Top News

PJM says it will work quickly on capacity market fix following FERC order

PJM Interconnection vowed to quickly get to work refining its power capacity market construct after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rejected two proposals from the grid operator aimed at mitigating the effects of state-subsidized energy resources on the region's capacity market.

Commissioner's departure endangers FERC 'yes' votes on pipelines

A party-line divide within the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission could start to affect the chances of U.S. interstate natural gas infrastructure projects getting a federal permit after a commissioner's resignation temporarily eliminated the panel's Republican majority.

CEO overseeing rare greenfield thermal coal project in US says timing is good

A new thermal coal mine being built in the U.S. will benefit from very good timing, said Paringa Resources Ltd. interim CEO Todd Hannigan, who is overseeing the mine's development.

Lacking pipeline space, Conoco hits brakes on Permian oil, gas production

Citing a lack of contracted pipeline capacity, ConocoPhillips is pulling back on production in the Permian Basin, a booming oil shale centered in West Texas and one of the company's "big three" U.S. plays.

Quoted

"We have done all we can to avoid today's action, but we have no choice while the China market remains closed," Norwegian polysilicon producer REC Silicon ASA said in an announcement that it will lay off nearly 40% of the employees at a factory in Washington state as a result of the ongoing trade fight between the U.S. and China.

Power

* South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. is seeking a federal court injunction that would prohibit state regulators from implementing a temporary rate reduction enacted by the South Carolina General Assembly the utility argues is unconstitutional.

* Exelon Corp. will shut its Oyster Creek nuclear plant in September, but the facility will remain at its Ocean County, N.J., site for the next 60 years, according to The Associated Press.

* The nation's air regulators have been observing the technical innovations that have disrupted certain industries, including self-driving cars, ride-hailing apps and instant peer-to-peer money transfers. And they are wondering, metaphorically speaking: Where are our jetpacks?

* Another carbon fee initiative could appear on the November ballot in Washington state, after supporters submitted the more-than-required 375,000 signatures to the Secretary of State's office, AP reported.

* The Sanmen nuclear power plant, which was built under an $8 billion U.S.-China partnership and designed by Westinghouse Electric Co. LLC, has started operating in China, the Financial Times reported.

* MHI Vestas Offshore Wind A/S has selected Taiwan as a hub to assemble and export turbines in Asia, Bloomberg News reported.

Natural gas

* Cybersecurity experts are concerned that energy companies have not uniformly adapted to the volume and sophistication of threats to critical infrastructure, leaving the industry exposed to attacks.

* TransCanada Corp. will resume service on a section of its Leach Xpress natural gas pipeline in West Virginia in mid-July, instead of the earlier forecast of early July, Reuters reported.

* Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline LLC asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to allow it to release firm natural gas transportation capacity that would, for a time, become part of a Portland Natural Gas Transmission System LP expansion.

* Pakistani Ambassador Ali Jehangir Siddiqui told Bloomberg News that increasing U.S. natural gas imports is key to expanding trade relations between the two countries.

* JERA Co., Inc. and EDF Trading Ltd. agreed to merge their LNG optimization and trading activities under a joint venture named JERA Trading Pte. Ltd.

Oil

* Production of crude oil and natural gas across the U.S. began to level in April after several months of rapid gains as natural gas production stands more than 10% higher year on year and crude oil output is up almost 15% year on year and on pace to break all-time highs this year.

* The U.S. Virgin Islands government reached a $1.4 billion deal with ArcLight Capital Partners LLC to reopen an oil refinery in St. Croix.

* Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Kilmartin has filed a lawsuit against fossil fuel companies, including Exxon Mobil Corp., BP PLC and Royal Dutch Shell PLC, for cost and consequences of climate change.

* A U.S. State Department official said waivers will still be granted "on a case-by-case basis" for countries to buy Iranian oil, softening earlier comments on the issue, Bloomberg News reported.

* Italy's Eni SpA is committing to becoming carbon neutral and expects to release its plan on reaching this by end of the year, according to Reuters.

Coal

* Contura Energy Inc. reported it has experienced unforeseen geological challenges at one of its longwall thermal coal mining operations in Northern Appalachia.

* Murray Energy Corp. received an upgraded corporate credit rating from S&P Global Ratings based on the refinancing of its revolving credit facility.

ChartWatch

Florida's investor-owned utilities saw a spike in the number of customer-owned renewable interconnections from 2016 to 2017, according to data from state regulators.

New from RRA

* In an application submitted June 29 in Docket No. 18-KGSG-560-RTS with the Kansas Corporation Commission, ONE Gas Inc. division Kansas Gas Service Co. filed a rate case seeking a $45.6 million, or 15.2%, gas distribution base rate increase premised upon a 10% return on equity (62.19% of capital) and a 7.71% return on a year-end rate base valued at $1.016 billion for a test year ended Dec. 31, 2017.

The day ahead

* Early morning futures indicators pointed to a higher 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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