Speakers Rail Against Dominion Va. Power Plans
Dominion Virginia Power is the largest utility in the state of Virginia. Critics recently showed their opposition to Dominion’s 15-year road map, saying it focused too much on “dirty” energy, instead of solar and wind. Citizens expressed their concerns and Dominion responded by saying the plan is updated every two years. The utility also touted […]
Energy efficiency directive ‘will fail’ without mandatory smart meter minimum spec
The European Union metering industry wants mandatory requirements for smart meters in order to reduce primary energy consumption 20% by 2020. Industry expert John Harris says, “If we don’t do it now, we are going to lose the chance.” The UK’s government is opposed to the European Commission’s proposal, which is baffling to chief executive […]
What Energy Goes into Our Homes
The 42nd anniversary of Earth Day was observed on April 22. In honor of the occsasion, the U.S. Census shared how we heat and cool our homes and provided energy-saving advice. According to 2010 figures, 2.2 million homes in the U.S. were heated with wood and 38,010 were heated with solar power. In 1974, only […]
Businesses told energy policy must be changed
President of The Foundation of Economic Trends and Wharton School business professor Jeremy Rifkin says businesses should be focusing on “…’distributed energy,’ meaning creating energy wherever sunlight, wind earth, heat and tidal waves are…” The rise in air temperature, which causes extreme weather patterns and even threatens our own existence, along with dwindling supplies of […]
Angry Fairbanks crowd blasts high energy costs
A recent meeting of the Fairbanks Golden Valley Electric Association drew a large crowd of people upset with rising rates and poor planning. Association officials tried to calm the crowd with statistics and visual aids showing how oil prices have tripled in the last eight years. Wind power, coal plants, and new infrastructure to truck […]
Sen. Murkowski’s Opening Statement on Electric Grid Reliability
Republican News reports on Alaskan Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski’s remarks at the recent Senate Energy and Natural Resources Hearing. Murkowski was commenting on the reliability of the national electric grid in light of the strong winter storm that hit New England last October which caused massive power outages. In addition to addressing the needs highlighted […]
For a Shell Executive, Much Head-Scratching
In a recent interview, chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell, Peter Voser, said he doesn’t understand the country’s lack of a clear national energy policy, or its hesitation over the Keystone XL pipeline and hydraulic fracturing. “I can’t see why there is not more drive. It’s puzzling, frustrating. Any other country in the world would […]
Talking About Energy (but Not About Prices)
It’s not easy to talk about electric or gas service. Unlike consumer goods such as cars, homes or food, consumers can’t interact directly with electric or gas service: They can’t store it, they can’t give some of it to their friends, and it doesn’t really come in different colors. That’s why many utilities end up […]
Energy PR — Forget Facts, Show Value!
Whatever utility communicators are selling these days, it doesn’t look like customers are buying. And we expect the problem will get worse before it gets better. A lot of utility communication plans are tied to rate cases, and utilities are filing a lot of rate cases these days. It looks like 100 or more rate […]
Can Utilities Find a Path to Peace?
Most utilities have always had a small percentage of disaffected customers. They write letters to the editor grousing about the duration of a recent outage. They criticize a utility’s tree-trimming practices. They oppose a proposed price increase. But yesterday’s cranky customer is becoming more of an activist today, participating in protests that are aimed at […]
