Energy News Roundup: May 11-May 17

This week in regional energy news …

• The Maine Legislature’s Energy, Utilities, and Technology Committee is considering an omnibus energy bill negotiated by a group of stakeholders, including the PUC, Efficiency Maine, industrial consumer groups, legislators, and others.  According to the BDN, “The bill includes an overarching focus on reducing energy costs while directing more funding to the Efficiency Maine Trust over the next two years for programs that would help industrial facilities cut back on greenhouse gas emissions.”  The BDN editorial board questioned the wisdom of a provision of the bill giving the PUC authority to procure natural gas pipeline capacity outside of Maine.
• In a FERC-approved settlement, ISO New England agreed to cut its spending by $3 million and end a pension plan.  Officials in Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Rhode Island had intervened in the FERC proceeding to argue that ISO-NE’s spending was excessive and harming ratepayers in those states. 
• Maine Governor Paul LePage is seeking to remove goals for wind energy capacity from Maine’s 2008 Wind Energy Act.  The Act contains a goal of 2,000 megawatts of wind-based generation capacity by 2015.  Currently, Maine’s wind capacity is 435 MW.
• The Cities of Gardiner and Augusta continue to review natural gas distribution service proposals by Maine Natural Gas and Summit Natural Gas to serve the area.
• Verso Paper Corp. announced that its natural gas costs in Q1 2013 increased by $22 million over the previous year.
• At a Boston energy conference hosted by NYISO and ISO-NE, Gordon van Welie, ISO-NE’s chief executive, discussed the need for a more diverse energy portfolio and additional pipeline and transmission capacity in New England. 
• Duke Energy Renewables and Integrys Energy Services recently completed construction of their joint venture’s first solar installation in New England.  The project, in Sterling Mass., consists of 9,968 solar panels that generate 2 MW of energy. 

Mark Vannoy Re-Appointed as MPUC Commissioner and Timothy Schneider Confirmed as Maine Public Advocate

Commissioner Mark Vannoy, P.E. was recently re-appointed to a six-year term as Commissioner of the Maine Public Utilities Commission.  Mr. Vannoy was originally appointed to the Commission by Governor Paul LePage in June 2012, to complete the remainder of Vendean Vafiades’s term.  With approximately one year of service on the Commission under Mr. Vannoy’s belt, Chairman Tom Welch, commented that “Commissioner Vannoy is a knowledgeable and effective Commissioner and I look forward to continuing to work with him.”  The Legislature’s Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee unanimously approved Mr. Vannoy’s re-appointment on May 1, and the Maine Senate approved his appointment on May 7.

The Maine Senate also confirmed Governor LePage’s nomination of Timothy Schneider as Maine’s next Public Advocate on May 7 (following unanimous approval of the Legislature’s Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee).  Since 2008, Mr. Schneider has represented electric and gas utilities before the Maine Public Utilities Commission. During that time, Mr. Schneider has been involved in several complex issues before the Commission, including the inquiry into Maine’s continued participation in ISO New England and the permitting of Central Maine Power Company’s Maine Power Reliability Program.

According to the Governor’s Energy Office Director, Patrick Woodcock, both “Commissioner Vannoy and Public Advocate Schneider will bring critical experience and integrity to these offices, ensuring that our state’s policies are advancing on behalf of average Mainers, who are struggling with excessive energy costs.” 

 

Energy News Roundup: April 6-April 12

This week in regional energy news …

• Ocean Renewable Power Co. submitted a progress report to FERC on the testing of its TidGen tidal energy generation project in Cobscook Bay, in Maine.  ORPC’s success has not been without its challenges, according to the BDN. 
• Meanwhile, two groundbreaking offshore wind pilot projects in Maine are moving into new phases.  The first floating wind turbine in the U.S. will be set afloat off the cost of Castine, Me., this spring by a UMaine team of researchers.  And Statoil’s Hywind offshore wind project will test for a pilot project off of Boothbay Harbor, Me., but will wait until 2014 to decide whether to move with the project.
• Boston-based Enernoc, one of the early participants in ISO New England’s demand response programs, announced that it will be reducing its participation in the forward capacity market.

Energy News Roundup: March 30-April 5

This week in regional energy news …

• A California-based natural gas company is planning to construct a compressed natural gas filling station in Pembroke, N.H.
• As we reported to you earlier this week, Maine’s highest court ruled that a Penobscot boatyard may be required to essentially reimburse CMP for payments paid to a boatyard worker who sustained injuries when a mast hit a low electrical wire.
• Interest in tidal energy projects is spreading to coastal states throughout the country, after being introduced in Maine.
• Residents of Sangerville, Me., voted to impose six-month moratoria on construction of both wind developments and an east-west highway.
• Portland Pipe Line Corp. has a strong safety record, but some are expressing concerns about the possibility of tar-sands oil moving through the pipeline.  A spill this week in Arkansas has added to the public discussion.
• Maine’s next public advocate will be Timothy Schneider, a Portland attorney, as we reported to you on Monday.
• FERC is reviewing an application for an LNG terminal in Downeast Maine.
• Nova Scotia Power is seeking ways to import natural gas supply from the U.S.

Governor Nominates Timothy Schneider to Be Maine Public Advocate

Governor Paul R. LePage today nominated Timothy R. Schneider to be Maine’s next public advocate.  As the state’s public advocate, Schneider would be in charge of the office that represents the interests of Maine’s ratepayers in policymaking and in regulatory proceedings.

Since 2008, Schneider has been an attorney with Pierce Atwood, LLP’s energy group.  In that capacity, he has represented a number of utilities, including Central Maine Power Co. and Northern Utilities, Inc., before the Maine PUC and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.  Schneider has earned professional accolades for his work, including from Chambers USA in 2012.

The Governor’s nomination must be reviewed by the Energy, Utilities, and Technology Committee, and confirmed by both houses of the Maine Legislature.  If confirmed, Schneider will succeed Richard Davies, the current public advocate.

Schneider is a graduate of New York University School of Law and, magna cum laude, of Harvard University.  During law school, Schneider was a summer associate at Mintz Levin and a legal intern with Public Knowledge.  Prior to law school, he led youth development programs in Washington County with the Maine Sea Coast Mission.

Schneider, who resides in Portland with his wife and their two children, is a league captain of the Portland Hurling Club. 

Utility v. Marina: Who Pays for Injuries Resulting from Contact with High-Voltage Electric Lines?

When a marina employee is electrocuted and severely injured because the boat mast he held contacted a high-voltage electric line, who ultimately bears the cost of compensating the employee for his injuries? The Maine Supreme Judicial Court (sitting as the “Law Court”) recently addressed that question and found that, under Maine law, the marina/employer may ultimately bear the cost, rather than the utility that owns the power line. Moreover, the employer may bear the cost even if the utility is negligent.

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Energy News Roundup: March 23-March 29

This week in regional energy news …

• Law enforcement officials in Maine are increasing awareness of the growing problem of theft of copper wires and electricity.  In just the last six months, Bangor Hydro has brought 23 theft of service charges.
• A bill before the Maine Legislature would require a 300-foot setback from homes for new transmission lines.
• A bipartisan group of lawmakers in Maine are promoting legislation that would create the Maine Energy Cost Reduction Authority, a new agency with the power to issue bonds and to enter into contracts with utilities to increase pipeline capacity.  The legislators say that increasing access to natural gas will lower electricity prices.
• Opponents of CMP’s smart meters are now advocating for legislation to eliminate the $12 per month “opt-out” fee customers pay not to have smart meters installed on their premises.