Energy News Digest for July 14, 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)

- In Shelton Tuesday – Clallam PUD, other districts to discuss power options
- MONTANA – NorthWestern electric rates tops in region by widening margin
- NorthWestern settles claim from bankruptcy case
- Oregon utilities try to offset rising costs
- Portland General Electric’s rate-increase request doesn't add up, groups say
- Grant PUD rate hikes on hold
- Idaho Power customers set record for energy use
- Whidbey Island public power goes to vote in November
- TEXAS – Here’s your new electricity supplier! Top wholesale power rates lead to jolts
- NEW YORK – Increase could reach 22% as electric bills surge as fuel prices soar
- ALASKA – Hydro project revives as energy alternative at Lake Chakachamna
- Montana’s Crow Nation Seeks to Develop its Coal
- UNITED KINGDOM – Energy suppliers' direct debit system leaves people vulnerable to debt
- Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski urges federal regulators to do new LNG study
- OHIO – Arguments erupt as utilities cut residential trees
- Taylor Shellfish accused of illegally farmed public tidelands
- Taylor Shellfish speaks out after tidelands survey
- Feds say no to aid for salmon fishermen
- NOAA’ Issues Biological Opinion to Protect Willamette Basin Salmon and Steelhead
- Outdoors Optimism spreads for sockeye fishery at Lake Wenatchee
- Coast Salish tribes use ritual to monitor troubled sea
- What's the Answer to Hood Canal's Low-Oyxgen Problem?
- A warning from the sea – Oyster 'seeds' are dying as Pacific Coast waters grow warmer
- State agency looking beyond Black Rock reservoir to aid thirsty Yakima Basin
- Seattle Post-Intelligencer Opinion – Puget Sound: We're the polluters
- Questions raised over what happens to electronic waste
- MONTANA – Flathead Electric Cooperative plans to get power from landfill
- Puget Sound Energy Wind Facilities Each Reach Million Megawatt-Hour Milestone
- SOUTH DAKOTA – Stalemate threatens State’s wind industry
- NORTH CAROLINA – Progress Energy fees for renewables on table
- Homeowners who use heating oil seek alternatives
- Iraq's electricity-starved capital goes solar
- Energy adviser: Room air conditioners can be a cool option
- Keep Your Energy Dollars From Going Up in Smoke
- Tankless water heaters gaining ground as energy-saving option (?)
- Newlyweds rethink carbon footprint, offer green party favors
- How your operating system can reduce your carbon footprint
- Everyone has a carbon footprint - but do 'offsets' make sense?
- Port Ludlow – Embarq adds high-speed Internet to Beaver Valley
- Alaskan Bandwidth to be Boosted by Cable to Oregon
- CALIFORNIA – New Bill Could Bridge Digital Divide in California
- Boston Globe Opinion – Strike up the broadband
- FCC chief hopes Comcast sanction serves as warning
- Network gridlock spoils iPhone's party
- Yahoo Again Spurns a Microsoft Offer
- Paper's weight: Technology has added to the load
- Bush to lift executive ban on offshore drilling
- Anheuser-Busch Agrees to Be Sold to Belgian Brewery Behemoth
- Pact over use of 'Olympic' name near
- Thieves targeting Tri-City construction sites
- Wash your hands! Fecal bacteria found on UW computer keyboards

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Oracular • \uh-RACK-yuh-lerr\ • adjective –1: of the nature of, resembling, or suggesting an oracle: an oracular response 2: giving forth utterances or decisions as if by special inspiration or authority 3: uttered or delivered as if divinely inspired or infallible; sententious 4: ambiguous; obscure 5: portentous; ominous.

As the shadow of the company’s “Camping Carl” loomed in his office doorway Albert shuddered in anticipation of the two-hour recounting of his friend’s weekend activities. The oracular utterings rang hollow each Monday, as Carl droned on about his hang-gliding, mountain-climbing, high altitude adventures. It didn’t help his cause when Albert realized one day that they lived in the flattest state in the union.

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

In Shelton Tuesday – Clallam PUD, other districts to discuss power options (The Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20080714/NEWS/807140307

MONTANA – NorthWestern electric rates tops in region by widening margin – 10.2 cents per kilowatt hour (The Missoulian)
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/07/13/news/local/news03.txt

NorthWestern settles claim from bankruptcy case (The Associated Press, via Yahoo! Finance)
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080711/northwestern_bankruptcy.html?.v=2

Utilities try to offset rising costs – Portland General Electric now figures it needs to raise electricity rates by 14 to 15 percent next year to cover rising energy and operating costs (The Oregonian, Portland, OR)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/121583310782300.xml&coll=7

