SNL Energy editors' picks for the best stories for the week ended Aug. 4.

1. Southern CEO: Summer-Vogtle comparison is 'apples and oranges'

Southern Co. Chairman, President and CEO Tom Fanning dismissed comparisons of the company's Alvin W. Vogtle Nuclear Plant to the V.C. Summer plant, days after the latter's expansion was abandoned by two South Carolina utilities.

2. Williams tees up eastern US gas pipeline projects for changing markets

Williams Cos. Inc. announced in June that it had named Frank Ferazzi as senior vice president of the Atlantic-Gulf operating area, succeeding Rory Miller on his retirement. Ferazzi has held leadership roles in the company's natural gas pipeline business throughout a long career. He talked with S&P Global Market Intelligence to discuss the future of the Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. LLC system and the gas industry.

3. Calif. cap-and-trade extension could reverberate to other regions

In the absence of federal climate legislation, California's recent move to extend the state's cap-and-trade program for greenhouse gas emissions could prove to be a model for other states and regions in their efforts to reduce emissions.

4. Utilities open to inside the fence replacement for Clean Power Plan

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is said to be planning a replacement for the Clean Power Plan that would require power plants to become more efficient, and utilities appear to be supportive of this approach — so long as the agency keeps within the bounds of the Clean Air Act and cannot tighten the standards later on.

5. EPA reverses plan to delay 2015 ozone designations

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency made a surprise announcement that it will stick with designating attainment and nonattainment areas for its 2015 ozone standard in October, reversing its decision in June to delay that deadline by a year.