RGGI Auctions Competitive, Potomac Economics Says The Independent Market Monitor for the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative found no evidence of anti-competitive behavior in the secondary market for CO2 allowances in the fourth quarter of 2015, according to a recent report. Part of Potomac Economics’ ongoing monitoring of RGGI auctions and the secondary...

By Ted Caddell Dynegy and private equity firm Energy Capital Partners announced Thursday they are buying the U.S. fossil fuel generation portfolio of French utility ENGIE, a total of 8,731 MW in PJM, ISO-NE and — in a first for Dynegy — ERCOT. The deal is valued at $3.3 billion.

Md. Enters Fray over Dominion’s Coal Ash Water Release Plan Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s administration said it intends to appeal a permit approved by Virginia regulators that would allow Dominion Virginia Power to release 215 million gallons of treated coal ash water into Quantico Creek, which empties into the Potomac River.

By Rich Heidorn Jr. WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court Tuesday blocked EPA from implementing the Clean Power Plan pending legal challenges. The court ruled 5-4 in favor of a stay, with the court’s liberal wing in the minority. The court’s one-page order (15A773, et al.), which surprised many observers, means...

By Rich Heidorn Jr. FERC Commissioner Tony Clark said last week that the Supreme Court’s ruling upholding FERC’s jurisdiction over wholesale demand response frees the commission to take another look at Order 745’s requirement that RTOs pay DR providers LMPs equal to generation. “With the disposition of these matters, I...

ERCOT reported a 2.2% increase in energy usage within its region of Texas in 2015, fueled by a record-breaking summer that brought a new peak demand record approaching 70,000 MW. The Texas grid operator released a report Jan. 15 that indicated the system consumed 347,522,945 MWh of electricity last year,...

State Auditor Doubts Energy Efficiency Initiative Wagner State Auditor Tom Wagner says an energy efficiency project involving state buildings in the capital would cost taxpayers $8 million over 20 years but yield energy savings of only $2.7 million. “The possibility of the state breaking even on this agreement is looking...

Ponseti, Kormos Named to EIPC Committee The Eastern Interconnection Planning Collaborative has announced the appointment of Tim Ponseti as chairman of the executive committee for 2016 and Mike Kormos as vice chairman. Ponseti is vice president of transmission operations and power supply for the Tennessee Valley Authority. Kormos is executive...

These Power Bill Savings Aren’t Chicken Scratch The Delmarva Poultry Industry predicts that its new energy-buying group will save chicken producers more than $1 million over the next three years. Poultry producers began seeing those savings in December’s electric bills. The group said more than 200 members will pay 7.78 cents/kWh...

New England Supplies Deemed Adequate New England electricity supplies should be sufficient to meet consumer demand this winter, but constraints on the region’s natural gas pipelines could pose a challenge to reliable fuel supplies for generators, according to ISO-NE. (See ISO-NE: Little Room for Error in Winter.) The region will once...