Portland General Electric’s rate-increase request doesn't add up, groups say – Ratepayer advocates say the utility's proposed 15% increase is based on poor analysis “…PGE offers full-time employees, retired employees and spouses of deceased, retired or regular employees a 25 percent discount…” (The Oregonian, Portland, OR)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/121583310882300.xml&coll=7

Grant PUD rate hikes on hold – A proposed 6 percent increase for Grant County PUD electrical customers won't happen in 2009 (Columbia Basin Herald, Moss Lake, WA)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2008/07/11/news/news02.txt

Idaho Power customers set record for energy use (The Associated Press, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1479520~Idaho_Power_customers_set_record_for_energy_use.html?cid=rss-Idaho_Headlines

Whidbey Island public power goes to vote in November – Power to the people - private or public? Local voters will get to decide who should supply their electric power (The Whidbey Examiner, Coupeville, WA)
http://www.whidbeyexaminer.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=1550&TM=62995

TEXAS – Here’s your new electricity supplier! Top wholesale power rates lead to jolts – Texans often receive high bills from replacement providers “…price per kilowatt-hour went from 11.8 cents with the now-defunct retailer National Power to 31.7 cents…” (The Houston Chronicle, TX)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/biz/5884406.html

NEW YORK – Increase could reach 22% as electric bills surge as fuel prices soar – NY's reliance on oil and gas to produce electricity hits power customers hard this summer (The Associated Press, via Yahoo! Finance)
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080711/ny_electricity_rates.html?.v=1

ALASKA – Hydro project revives as energy alternative at Lake Chakachamna – The $1.75 billion proposal once had a dam but now has a drain (The Anchorage Daily News, AK)
http://www.adn.com/money/story/463307.html

Montana’s Crow Nation Seeks to Develop its Coal – The Crow tribe in Montana says it has enough coal on its reservation to meet U.S. energy needs for nearly a decade (Finding Dulcinea)
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/Americas/July-08/Montana-s-Crow-Nation-Seeks-to-Develop-its-Coal.html

UNITED KINGDOM – Energy suppliers' direct debit system leaves people vulnerable to debt – Customers could be running up arrears because direct debits are set up only to cover predicted bills rather than the final amount (The London Times, UK)
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/money/consumer_affairs/article4321562.ece

Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski urges federal regulators to do new LNG study – An earlier similar request by Oregon's governor went unheeded (The Oregonian, Portland, OR)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/121583311382300.xml&coll=7

OHIO – Arguments erupt as utilities cut residential trees (The Associated Press)
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i10L4E0TYuAyptf_4G9fFlLm7pygD91T4PF00

FISH & WILDLIFE

Taylor Shellfish illegally farmed public tidelands – Size of penalties awaits survey of encroached area (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/370510_geoducks12.html

Taylor Shellfish speaks out after tidelands survey (The Olympian, Olympia, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/505441.html

Feds say no to aid for salmon fishermen (The Associated Press, via the Columbian, Vancouver, WA)
http://news.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP07112008news339571.cfm

News Release – NOAA’s Fisheries Service Issues Biological Opinion to Protect Willamette Basin Salmon and Steelhead (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2008/20080711_willamette.html

Outdoors Optimism spreads for sockeye fishery at Lake Wenatchee, but not at Baker Lake, Lake Washington (Seattle Times, WA)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/othersports/2008048589_outn13.html

Coast Salish tribes use ritual to monitor troubled sea “…The Coast Salish includes… the Squaxin Island Indian Tribe…”(The News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/front/topstories/story/411131.html

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

What's the Answer to Hood Canal's Low-Oyxgen Problem? (The Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/jul/12/whats-the-answer-to-hood-canals-oyxgen-problem/

A warning from the sea – Oyster 'seeds' are dying as Pacific Coast waters grow warmer (The Los Angeles Times, CA)
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-oysters13-2008jul13,0,7294041.story

State agency looking beyond Black Rock reservoir to aid thirsty Yakima Basin (The Tri-City Herald, WA)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/901/story/238625.html

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Opinion – Puget Sound: We're the polluters
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/370473_runoffed.html?source=rss

Questions raised over what happens to electronic waste – People who hope to get rid of old computers and other electronic waste at a free recycling event this week in Tacoma have no guarantee that the equipment will be disposed of properly (The Olympian, via the News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/411794.html

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

MONTANA – Flathead Electric Cooperative plans to get power from landfill (The Billings Gazette, MT)
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/07/13/news/state/21-landfill.txt

News Release – Puget Sound Energy Wind Facilities Each Reach Million Megawatt-Hour Milestone (BusinessWire, via MarketWatch)
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/pse-wind-facilities-each-reach/story.aspx?guid=%7B5B272D25-0BED-4AD9-BDD7-473393E94509%7D&dist=hppr

