Utilities

QUIZ

Texas' sales of electric power to industrial users in the state (a) equals; (b) doubles; or (c) triples the power sold in California to its industrial users?

(Scroll down for answer)

Carolina-Based Utilities Delay GridSouth

The implementation of GridSouth, a project born out of deregulation and mandated by the FERC, is being delayed by its partners: Progress Energy's CP&L, SCANA's South Carolina Electric & Gas and Duke Energy. The South and North Carolina-based utilities launched GridSouth, a joint-venture effort by the utilities, in order to set up an independent operation that would oversee access to power lines owned by the companies. Officials with the utilities are waiting on a proposal from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that will standardize energy rates throughout the country before launching GridSouth.

Energy Trading Company Moves from New York to Houston

TradeSpark, an internet-based energy trader, is relocating to Houston from New York. The company tragically lost 38 of its 41 New York-based traders and employees in the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. TradeSpark provides users with a network that puts together multiple buyers and sellers of energy anonymously. The company's infrastructure can do that at a top speed of 150 transactions per second. No reason was given as to why the company relocated from New York to Houston.

Southern Company Spending Over $3 Billion

Atlanta-based Southern Co. is stepping out of the potential restrictions of a regulated energy market that it sees itself in, by announcing it will increase its wholesale capacity for electricity by 40 percent in the next three years. The utility, which owns and oversees Alabama Power, Georgia Power and other major utilities in the Southeast, is starting up four more energy-producing units in the next year after bringing on-line eight expanded or new facilities recently. The utility will sell the additional power primarily on the unregulated wholesale market.

FPL Tops in Environmental Performance

FPL Group was cited in a report conducted by Innovest as the No. 1 utility in the U.S. for environmental performance. The Innovest Strategic Value Advisors, a report from the Innovest research company, cited FPL for management quality, business development and energy efficiency in addition to its environmental gains in renewable sources, reduction in greenhouse gases and natural resources protection.

CP&L Goes Green

CP&L (Carolina Power & Light), a subsidiary of Raleigh, N.C.-based Progress Energy, is giving its 1 million customers in North Carolina a "green" option. The utility is allowing its customers to purchase electricity from renewable energy sources such as wind farms and solar collectors. The program is the first statewide program of its kind in the U.S. By taking the green option, a customer can expect to pay an additional $4 a month for 100 kWh of electricity.

Generators Target Maryland

Duke Energy and Mirant have filed applications to build power plants in the state. Duke wants to build a large facility in Frederick County and Atlanta-based Mirant wants to expand its facility in Montgomery County. Other utilities are targeting the state including San Diego-based Sempra Energy Houston-based Dynegy. Maryland is an extremely tough state for permitting, however, it is also one of the South's most attractive location for prospective power plants.

Winston-Salem to Get New Plant

Boston-based CME North American Merchant Energy LLC is building a 800-megawatt power plant in Winston-Salem. The $400 million gas-fired facility is the largest investment deal in Winston-Salem in six years. The plant is expected to come online by January of 2004. CME expects Duke Power to be the primary customer of the plant.

Cobisa to Build Huge Metroplex Power Plant

Houston-based Cobisa is building a $500 million, 1,750-megawatt power plant in Greenville, Tex. The plant is the largest project ever constructed in Greenville. This is Cobisa's second power plant in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. The company built another 1,750-megawatt plant in Forney, Tex., 20 miles east of Dallas. They sold 95 percent of that facility to Florida-based FPL Energy. Cobisa has built six natural gas-fired power plants in New Mexico, Texas, Virginia and Washington at a total investment of $2.2 billion. The small company has built a niche at developing power plants then selling them to major utilties.

QUIZ ANSWER

Industrial electric customers in Texas purchased twice the amount (99.7 billion kilowatt hours) of power than what California industry purchased in 1999 (49.6 billion kilowatt hours). It's interesting to know that California is only the third largest industrial user of power in the U.S. Second-place goes to Ohio.