Energy News Digest for March 5, 2008

All the links in today’s news digest lead to current stories. Please note that some media organizations update their web sites regularly, which may result in broken links in the future.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

- Mason County PUD No. 3 Rate Increase Pushed Back To May
- Mason County PUD No. 3 Not Signing B-P-A Settlement
- Richland mulls deal with BPA
- Avista wants to hike electrical rates 9 percent
- Portland General Electric plant responsible for Gorge haze
- U.S. coal power boom suddenly wanes
- Feds suspend loan program for new rural coal plants citing climate change, cost issues
- Missouri – Appeals court rejects Aquila's Cass County plant
- Music CD shows hidden talent of Tacoma public utility workers
- Florida – New rule lets consumers sell back power
- Shorter Westport salmon season likely this year
- Lake Chelan draw-down expected to be lower than usual
- Montana – Energy company cedes oil, gas leases to Trout Unlimited
- Wave-power proposals alarm locals
- Pumped Storage To Back Up Renewable Energy
- Salt Lake Tribune Op/Ed – Renewable energy a must for Utah, but without steep price hikes
- Electric cars more popular as gas prices skyrocket
- Washington State Legislation on Mercury and Fluorescent Lighting
- Montana – State wants low campus energy bills
- The Sacramento Municipal Utility Department offers rebates to large commercial users
- Columbian Editorial: Defending dirty air
- Greed In the Name Of Green
- Some San Francisco cabbies see red over plan for green taxis
- Ask.Com Search Site to Cut Jobs, Realign Strategy
- Washougal telecom investor selling interest in Internet firm
- New Technologies Challenge FCC to Evolve
- FCC: No plans for a Comcast-BitTorrent hearing at Stanford
- Yahoo delays board election to resist Microsoft takeover
- Seattle Times Op/Ed – Internet in jeopardy as neutrality erodes
- The New Workplace Rules: No Video-Watching
- Boeing to Get Explanation of Why It Lost Tanker Dea
- Air Force Tanker Deal Riles Lawmakers
- State Legislature passes local option for public campaign financing

These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest

WORD OF THE DAY

Spelunking • \spuh-LUNK-king\ • noun – The hobby or practice of exploring caves

Howdy folks! Let’s go spelunking in Cave Junction Oregon!

WEATHER

Forecast for Mason County, Washington
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944

(NOTE: Some readers have noted that the NWS forecast has not been updated regularly. Apparently there is a refresh issue with the weather web site. If you visit and the forecast isn’t updated, press F5 or refresh the web page. That should take care of the issue)

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

MASON COUNTY PUD NO. 3 RATE INCREASE PUSHED BACK TO MAY – Mason County P.U.D. No. 3 has pushed back their planned electricity rate increase to May 1st. An average rate increase of about five percent is part of the Utility's 2008 budget adopted in December and the original date for the increase was the first of April. However, P.U.D. 3 staff needs a little more time to implement the increase. The Mason County P.U.D. No. 3 Board of Commissioners will be holding a public hearing on the rate increase at 10am next Tuesday, March 11th. The hearing will be held just prior to the Board's next regular meeting. The P.U.D. 3 Commissioners meet in their chambers at 307 West Cota Street in Shelton. The last residential electricity rate increase for Mason County P.U.D. No. 3 customers was three percent in October 2006. A five percent increase will cost a typical residential customer who uses about 1,000 kWh per month $3.60 more a month. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)

MASON COUNTY PUD NO. 3 NOT SIGNING B-P-A SETTLEMENT – Mason County P.U.D. No. 3 Commissioners voted Tuesday not to sign an interim settlement agreement with the Bonneville Power Administration. This agreement relates to the settlement over the way in which the small farm and residential exchange program has been administered. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled twice that the framework the B-P-A developed to replace the exchange process was contrary to the law. Bonneville offered the P.U.D. $2.3 Million and a four percent rate decrease but P.U.D. officials want to wait for the actual rate case to settle as the Public Utility will receive the overpayments plus interest, whether or not the interim agreement is signed. P.U.D. officials called the figures offered by the B-P-A an insult and due to uncertainty about Bonneville cost controls and future fish and wildlife costs they believe Bonneville will come up with some way of charging the utility to offset that proposed rate reduction. The P.U.D. 3 Commissioners unanimously voted not to sign. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)

Richland mulls deal with BPA – It's time for the Richland council to decide: Deal or no deal? (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/901/story/108854.html

Avista wants to hike electrical rates 9 percent (Puget Sound Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2008/03/03/daily15.html?ana=from_rss

