Energy News for week ending March 9, 2019

NRC Upgrades Pilgrim | Electrification to cost $600B | Where’s the refund

Happy weekend. Today we’re bringing you a rare Saturday edition of the Northeast Weekly Energy News.

The New England nuclear fleet all made headlines this week. In the good news category, The Cape Cod Times reported that the NRC moved Pilgrim back to normal oversight. We know the plant employees have been working diligently for 18 months or more to prove to the NRC that they have what it takes to run the plant safely and securely. After a long series of inspections, the NRC moved the plant back into Category 1, which is “normal” in the reactor oversight program. Kudos to the Pilgrim team who will finish strong when the plant closes on June 1.

In other nuclear news, Seabrook Station received its license renewal (Boston Globe) and Millstone is coming up on a deadline to get utility contracts or face shutdown (Hartford Courant).

In other news, Utility Dive reports, “The electrification of transportation, space heating and other sectors will lead to a large jump in electricity generation, ultimately requiring billions of dollars in transmission investments over the next several decades, according to analysis from Brattle Group. The transmission investment required to accommodate new renewable resources could reach $90 billion by 2030, according to the report released by WIRES Group, a trade association advocating for transmission investment. By 2050, the investment could grow to more than $600 billion. Electrification could increase U.S. annual energy demand by 5% to 15% by 2030, according to the analysis, and by up to 85% by 2050.”

The last tidbit for this week, Mass AG Maura Healey wants to know where the utility refunds are. From the Boston Globe, “The Department of Public Utilities had ordered all utility companies in June to reduce their rates going forward in the wake of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 that cut the federal corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent starting January 2018. But it stopped short of requiring them to refund customers for any savings they realized for the first half of the year, when the companies’ utility rates were based on the former — higher — tax rate. By lowering the rates starting in July, DPU decided, ratepayers would still receive “prompt and significant” savings amounting to tens of millions of dollars. To order refunds would be “inappropriate,” DPU officials said. In a 26-page motion filed Thursday, Healey’s office criticized the department for not providing “substantial evidence” to back up its February decision. It estimated that the savings could amount to $40 million for ratepayers over those six months, and urged the DPU to reconsider, writing that it runs counter to decisions made in nearly a dozen other states.

That’s the recap for this week. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Natural Gas/Oil/Pipeline/Drilling

Massachusetts AG Maura Healey moves to block seismic testing for offshore oil and gas, MassLive

Merrimack Valley shop owners frustrated with natural gas disaster response, Boston.com

Regulators visit proposed compressor site, Patriot Ledger

Amherst facing pipeline threat, Cabinet

Gas plant boosts Bridgeport’s grand list, Connecticut Post

Smith College to honor activist Frances Crowe at 100, MassLive

After Merrimack Valley Gas Explosions, Shake Up at State Regulatory Agency, NECN

Columbia Gas Executives Schedule Merrimack Valley Meetings, USA Patch

NiSource says it’s under investigation by SEC, Boston Herald

National Grid: Lack of pipeline could affect projects, Newsday