NIPSCO Settles for Lower Dollar Amount in Fixed Rate Hike Agreement Northern Indiana Public Service Co. and the Office of Utility Consumer Counselor reached a settlement on a 5.4% rate increase, less than half the 11% boost that the utility sought in its initial filing. The settlement would set the monthly...

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.

Reports: Solar Jobs Increased in 2015 The Solar Foundation, a D.C. solar power advocacy nonprofit, has released its annual Solar Jobs Census for 2015. The report details the number of people working in the solar industry in each state. Overall, the workforce experienced rapid growth over the past year, increasing...

PSC Considering Entergy’s $133M Rate Increase The Public Service Commission is considering a proposed settlement that would increase Entergy Arkansas rates by more than 8%. The commissioners will vote in February on a settlement that would give Entergy an increase of $133.6 million, 20% less than the $167 million increase...

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...

By Rich Heidorn Jr. Independent power producers are challenging Dominion Resources’ bid to build a 1,588-MW combined cycle plant in the first major test of a 2013 Virginia law requiring utilities to demonstrate that they have considered “third-party market alternatives” to self-build projects. Dominion Virginia Power filed its request for...

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...

ADEQ Begins Gathering Feedback on CPP Compliance The Department of Environmental Quality conducted the first of four conference calls Nov. 18 for stakeholders to submit data and feedback for the department’s final comments on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan. (See MISO, SPP Join in as Ark. Begins Crafting...