Energy
Interior Gas Utility Board Approves Merger
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — The board of directors for Interior Gas Utility has agreed to purchase Fairbanks Natural Gas from the state for more than $58 million. As part of the deal approved Tuesday, Interior Gas Utility would also get a processing plant in Point Mackenzie and transportation trucks. ..
SoCalGas to Use Fiber Optic Technology to Monitor Pipelines in Real Time
Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) will be one of the first natural gas utilities in the United States to incorporate innovative fiber-optic cable technology to detect impacts and leaks along its transmission and high-pressure pipeline system. The technology uses fiber-optic strands to tran..
Eversource Files Appeal Over Gas Pipeline Capacity Agreement
Eversource has filed an appeal with the New Hampshire Supreme Court to overturn a regulatory decision on the company’s proposal to purchase natural gas pipeline capacity to be used to create electricity. The additional gas would be made available by the expansion of an existing pipeline and used to ..
PHMSA Appoints 24 Members to Pipeline Safety Working Group
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) today appointed 24 members to the pipeline safety Voluntary Information-Sharing System (VIS) Working Group. The newly created advisory committee that will provide the Secretary of Tran..
Incoming New Hampshire Governor Pledges to Support Natural Gas Projects
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Incoming Republican governor Chris Sununu is pledging to put his “political capital” behind projects designed to bring more natural gas into New Hampshire. Sununu told business leaders Thursday he hopes to see more companies look to build natural gas pipelines in the state, New..
Trump Chooses Rick Perry to Lead Energy Department
WASHINGTON (AP) – Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who famously forgot the Energy Department was one of the agencies he pledged to eliminate, is President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to become energy secretary, two people with knowledge of the decision say. Perry is likely to shift the department away..
Study: Electric and Gas Utilities Post All-Time High Customer Satisfaction
According to the 2016 Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement™: Residential study from Market Strategies International, customers are satisfied with electric and natural gas utility service but don’t trust their advice or digital competency. Consumers also doubt the industry’s ability to keep tr..
IEEE, FERC Join Forces on Energy Infrastructure, Market Challenges
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and its Power & Energy Society (PES) entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to address energy infrastructure and related market challenges created by recent significant changes..
The Great Lakes Water Utility Energy Challenge Launches
The Great Lakes Protection Fund and American Water Works Association have launched The Water Utility Energy and Efficiency Challenge, an innovative program which engages water operators in a competition to reduce the emissions sourced in their energy generation. The competition is aimed at connectin..
Commission: Michigan Should Spend $4 Billion More Annually on Infrastructure
(AP) – A report ordered by Gov. Rick Snyder says Michigan must spend $4 billion more annually to upgrade infrastructure that includes roads, water systems and the power grid. The study released Monday says the state and local governments spend less than the U.S. average and in surrounding states. ..
New York Regulators Seek to Reform Energy Service Market
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York regulators are launching a comprehensive review of energy service companies, saying the competitive residential market created by utility deregulation hasn’t lived up to its promise. The Public Service Commission filed a notice Friday saying it will solicit sworn testim..
Canada Green Lights 2 Pipeline Projects, Rejects Another
The Government of Canada has ruled on three major pipeline projects: Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Expansion, Enbridge’s Northern Gateway and Line 3 Replacement. Trans Mountain Expansion Project: The Government of Canada has approved Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Expansion Project, subject to 1..
SoCalGas Deploys Sensors to Detect Methane and Enhance Public Safety
Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) has completed demonstration testing of new gas detection sensors employing its Advanced Meter communication system as part of its overall pipeline safety efforts. The sensors can detect natural gas leaks quickly near natural gas pipelines and serves as an e..
North Dakota Lawmakers to Consider New Oil and Gas Industry Rules
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A set of revised administrative rules governing the oil and gas industry in North Dakota will go to lawmakers next month for final approval. The Bismarck Tribune (http://bit.ly/2eZNIDZ ) reports North Dakota Industrial Commission members in June unanimously agreed to the set o..
Wyoming Study: Fracking Likely Not Behind Well Water Problem
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A final state report released Thursday on foul-smelling well water in Wyoming contradicts an EPA report from five years ago that ignited a national backlash when it suggested hydraulic fracturing was the cause of the contamination. Bacteria were more likely to blame for the pr..
Global Energy, Pipeline Outlook
By Rita Tubb, Executive Editor Underground Construction’s 2016 survey shows 47,693 miles of pipelines are planned or under construction. Of these, 19,115 miles are in the planning and design phase, while 28,578 miles are in various stages of construction. The following reflect pipeline mileage in t..
