2 Mar, 2021
Texas PUC chair resigns; BC Hydro lifts Site C project cost estimate to C$16B
By Maryam Adeeb
* DeAnn Walker, the chair of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, resigned March 1 as pressure mounts from the state's political leaders for accountability following the widespread failure of Texas' electric grid during an unprecedented winter storm that swept the state beginning Feb. 14.
* BC Hydro and Power Authority said geotechnical issues and costs related to the new coronavirus pandemic have pushed the cost of a hydroelectric project on the Peace River in British Columbia's northeastern corner to C$16 billion, 50% higher than the government-owned utility's last estimate.
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In the final three months of 2020, institutional investors scooped up the shares of gas utilities that underperformed peers throughout the year and cut their aggregate positions in two of the sector's top performers.
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The March 1 bankruptcy announcement by Brazos Electric Power Cooperative Inc., a large generation and transmission cooperative in Texas, could be a harbinger of additional grim disclosures by cooperatives and public power utilities following an Arctic freeze that caused widespread blackouts.
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Six of Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association Inc.'s members, including its largest member, have asked federal regulators to resolve a dispute over exit fees as they explore leaving the wholesale electric cooperative.
UTILITIES & POWER
* Texas retail electric supplier Griddy Energy LLC misled its nearly 30,000 customers, engaged in false advertising and failed to disclose the risks associated with its business model, which resulted in skyrocketing electric bills as the Texas power system buckled under the weight of an Arctic blast in February, the state of Texas said in a lawsuit against the California-based company and its corporate parent, Griddy Holdings LLC.
* National Grid plc is planning to appeal a decision by Britain's energy regulator to cut investor returns in the company's electricity and gas transmission business, and expects its credit rating could be knocked down a notch as a result of the tighter framework and a slower recovery of revenues lost due to COVID-19.
* The Electric Reliability Council Of Texas Inc. should re-price certain market transactions that occurred during the winter storm that crippled the state in February, said the grid operator's independent market monitor.
* Public Service Co. of New Mexico has been given until March 15 to file a revamped application to provide additional information for state regulators to assess whether it can transfer its shares in the Four Corners coal-fired power plant to a Navajo Nation-backed energy company, according to the Associated Press.
* NRG Energy Inc. struck a deal to sell approximately 4,850 MW of its fossil-fueled power plants in the East and West regions to Generation Bridge, an affiliate of ArcLight Capital Partners LLC, for $760 million.
RENEWABLES & CLIMATE
* Global energy-related CO2 emissions rose 2% in December 2020 compared to the same month in 2019, with many economies seeing emissions exceeding pre-pandemic levels, according to data from the International Energy Agency.
* The current voluntary disclosure regime for climate and other sustainability issues in the U.S. has failed to produce the level of consistent, comprehensive and comparable information that investors need, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Acting Chair Allison Lee said at a March 1 CERAWeek conference hosted by IHS Markit.
* Two U.S. senators from West Virginia and Michigan, among the states that are experiencing declines in its coal and manufacturing sectors, are supporting the investment of $8 billion through tax credits to create clean energy jobs, the Houston Chronicle reported.
* Ørsted A/S subsidiary Ørsted US Offshore Wind has informed Maryland's utility regulator that it now targets bringing online its 120-MW, $650 million Skipjack Offshore Wind Project by mid-2026, further delaying the project roughly three and a half years beyond its initially forecast commercial operations date.
* The Justice Department asked the U.S. Court of International Trade to dismiss a lawsuit by the Solar Energy Industries Association and other parties, which challenged the Trump administration's move to stiffen tariffs on imported solar equipment, Bloomberg Green wrote.
* The League of United Latin American Citizens of Florida asked the state supreme court to review a Duke Energy Corp. solar energy subscription program.
NATURAL GAS
* Some midstream gas companies' assets outperformed during a February winter freeze, and other firms were forced to take action to mitigate damage, according to company executives on earnings calls.
* Cheniere Energy Inc. hopes to be producing LNG from its ninth liquefaction train by the end of this year, as construction remains ahead of schedule, CEO Jack Fusco said March 1.
* Vitol Group has launched a Green LNG product offering LNG customers the chance to offset carbon emissions associated with LNG cargoes via carbon offset certificates.
OIL
* Oil company executives said during IHS Markit's CERAWeek that crude demand will increase in the next decade and will remain a key part of the energy mix even as renewables gain momentum, Reuters wrote.
* Exxon Mobil Corp. urged its shareholders to reject activist investor Engine No. 1 LP's proposals at the company's annual meeting, according to Bloomberg Green, which cited the company's preliminary proxy filing.
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