SOUTH DAKOTA – Stalemate threatens State’s wind industry – Deal on incentives stalled in Congress (The Times Argus Leader, Sioux Falls, SD)
http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080713/NEWS/807130337/1003/BUSINESS

NORTH CAROLINA – Progress Energy fees for renewables on table – Consumer agency says fee structure is unfair (The News-Observer, Raleigh, NC)
http://www.newsobserver.com/business/story/1140727.html

Homeowners who use heating oil seek alternatives (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008049436_apheatingalternatives.html?syndication=rss

Iraq's electricity-starved capital goes solar – At least for its streetlights (The Los Angeles Times, CA)
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-solar14-2008jul14,0,1532793.story

CONSERVATION

Energy adviser: Room air conditioners can be a cool option (the Columbian, Vancouver, WA)
http://www.columbian.com/lifehome/lifeHomeNews/2008/07/07132008_Energy-adviser-Room-air-conditioners-can-be-a-cool-option.cfm?newsletter=1

Keep Your Energy Dollars From Going Up in Smoke (The Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/12/AR2008071200174.html?nav=rss_business

Tankless water heaters gaining ground as energy-saving option (Pittsburgh Business Times – Unless you consider the instantaneous demand issue: can your home’s wiring and transformer handle it?)
http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2008/07/14/focus12.html?ana=from_rss

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Zanesville Times-Recorder Op/Ed – Newlyweds rethink carbon footprint, offer green party favors (Zanesville, OH)
http://zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080714/OPINION02/807140322/1014/OPINION

How your operating system can reduce your carbon footprint – A new Canadian-based research study shows how we can all reduce our so-called carbon footprint - and save money - by following a few simple tips for PC usage at home, or in the office (PC World, Canada)
http://www.pcworld.ca/news/column/0e330b860a01040801318e595d89e679/pg1.htm

Everyone has a carbon footprint - but do 'offsets' make sense? (Orlando Sentinel, FL)
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-lidcarbon1308jul13,0,3503052.story

TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Port Ludlow – Embarq adds high-speed Internet to Beaver Valley (Port Townsend Leader, WA)
http://www.ptleader.com/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=4&ArticleID=21356&TM=44425.35

Alaskan Bandwidth to be Boosted by Cable to Oregon – Eight-fold increase in bandwidth expected next year (The Anchorage Daily News, AK)
http://www.adn.com/money/story/463329.html

CALIFORNIA – New Bill Could Bridge Digital Divide in California – Perhaps at the expense of small community service districts (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/New-Bill-Could-Bridge-Digital-Divide-in-California-96072

Boston Globe Opinion – Strike up the broadband – not everyone has equal access (Boston MA)
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2008/07/13/strike_up_the_broadband/

FCC chief hopes Comcast sanction serves as warning – The cable company violated rules that guarantee customers open access to the Internet, says the head of the commission in his disciplinary proposal (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008047592_netregs12.html

Network gridlock spoils iPhone's party – Many buyers were unable to activate new model (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, WA)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/370431_iphone12.html

Yahoo Again Spurns a Microsoft Offer (The NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/technology/13yahoo.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

Paper's weight: Technology has added to the load “…The very technologies that were supposed to replace paper - things like e-mail, electronic data storage and the Web - have led to more paper usage than ever before…” (San Jose Mercury News, CA)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9875348?source=rss

GENERAL NEWS

Bush to lift executive ban on offshore drilling – But the move, by itself, will do nothing unless Congress acts as well (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2008048076_apbush.html?syndication=rss

Anheuser-Busch Agrees to Be Sold to Belgian Brewery Behemoth (The NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/14/business/worldbusiness/14beer.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Pact over use of 'Olympic' name near – Olympic Cellars principal owner Kathy Charlton says she's close to resolving a dispute with the U.S. Olympic Committee over her winery's use of the word Olympic (The Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20080713/NEWS/807130304

Thieves targeting Tri-City construction sites (The Tri-City Herald, WA)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/915/story/238062.html

ALLIGATORS IN THE SEWER - DIVERSIONS

Man sues church over spiritual fall – A man says he was so consumed by the spirit of God that he fell and hit his head while worshipping
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1120ap_odd_felled_by_spirit.html?source=mypi

Wash your hands! Fecal bacteria found on UW computer keyboards
http://news.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP07132008news339861.cfm

Roller Girls Give Chase In US Version Of Bull Run – Hundreds of people gathered outside a French Quarter bar Saturday morning to be chased down Bourbon Street by members of New Orleans' roller derby league (The editor smirks…)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/16864042/detail.html

Party goers lose sight at laser show – Dozens of people have lost partial vision after a laser light show burned their retinas
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSL1452972520080714?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews

Dog Meat Taken Off China Menus For Olympics – Designated Restaurants Won't Serve Dog Meat During Games
http://www.kirotv.com/sports/16852588/detail.html