CenterPoint to Acquire Atmos Energy's Retail Energy Services Business
CenterPoint Energy Services, Inc., an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has signed an agreement to acquire Atmos Energy’s retail energy services business, Atmos Energy Marketing, LLC. The purchase price for the acquisition is $40 million plus working capital subje..
1 Dead, Several Injured in Colonial Pipeline Blast
HELENA, Ala. (AP) — For the second time in two months, a pipeline that supplies gasoline to millions of people was shut down, raising the specter of another round of gas shortages and price increases. The disruption occurred when a track hoe — a machine used to remove dirt — struck the pipeline, ig..
Connecticut Abandons Review of Gas Pipeline Proposals
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut energy officials are abandoning a review of pipeline proposals to bring more natural gas into the state and the region. A spokesman for the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection says the decision was based on rulings in Massachusetts and New Hampshire ..
Promising Earthquake Resistant Steel Pipe For Water, Oil, Gas
Devastation caused by major earthquakes is well-known – dramatic video clips vividly document the destruction of collapsed buildings, caved-in highways, fallen bridges and debris scattered across the landscape. However, not all damage is visible. Violent shifts underground can rupture water, sewer..
Oklahoma Natural Gas to Pay Over $1M in Fines Over Explosion
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma Natural Gas must pay more than $1 million in fines after a gas explosion destroyed one home and damaged about 50 others in Oklahoma City. One person was burned and two people were treated for breathing problems in the Jan. 2 explosion. ONG agreed Wednesday to pay $1.0..
Southern California Gas Co. to Pay $4 Million for Major Gas Leak
LOS ANGELES (AP) – A utility responsible for a massive gas leak that drove thousands of families from their Los Angeles homes pleaded no contest to a criminal charge Tuesday as part of a $4 million settlement with prosecutors. The deal requires Southern California Gas Co. to adopt an expensive leak..
Williams Partners Advances Gulf Connector Project
Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC (Transco), a Williams Partners L.P. subsidiary, has filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission seeking authorization to construct a 475,000 dekatherm per day (Dth/d) expansion in Texas and Louisiana to connect U.S. natural gas suppl..
Enbridge Drops Plans for Sandpiper Crude Oil Pipeline
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Enbridge Energy said Thursday it has dropped its proposal to build the Sandpiper crude oil pipeline across northern Minnesota. Enbridge attorneys notified the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission that the company won’t pursue the regulatory approvals needed for the $2.6 bill..
Construction Underway for UGI's Sunbury Pipeline
UGI Energy Services celebrated the start of construction on its Sunbury Pipeline with a groundbreaking ceremony in central Pennsylvania near the Panda Hummel Station power plant it will serve. The 35-mile-long pipeline will carry natural gas from the Transco interstate pipeline in eastern Lycoming ..
Dominion-Questar Merger Moves Closer After Approval From Utah's PSC
The Public Service Commission of Utah has approved the merger between Dominion Resources, Inc. and Questar Corporation, subject to terms and conditions of an agreed settlement stipulation. With this action, the final regulatory approval needed to complete the merger is pending with the Wyomi..
PG&E Becomes First Natural Gas Utility to Obtain Process Safety Certification
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has successfully passed a comprehensive gas safety audit and has been certified to the chemical industry’s RC14001® management system standard. The audit reviewed numerous end-to-end safety processes at the company, ultimately approving PG&E as the first utili..
Judge Orders Protesters Not to Interfere with Dakota Access Pipeline
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A federal judge is ordering protesters in North Dakota not to interfere with the construction of a $3.8 billion, four-state oil pipeline. U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Hovland granted the developer’s motion for a temporary restraining order Tuesday. Dakota Access filed a l..
Court: Ratepayers Can’t be Asked to Finance Gas Pipelines
BOSTON (AP) — The highest court in Massachusetts is blocking electric utilities from passing on to ratepayers the costs of building new natural gas pipelines. The Supreme Judicial Court in its unanimous decision Wednesday said state regulators made a mistake in approving the tariffs and authorizing..
Court Hearing Set for Friday on Effort to Halt Oil Pipeline in Iowa
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — As work progresses on an oil pipeline crossing Iowa, opponents are holding protest rallies and taking the state utilities regulators to court in hopes of stopping construction. A hearing is scheduled for Friday in Des Moines on a motion to stay construction on several parcel..
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- $5.3 billion, 516-mile pipeline to connect Texas to Arizona through New Mexico
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- 31 workers rescued after LA tunnel partially collapses
- Ohio Supreme Court rules sewer line location isn’t a ‘defect’ in property dispute
- Faulconer Construction begins rock blasting for water pipeline project in Charlottesville, Va.
- $5.3 billion, 516-mile pipeline to connect Texas to Arizona through New Mexico