American Gas - July 2013 - (Page 8)

issues Non-Renewable Standards d ig e s t Glacial energy reports that it has begun offering hotel vouchers as an incentive to residential consumers who choose it as their electric or natural gas supplier. Through the company’s “Heads in Beds” promotion, potential customers receive information about Glacial’s offerings through participating hotels, and can then earn a free night at the hotel if they switch to Glacial. The company is a licensed natural gas supplier in Ohio, california, and michigan. The UGi natural gas companies recently submitted a proposal to the Pennsylvania Public Utility commission for a $15 million, five-year pilot program designed to provide service to underserved communities. The proposal spreads the cost of new infrastructure across new customers, while the savings from converting to gas is expected to help those customers offset some or all of those costs. Under its modernization program, Duke energy—the country’s largest electric power holding company—has been replacing older coal plants with cleaner-burning natural gas-fueled units. The company reports that one-fourth of its generation is now gas-powered. As part of this effort, Duke recently opened a stateof-the-art gas generation facility in eden, n.c., that is capable of powering half a million homes. Continued on page 10 8 AmericAn GAs JULY 2013 Low gas prices spur states to reconsider renewable energy mandates s tate mandates requiring the use of renewable wind and solar energy by electric utilities were hot topics during legislative sessions across the country this year, with falling natural gas prices causing policymakers to reconsider the merits of renewables. This year, 16 of the 29 states with renewable energy standards considered legislation that would reduce or reform the mandated use of wind and solar power, according to the American Legislative Exchange Council, a nonpartisan public-private partnership of America’s state legislators. Six states considered full repeals, while the remaining states looked at ways to reduce or reform mandates to include other forms of energy such as hydroelectric and biomass power. Two states—Maryland and Pennsylvania— considered bills that would have expanded the definition of renewable energy for power to include natural gas. While most measures were not acted upon in this year’s legislative sessions, Montana did pass several reforms. Its legislature expanded the sources of eligible renewable energy to include hydroelectric and biomass and called for a study on the impact of the renewable energy mandate. “States across the country are taking a closer look at these mandates, which place significant cost burdens on the backs of ordinary citizens,” Todd Wynn, director of the energy, environment, and agriculture task force for ALEC, told American Gas. “A growing number of legislators are concerned that renewable energy sources are more expensive and less reliable. If they weren’t, states wouldn’t need a mandate.” The increased availability of clean, affordable natural gas has been one factor motivating legislatures to act, Wynn added. Hydraulic fracturing technology has opened aging reservoirs for natural gas drilling, driving down prices about 72 percent from their 2005 high, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That makes more expensive wind and solar power projects harder for With clean, affordable natural gas increasingly available, more expensive wind and solar power projects will be harder for utility regulators to justify. utility regulators to justify, Wynn said. When legislatures reconvene in 2014, momentum for reform measures is likely to grow. “We saw more action in 2013 than 2012, and 2012 was busier than 2011,” Wynn said. “North Carolina and Kansas are likely to be the first states to act, since they got further along the road in this year’s legislative sessions.” Under current North Carolina law—typical of many state requirements—non-hydro renewable energy must account for 6 percent of electricity by 2016, 10 percent by 2018, and 12.5 percent by 2021. Most states’ laws went on the books in the early- to mid-2000s. —Gary James issues Forging a Path to CHP Policy changes are needed for utilities to embrace distributed generation W hen Thomas Edison established the first commercial power plant in 1882, he captured waste heat from the generation of electricity and sold it to nearby buildings. Proponents of such cogeneration have been touting the benefits of combined heat and power applications ever since. As power generation becomes more distributed, CHP will become more mainstream. Still, many power generators and energy consumers will likely wait for policy changes enabling a more decentralized model for power generation and delivery before they invest in CHP. Most CHP today occurs at large industrial, commercial, and institutional sites such as metals

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Gas - July 2013

American Gas - July 2013
Contents
President’s Message
Subject Index
Shining a Light for Gas Efficiency
Digest
Issues
Issues
Update
Need to Know
By the Numbers
Places
Scratch, Sniff—Evacuate?
Capitol Hill
Cape Canaveral
The Corner Office
AGA Ops Conference
Elm Street
Work in Progress
Profile
For Good Measure
Law
Jobs
Marketplace
Buyer’s Guide
Headway

American Gas - July 2013