by Sgt. Jeremy Todd. FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY — Local leaders and U.S. Soldiers brought sustained power sources to eastern Baghdad residents in two areas of Zafaraniyah when they officially...

Ausra Inc., the developer of utility-scale solar thermal power technology, has published a peer-reviewed study showing that over 90 percent of the U.S. electric grid and auto fleet´s energy needs could be met by solar thermal power. Solar power is the nation´s largest primary renewable energy resource, offering many times total U.S. energy needs. Solar thermal power stations use fields of mirrors to capture the sun´s energy as heat to boil water and drive steam turbines. Solar thermal´s low-cost, efficient heat storage makes solar thermal power uniquely able to provide a reliable energy supply from ever-varying sunshine. The Department of...

About 4:30 Christmas Eve I get a phone call from Grumpy Batchelor Brother. We're both on the same well that had one very old pump and an even older, very small tank. We had water pressure so low that if you turned a garden hose to the sky, no water would come out. Hey, I was happy. Some water is better than no water and 30 minutes to fill the bathtub was OK if I fixed supper in the meantime. Anyhow, for some reason, the last month or so, he's gotten really froggy and decided to replace not only the...

Long Island's Cleanest and Most Fuel-Efficient Power Plant to Serve LIPA Under a 20-Year Contract SAN JOSE, Calif., July 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Calpine Corporation's (NYSE: CPN - News) Bethpage 3 power plant is generating electricity -- just in time for Long Island's peak summer demand period. Bethpage 3 is the region's first modern, combined-cycle power plant and is the cleanest fossil-fueled power generator on Long Island. Calpine's new plant provides up to 79.9 megawatts of electricity to Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) customers under a 20-year contract for capacity, energy and other energy-related services. Located adjacent to existing Calpine plants...

Calpine Considers Strategic Alternatives, Including Possible Sale, for Saltend Energy Centre SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Calpine Corp., an operator of natural gas-fired and geothermal power plants, said Thursday it is evaluating strategic alternatives -- including a possible sale -- for its Saltend Energy Centre power plant. The company has retained Credit Suisse First Boston to act as its adviser in this process. Calpine purchased the 1,200-megawatt plant in Hull, England in late 2001 for about $800 million. The plant delivers steam and a portion of its electrical output to an adjacent chemical facility. The majority of the plant's output...

WASHINGTON -- The following table is a summary of Mirant Corp.'s (MIRKQ) financial information for the second quarter ended June 30, as reported in the company's quarterly report filed Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Months Ended June 30: .................................... 2004 ................... 2003 Operate revenues $1,264,000,000 $1,248,000,000 Operating income 114,000,000 (2,046,000,000) Net income 32,000,000 (2,202,000,000) Net income a share .08 (5.44) Figures in parentheses are losses. Atlanta-based Mirant filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 2003, listing assets of $20.57 billion and debts of $11.4 billion. The energy company produces and sells electricity in North America, the Caribbean...

ATLANTA (Dow Jones)-- Mirant Corp. (NYSE:MIR - News) settled with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for $3.7 million, about one-seventh of the $28 million sought by California, on charges related to the sale of ancillary services. The company said the settlement is not an admission of guilt, in a press release Friday. The bankrupt-energy company, which filed for Chapter 11 protection in July, allegedly sold ancillary services meant for contingency purposes prior to the state's 2000-2001 power crisis without the consent of California Independent System Operator. Ancillary services are various types of generation capacity held for contingency purposes, such as...

NEW YORK, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Manufacturing in the U.S. mid-Atlantic region surged powerfully and unexpectedly in December as new orders jumped to a 23-year high, in one of the clearest signs yet that factories have emerged from a two-year slump. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank said on Thursday its monthly gauge of regional industry jumped to 32.1 in December from 25.9 in November, confounding economists' forecasts for a slight fall to 25.4. New orders, a harbinger of future growth, surged 21 points to 41.8 in December from 20.8 in November, while employment, which has so far lagged the recovery...

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 26, 2003--Dynegy Inc. (NYSE:DYN) today announced that it is engaged in exclusive discussions with Exelon Corp. (NYSE:EXC) related to a possible sale of Illinois Power Company, Dynegy's regulated energy delivery business. Any transaction between the parties would be subject to satisfactory completion of Exelon's due diligence, negotiation of final terms and structure, negotiation and execution of definitive agreements, receipt of board of directors and required regulatory approvals and other conditions. Dynegy does not anticipate making any further announcement about this potential transaction until a definitive agreement is reached or discussions are terminated. Dynegy Inc. provides electricity, natural gas...