Latest Utilities News
WVa regulators deny electric utility rate increase request
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia regulators have denied a request by Appalachian Power and Wheeling Power that would have added $18.41 to the average monthly residential electric bill. The state Public Service Commission's order Friday on the request for a nearly 12% rate...
Mississippi House seeks to control Jackson sales tax revenue
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi House voted Thursday to further restrict how the capital city of Jackson, which has struggled with water problems, can spend money from a 1% local sales tax — the latest effort in the Republican-led Legislature to control actions of the Democratic-led city....
Minnesota moves toward 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota utilities would be obligated to transition to 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040 to step up the fight against climate change under a bill speeding through the Legislature. The bill was slated for a final vote on the Senate floor Thursday night...
Report: Competition failing to produce lower electric rates
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine’s public advocate wants to scrap the competitive process for electricity vendors for residential consumers, saying the current competitive system has failed to produce lower rates. Residential customers statewide would be better served if they all used...
Proposed utility merger in New Mexico prompts recusal
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — One of the governor’s picks for a powerful regulatory commission has recused himself from any decisions involving a proposed multibillion-dollar merger between a U.S. subsidiary of global energy giant Iberdrola and New Mexico’s largest electric utility. ...
Qatar replaces Russian company in Lebanon gas exploration
BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon, two international oil giants and state-owned oil and gas company Qatar Energy signed an agreement Sunday that the Qatari firm will join a consortium that will search for gas in the Mediterranean Sea off Lebanon’s coast. The deal inked in Beirut brings Qatar...
DOJ appointee releases new plan for 'tenuous' Jackson water
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The interim manager appointed by the U.S. Department of Justice to reform the troubled water system in Mississippi's capital city released a new financial plan Friday to change the way Jackson bills for water and spend hundreds of millions of federal relief funds paying down...
Hayneville receiving funds to upgrade failing sewer system
HAYNEVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Federal and state officials on Friday marked the start of a $10 million project aimed at repairing and upgrading an Alabama community's failing sewer system that has left residents dealing with pools of raw sewage at their homes. The project in Hayneville...
Debt limit trigger aimed at consumer utility meets threshold
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A proposal aimed at restricting long-term debt necessary to create a consumer-owned electric utility has enough signatures to appear on the November ballot in Maine. The secretary of state confirmed Thursday that the threshold was met for the Central Maine...
Editorial Roundup: Minnesota
Minneapolis Star Tribune. January 18, 2023. Editorial: Repairing state’s juvenile justice system DFL proposals would help address problems revealed in Star Tribune news series. In Minnesota, there aren’t enough appropriate places to send juvenile...
