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AES to restructure; US eyes status as global gas player

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AES to restructure; US eyes status as global gas player

Top News

AES restructuring will create a nimbler 'energy company of the future,' CEO says

AES Corp. on Feb. 5 said it is restructuring its business to cut costs and streamline operations as it tries to turn itself into an "energy company of the future," with a smaller environmental footprint and stronger financial profile.

US eyes status as global gas player as White House plays hardball on trade

As the U.S. ramps up export capacity on its way to becoming a global gas giant, energy experts are cautioning that a push from the White House to redo international trade deals could undermine the Trump administration's promotion of American LNG.

W.Va. coal industry targets severance tax, safety reforms in 2018

The coal industry has put cutting severance taxes and reforming the state's mine safety program at the top of its legislative wish list in West Virginia this year.

Dow plummets below 25,000, energy sector leads selloff

Dow Future were down about 0.92% and S&P Futures were down about 0.54% ahead of market open Tuesday morning, following Monday's selloff. U.S. equities fell sharply Monday, Feb. 5, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly declining by more than 1,500 points before settling 4.60% lower at 24,345.75. Since Friday's open, the Dow has lost more than 1,700 points. Energy stocks led the selloff among S&P 500 components, dragging the index 4.10% lower to 2,648.94. The drops were the largest for the S&P 500 and Dow since August 2011.

Power

* Existing generators were handed a victory when a federal appeals court ordered the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reconsider its approval of new rules for the ISO New England capacity market that the generators claimed would drive down capacity prices.

* New Jersey lawmakers delayed a schedule hearing on proposed legislation to rescue nuclear plants in the state, and did not provide a reason for the postponement, The Associated Press reported.

* Massachusetts has given Eversource Energy and two other electric utility members of a clean energy selection committee a week's notice to decide if Eversource's Northern Pass transmission proposal is still viable after New Hampshire officials refused to grant the project a needed siting permit.

* Rhode Island's Office of Energy Resources is working with the state's utilities on a planned request for proposals for 400 MW of renewable energy by the end of summer.

* 8point3 Energy Partners LP, the yieldco created by rival solar companies First Solar Inc. and SunPower Corp., agreed to be bought by asset manager Capital Dynamics Inc. in a deal that values 8point3 Energy at about $1.7 billion.

* NextEra Energy is suing the Nuclear Energy Institute over access to a nuclear industry personnel database, Utility Dive reported. NextEra had earlier decided not to renew its membership in NEI.

* Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced a compromise on a bill to repeal the rate freeze. Northam said his working group suggested empowering the State Corporation Commission to consider reducing rates in 2021 with no possibility of rate increase for Dominion Energy Inc. and to allow the SCC to deem 5,000 MW of solar and wind energy projects to be in the public interest, among others.

* Just Energy Group Inc. agreed to acquire all issued and outstanding shares of EdgePower Inc., a monitoring and management company operating out of Aspen, Colo.

* The Center for Biological Diversity warned the Trump administration of a lawsuit for its failure to produce the overdue U.S. Climate Action Report. According to the center's letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the failure to submit the report by the Jan. 1 deadline is a violation of the United Nations treaty and the federal Administrative Procedure Act.

* The Interior Department's planned reorganization will start in Alaska, according to E&E News.

Natural gas/Oil

* The U.S. Bureau of Land Management moved quickly to streamline the process for oil and gas drillers to buy federal leases onshore, a move that could increase Western oil and gas production but that environmental groups said they will fight.

* The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission staff continues to conclude in a final supplemental environmental impact statement that constructing and operating the Southeast Market Pipelines Project would result in temporary and permanent impacts on the environment. The project operators urged FERC to quickly issue a final environmental report and reissue authorizations to prevent shutdown.

* A member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission pledged to support developers of Marcellus shale gas pipelines as they face persistent permitting issues at the state level.

* New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal denied PennEast Pipeline the use of state-controlled land for its $1.1 billion natural gas pipeline, but the company believes a settlement will be reached, according to The Associated Press.

* Double Eagle Energy Holdings III LLC secured equity commitments of more than $1 billion from Apollo Global Management LLC affiliates to support its ongoing acquisition and development initiatives in the Permian Basin.

* Warburg Pincus LLC-affiliated funds provided a line of up to $300 million in equity financing to Ridge Runner Resources LLC, a newly formed oil and gas exploration production company focused on the Delaware Basin.

* Pennsylvania environment regulators will propose raising the drilling fees to $12,500 per well from $5,000 per well to protect the state's oil and gas oversight program from running a deficit, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

* Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson warned Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke of a lawsuit if the state is not removed from the offshore drilling plan.

* The joint venture owned by Kinder Morgan Inc., DCP Midstream LP and Targa Resources Corp. affiliates announced the start of a binding open season for 220,000 dekatherms per day of firm natural gas transportation service on the Gulf Coast Express Pipeline project.

Coal

* Coal exports from the Hampton Roads port facilities in Virginia climbed 12.5% year over year to 2.9 million tons in January but fell 8.5% from December 2017's total, according to data obtained Feb. 5 from the Virginia Maritime Association.

* The June 2017 death of a coal miner at the Gateway Eagle Mine in West Virginia resulted from Rockwell Mining LLC's failure to enforce provisions in its approved roof control plan, according to the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration's final report.

Commodities

* After extending 9.9 cents lower in the week's opening session, NYMEX March natural gas futures ticked higher overnight ahead of the Tuesday, Feb. 6, open, in technical buying with little in the way of fundamental support. At 7:01 a.m. ET (1201 GMT) the contract was 0.7 cent higher at $2.754/MMBtu.

* The price of power for day-ahead delivery could be tethered to the downside Tuesday, Feb. 6, amid pressure from generally weaker demand outlooks for midweek and the prior day's downdraft in natural gas.

* Cold weather that blanketed much of the eastern U.S. during parts of January drove spot natural gas prices higher year over year everywhere but in the western U.S, with the northeastern U.S. seeing the highest spot prices.

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New from RRA

* The Iowa Utilities Board issued an order Feb. 2 in Interstate Power & Light Co.'s electric rate case, adopting a partial settlement allowing for a $130 million, or 7.8%, base rate increase.

Quoted

"I think cobalt is the new cocaine. And if you are addicted...either get off of it or find an alternative that's healthy," said Michael Austin, vice president of BYD America Corp., at Bloomberg New Energy Finance's Future of Mobility Summit in Palo Alto, Calif.

The day ahead

* Early morning futures indicators pointed to a lower 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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