Portland General Electric plant responsible for Gorge haze – Groups plan to sue PGE over coal plant emissions (Portland Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2008/03/03/daily19.html?ana=from_rss

U.S. coal power boom suddenly wanes – Worries about global warming and rising construction costs give the edge to natural-gas and renewable-energy plants. (Christian Science Monitor)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0304/p01s07-usec.html

Feds suspend loan program for new rural coal plants citing climate change, cost issues (Associated Press, via Examiner.com)
http://tinyurl.com/3982kd

Missouri – Appeals court rejects Aquila's Cass County plant (Kansas City Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2008/03/03/daily17.html?ana=from_rss

Music CD shows hidden talent of Tacoma public utility workers (News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/300875.html

Florida – New rule lets consumers sell back power (South Florida Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2008/03/03/daily16.html?ana=from_rss

WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT

Shorter Westport salmon season likely this year (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/breakingnews/story/378637.html

Lake Chelan draw-down expected to be lower than usual – Chelan County PUD analysts estimate they'll have to drop Lake Chelan to its lowest level since 1988 to accommodate a big spring runoff. (Wenatchee World)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080304/NEWS04/485668934

Montana – Energy company cedes oil, gas leases – Kohlman Co. gives 33,411 acres to Trout Unlimited for preservation (Great Falls Tribune)
http://tinyurl.com/3b42ob

Guest Commentary, Seattle Post-Intelligencer – The price of free water is a sensible way of managing rain – Rain is free. But once it hits the urban ground, it costs us money.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/353697_moinwater05.html?source=rss

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Wave-power proposals alarm locals – US waters could supply up to 10 percent of electric needs but fast-track permits anger communities. (Christian Science Monitor)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0304/p03s03-usgn.html

Pumped Storage To Back Up Renewable Energy (Renewable Energy Access)
http://tinyurl.com/2yoqoa

Salt Lake Tribune Op/Ed – Renewable energy a must for Utah, but without steep price hikes
http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_8452851

Electric cars more popular as gas prices skyrocket (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_030508WAB_electric_cars_SW.24ce1021.html

CONSERVATION

Washington State Legislation on Mercury and Fluorescent Lighting (Legislative Bill Search)
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=6502

Montana – State wants low campus energy bills – Of all the state-funded entities in Montana, the university system is the biggest consumer of electricity and natural gas. (The Missoulian)
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/03/05/news/local/news03.txt

The Sacramento Municipal Utility Department offers rebates to large commercial users (Sacramento Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2008/03/03/daily19.html?ana=from_rss

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Columbian Editorial: Defending dirty air – President Bush’s top environmental cop made his case Friday for blocking new auto emission standards in California, Washington and Oregon
http://tinyurl.com/2ksb2o

Greed In the Name Of Green – To Worshipers of Consumption: Spending Won't Save the Earth (Washington Post)
http://tinyurl.com/2pbqj4

Some San Francisco cabbies see red over plan for green taxis (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://tinyurl.com/yvea3s

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Ask.Com Search Site to Cut Jobs, Realign Strategy (NY Times)
http://tinyurl.com/yobvtn

Washougal telecom investor selling interest in Internet firm (The Columbian)
http://tinyurl.com/2s8n6k

New Technologies Challenge FCC to Evolve (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=87898676&ft=1&f=2

FCC: No plans for a Comcast-BitTorrent hearing at Stanford (CNET News)
http://tinyurl.com/326x75

Yahoo delays board election to resist Microsoft takeover (Associated Press, via Examiner.com)
http://tinyurl.com/3b42ob

Seattle Times Op/Ed – Internet in jeopardy as neutrality erodes – The Internet is a major artery through which new ideas and creativity flows. This conduit for Americans' innovative abilities is in jeopardy.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2004260185_harved05.html

The New Workplace Rules: No Video-Watching (Wall Street Journal)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120459386857809135.html

GENERAL NEWS

Boeing to Get Explanation of Why It Lost Tanker Deal (NY Times)
http://tinyurl.com/ysvarm

Air Force Tanker Deal Riles Lawmakers (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=87898696&ft=1&f=2

State Legislature passes local option for public campaign financing (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/16241522.html

DIVERSIONS

Dungeons & Dragons Co-Creator Dies at 69
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004259435_apobitgygax.html?syndication=rss

Pasco man caught in the dog house
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/378890.html

Whose soldiers are chubby and unfit?
http://tinyurl.com/37zmlg

World War Two Spies had an astrologer
http://tinyurl.com/3xnzbx