S&P Global Market Intelligence editors' picks for the best stories for the week ended Aug. 30.
1. Climate-change-driven uptick in hot days puts outdoor utility workers at risk
Some parts of the U.S. have seen an uptick in the average number of hot days in recent decades. That trend is expected to continue due to global warming, which will put more outdoor utility workers at risk of heat-related illness and could hamper their overall productivity levels, according to experts and recent studies.
2. Appalachian drillers' bond prices crumbling as credit markets grow wary
Already suffering from declining stock prices, Appalachia's shale gas drillers are now watching their bond prices fall sharply. The drop may signal a credit-worthiness crisis that worries Wall Street analysts and could impact the ability of some drillers to borrow against their bank-determined lines of credit or refinance their debt.
3. NY gas pipe standoff brings state, National Grid to brink of historic conflict
Gov. Andrew Cuomo's threat to strip National Grid USA of its right to deliver natural gas in parts of New York represents a proposed exercise of state authority that sector experts say has rarely been used against a major utility in the last century, illustrating how a standoff over pipeline construction in the Empire State has created a level of brinkmanship few expected.
4. BP's move to sell Alaskan assets leaves 2 entities producing 72% of state's oil
BP PLC's pending $5.6 billion sale of its Alaskan assets to Hilcorp Energy Co. is a major shift for the Alaskan oil and gas industry that sees two companies controlling 72% of the state's oil production.
5. Amid climate change pressure, insurers hold billions in coal-exposed investments
While some prominent insurance companies are disassociating from coal, an S&P Global Market Intelligence analysis of U.S. regulatory data found that many insurers hold significant investments in companies that depend on coal as a source of revenue.
6. Shell-owned virtual power plant startup sees no threat from big utilities
U.K. energy technology startup Limejump Ltd. is one of a handful of companies to have broken new ground in the utility sector in recent years. The company, co-founded by former commodity trader Erik Nygard in 2014, operates almost 1 GW of distributed renewable and gas generation, including one of the largest portfolios of battery storage in the U.K.
