Energy News for week ending December 22, 2017

Bids are in | Rate Hike Appeal | Smoke and Noises

Happy holidays everyone!

Perhaps this week’s biggest energy news was the submission of bids for Massachusetts’ offshore wind solicitation. CommonWealth Magazine reports, “The three companies vying to build the first major offshore wind farm in the United States filed their proposals on Wednesday with Massachusetts officials. Each of the firms kept their pricing a secret, so they publicly tried to differentiate their projects based on size, transmission approaches, construction timetables, and partnerships. Size was the biggest difference. Each of the companies was required to submit a bid for a 400 megawatt project, but they were free to submit additional proposals for less or for more, up to a high of 800 megawatts. The state procurement, which will be spread out over many years, calls for 1,600 megawatts in total.”

It appears MA Attorney General Maura Healey is saying just a minute, with respect to Eversource’s rate hike. Jim Kinney over at MassLive.com reports that “Healey filed an appeal Wednesday in Boston against an Eversource electric rate hike approved last month by the state Department of Public Utilities and scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1. She is asking the DPU to reconsider the decision, according to a press release. Such actions often result in a negotiated settlement between the attorney general’s office and the utility, according to Healey’s website.”

If your holiday travels take you to the North Shore, the Salem News says, “Don’t be alarmed by the loud noises and apparent smoke coming from Salem Harbor Footprint later this week. It’s actually steam, and it’s just the $1 billion project cleaning out its pipes. The project is still a long way from being done, and due to significant delays on that front, Footprint is vulnerable to possible penalties from the entity that manages the New England power grid. Sometime late this week, the new natural gas-firing power plant will conduct “what, in the industry, you call ‘hot commissioning,'” explained Footprint chief operating officer Scott Silverstein. “This is the beginning of the process of starting up the turbines and boilers, and getting those up and running.”

That’s it for us this year. We’ll be back in your in-boxes on January 5, 2018.

All of us at McMahon Communications wish you all a safe, happy, wonderful, and joy-filled holiday season and a prosperous New Year.

Natural Gas/Pipeline

FERC reaffirms its approval of Atlantic Bridge pipeline, with compressor station planned in Weymouth, MassLive

Con Edison seeks ‘non-pipe’ solutions to address peak gas demand, Utility Dive

Residents hold pipeline vigils outside State House, Wicked Local Wellesley

National Grid seeks increase for gas bills, Gloucester Daily Times

Anti-fracking protester court case thrown out, Gazette & Herald

US tax overhaul likely to spur spending by refiners, pipeline cos, Reuters

Insidious Gas Leaks Are Casting Doubts Over Shell’s Clean Credentials, Bloomberg

Gas Under Threat? California Regulators Target PG&E Natural Gas Plants With Energy Storage, Greentech Media

Renewables Policy, etc.