Top News
Chatterjee hopes FERC can reach 'consensus' on interim action for at-risk plants
Neil Chatterjee no longer chairs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission but hopes that he and his fellow commissioners can agree on interim help for economically struggling coal and nuclear power plants until the agency takes longer-term action.
SandRidge defends 'poison pill' measure, allows Icahn access to some documents
In response to activist investor Carl Icahn, SandRidge Energy Inc. defended its adoption of a stockholder-rights agreement that he termed a "poison pill," saying it is not intended to hinder takeover bids or opposition to its proposed merger with Bonanza Creek Energy Inc.
Revelation purchase of Contura assets adds to uncertainty in Powder River Basin
A number of analysts have called for consolidation among coal producers in the Powder River Basin, but a Revelation Energy LLC subsidiary's purchase of Contura Energy Inc.'s mines in the region takes the opposite tack, further fragmenting the producer base.
Power
* Sempra Energy secured approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to acquire an 80.03% ownership interest in Oncor Electric Delivery Co. LLC for $9.45 billion in cash, plus the assumption of about $7 billion net debt of Oncor.
* British Columbia's government said it will construct the Site C hydroelectric project even though costs have ballooned to C$10.7 billion, saying that the nearly C$4 billion cost to abandon the project is too high for taxpayers to bear.
* South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. has offered Santee Cooper the V.C. Summer expansion site in hopes for the future completion of the abandoned project, The State in Columbia, S.C., reported. But Santee Cooper is concerned that accepting full ownership could leave it with the full cost of maintaining the unfinished reactors at the site, the newspaper said.
* The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission needs to do more to evaluate the performance of electricity capacity markets and the risks they face, and then to use that information to pursue any needed changes, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
* Xcel Energy Inc. reached a settlement with concerned parties, including New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas, over its plan to build two new wind projects totaling nearly 1,000 MW in New Mexico and Texas, The Associated Press reported. The settlement needs approval of utility regulators from both states.
* Dominion Energy Inc. has taken offline a nuclear reactor at its North Anna Power Station in Louisa County, Va., after a water leak at its cooling system, the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch reported.
* New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló unveiled a plan to rebuild Puerto Rico's electric power system, which will harness renewable resources and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
* Europe's nine largest industrial emitters, including EDF Group, Enel SpA, ENGIE SA and Iberdrola SA, have pledged to double down on green financing. So far, the nine companies have issued a total of €26 billion in green bonds, which accounts for more than 10% of total outstanding green bonds.
Natural gas/Oil
* Driven by 112 new permits for the newly merged EQT Corp. and Rice Energy Inc., more than two-thirds of all horizontal well permits issued in November targeted
* The Trump administration is set to unveil an offshore plan that could open drilling off the U.S. East Coast, Bloomberg News reported, citing "people familiar with the plan."
* Eclipse Resources Corp.'s $93.7 million planned acquisition of acreage in the Utica Shale could provide the company its best returns yet, company officials said Dec. 11.
* The Exxon Mobil Corp.
* The U.S. Geological Survey will conduct a comprehensive, broad-based resource estimate for the Williston Basin, U.S. Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said in a statement.
* The Michigan Pipeline Safety Advisory Board wants Gov. Rick Snyder to amend his agreement with Enbridge Inc. over the Line 5 pipeline, according to Michigan Radio. The panel also is recommending a temporary closure of the pipeline until its issues are resolved, the report added.
* PDC Energy Inc. anticipates capital investment between $850 million and $920 million for 2018, with an expected outspend of about $130 million utilizing a $50 oil and $3 gas price deck. The budget is primarily focused on the company's continued execution in the Wattenberg field and Delaware Basin.
* Whiting Petroleum Corp. expects to record a fourth-quarter 2017 impairment charge between $800 million to $900 million for the partial write-down of its assets at the Redtail field in the Denver-Julesburg Basin in Weld County, Colo., according to a filing.
Coal
* The coal industry needs to use environmental groups' own tactics against them in order to defeat their organizational powers, according to a social media review by the American Coal Council.
* Noble Group Ltd. completed the sale of its interests in MR Coal Marketing & Trading LLC to an unrelated third party for approximately $34.5 million.
* A municipal ban on handling and storing coal at the proposed Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal does not violate the Commerce Clause and should be upheld, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said.
Commodities
* Despite near- to above-normal precipitation in November, hydroelectric generation in the Pacific Northwest came in below average levels for the month.
* Term power markets across the U.S. took a few steps back during the week ended Dec. 8 following a decline in fueling costs in line with gas futures, as well as lackluster demand forecasts implied by weather forecasts.
* After ending the prior session up 5.6 cents at $2.828/MMBtu, NYMEX January 2018 natural gas futures unraveled overnight but regained much of the loss ahead of the Tuesday, Dec. 12, open, as traders considered mixed weather expectations and bearish storage prospects.
* Power dailies could rise Tuesday, Dec. 12, as predominantly supportive demand expectations for midweek collide with recent strength in natural gas.

New from RRA
* Entergy New Orleans Inc. formally completed a corporate restructuring on Nov. 30, through which essentially all of its assets, liabilities and operations were transferred to the newly created Entergy New Orleans Power, a Texas limited liability company.
Quoted
"There is a skewed mentality by some companies like [JinkoSolar] who pursue growth over profitability. Why would anyone ever own stock in a company that never returns cash to shareholders?" Brad Meikle, a senior renewable energy analyst at Coker & Palmer Investment Securities Inc., said of the flawed strategies of solar cell and panel manufacturers.
The day ahead
* The U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources will hold a business meeting at 10 a.m. to consider the nominations of Linda Capuano as administrator of the Energy Information Administration and Timothy Petty as assistant secretary of the Interior for water and science. The committee also will hold a hearing to examine the permitting process at the Department of the Interior and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for energy and resource infrastructure projects.
* Early morning futures indicators pointed to a mixed opening for the U.S. equity markets. To view more SNL equity market indexes, click here. To view more SNL Energy commodities prices, click here.
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