Energy News Digest October 9, 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)

- Puget Sound Energy electric rates drop, gas rises
- Puget Sound Energy's chief executive addresses foreign ownership, bonus, other issues
- Jefferson County PUD and Electricity – Proposition 1 Q&A
- Port Townsend Leader Editorial – (Jefferson County) Public power idea worth exploring
- Pacific Power rate hike in Wash. reduced by credit
- Two arrested in attempted Grays Harbor County PUD wire theft
- Douglas County PUD adopts budget – No rate increase expected
- Idahoans struggle to pay utility bills
- Chelan County PUD’s offer for new financial executive: ‘Low $200,000s
- Illinois – New Illinois Cooperative Energy looks to become Ameren rival
- Be Prepared Before a Storm Hits
- Voith Siemens Hydro Receives $26.2 Million in New Contract Award
- How Electric Deregulation Could Change Our Energy Future
- Salmon case allowed to move forward
- Fishing Early chum salmon arriving in Puget Sound rivers
- Canadian government faces suit over killer whales
- Oregon’s marine reserve proposals get cold shoulder
- Squamish, BC – Eco-battle emerging over fish and multibillion-dollar resort
- NOAA, Supreme Court Focus On Marine Mammals
- No more free tours at Glen Canyon dam
- Cantwell hears wishes of green power firms
- How T. Boone Pickens' Energy Plan Just Got Killed
- Energy efficiency improves with new Mount Rainier visitor center
- Pacific Northwest Energy Efficiency Taskforce on track to help accelerate conservation
- Snohomish County PUD program helps businesses cut costs
- Lower energy demand amid economic slowdown could lead to savings
- Canada – City firm's street light dimmer saves energy:
- California – Carbon traders or corporate raiders?
- New Broadband Data Bill Forgets The Broadband Data
- Wyoming – Are data centers in our future?
- Fast, Citywide WiFi Launches In Baltimore
- Cold snap to grip Western Washington
- Columbian newspaper could file bankruptcy
- Olympian Editorial – Haigh, Finn best choices in 35th District

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

WEATHER

Shelton Forecast and Weather Alerts
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?textField1=47.213805&textField2=-123.113412&site=all&smap=1&searchresult=Shelton%2C%20WA%2C%20USA

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

Puget Sound Energy electric rates drop, gas rises – State regulators have taken two actions that will result in lower electricity bills for Puget Sound Energy residential customers, while natural gas bills will rise (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008242047_apwapserates.html

Puget Sound Energy's chief executive addresses foreign ownership, bonus, other issues – PSE has been surprised by criticism (Oh, Really? Port Townsend Leader, WA)
http://www.ptleader.com/main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=55&ArticleID=22019&TM=44365.43

Jefferson County PUD and Electricity – Proposition 1 Q&A (Port Townsend Leader, WA)
http://www.ptleader.com/main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=55&ArticleID=22018&TM=44365.43

Port Townsend Leader Editorial – (Jefferson County) Public power idea worth exploring
http://www.ptleader.com/Main.asp?SectionID=5&SubSectionID=35&ArticleID=22052

Pacific Power rate hike in Wash. reduced by credit (Associated Press)
http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=9148475

Two arrested in attempted Grays Harbor County PUD wire theft (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_100908WAB_hoquiam_wire_theft_attempt_SW.f735ca46.html

Douglas County PUD adopts budget – No rate increase expected (KPQ Radio, Wenatchee)
http://www.kpq.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=297

Idahoans struggle to pay utility bills – Idaho Power is seeing a big increase in uncollectible accounts, and the rising cost of energy could mean a long, cold winter for many. But help is available Idaho Statesman, Boise, ID)
http://www.idahostatesman.com/localnews/story/526605.html

Chelan County PUD’s offer for new financial executive: ‘Low $200,000s (Wenatchee World)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081008/NEWS04/710089958

Illinois – New Illinois Cooperative Energy looks to become Ameren rival (Associated Press )
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-electricity-amere,0,3996780.story

Be Prepared Before a Storm Hits – Winter Weather: Officials Urge Planning For Power Outages Before They Hit (The Chronicle, Centralia, WA)
http://www.chronline.com/rss/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1223487966&archive=

Voith Siemens Hydro Receives $26.2 Million in New Contract Awards – Lookout Point Dam in Lowell, OR and Folsom Dam in Folsom, CA (Market Watch)
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/voith-siemens-hydro-receives-262/story.aspx?guid=%7BFD53025C-811E-4ADA-86B7-FE0D137234CD%7D&dist=hppr

How Electric Deregulation Could Change Our Energy Future (BlogCritic Magazine)
http://blogcritics.org/archives/2008/10/07/063918.php

FISH & WILDLIFE

Salmon case allowed to move forward – Plaintiffs claim the government allows overfishing of protected salmon runs (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/382433_salmon09.html

Fishing Early chum salmon arriving in Puget Sound rivers (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/othersports/2008242278_fish09.html

Canadian government faces suit over killer whales (Associated Press)
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hPbnlwKQHoqQCTCd2ZFlciqfBZAQD93MLL2O0

Oregon’s marine reserve proposals get cold shoulder (Eugene Register Guard, OR)
http://www.registerguard.com/web/news/549537//story.csp

Squamish, BC – Eco-battle emerging over fish and multibillion-dollar resort – Steelhead stream threatened by ski hill, report says. Developer disagrees (Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/business/story.html?id=925fe169-d9fb-4302-b539-664648537296&k=9507

NOAA, Supreme Court Focus On Marine Mammals – Ship Speed Limited; Sonar Use Debated (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/08/AR2008100801992.html?nav=rss_nation

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

No more free tours at Glen Canyon dam – Fee will be charged starting in January to tour the massive Glen Canyon dam near Arizona-Utah border (Associated Press)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/travel/2008241405_webglencanyon08.html?syndication=rss

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Cantwell hears wishes of green power firms (The Columbian, Vancouver, WA)
http://columbian.com/article/20081009/NEWS02/710099947/-1/news

How T. Boone Pickens' Energy Plan Just Got Killed (AlterNet)
http://www.alternet.org/environment/100806/how_t._boone_pickens'_energy_plan_just_got_killed/

CONSERVATION

Energy efficiency improves with new Mount Rainier visitor center (The Olympian, Olympia, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/612799.html

News Release – Pacific Northwest Energy Efficiency Taskforce on track to help accelerate conservation (Bonneville Power Administration)
http://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/1582/231723/

Snohomish County PUD program helps businesses cut costs, earn rebates (Everett Herald)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20081009/BIZ/710099921/1005

Canada – Lower energy demand amid economic slowdown could lead to savings (Canadian Press)
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/081008/national/ont_economy_energy_1

Canada – City firm's street light dimmer saves energy: Streetlight's wireless Internet device could cut B.C. city power bills by 40% (Victoria Times-Colonist, BC)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/business/story.html?id=45329a7a-e58f-4975-8ddb-af7de62330c9

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

California – Carbon traders or corporate raiders? Environmentalists debate the merits of the state’s greenhouse-gas reduction proposal (Sacramento News-Review)
http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/Content?oid=868436

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

New Broadband Data Bill Forgets The Broadband Data – And a significant amount of the originally included funding (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/New-Broadband-Data-Bill-Forgets-The-Broadband-Data-98300

Wyoming – Are data centers in our future? (Gillette News-Record, WY)
http://www.gillettenewsrecord.com/articles/2008/10/09/news/tuesday/news02.txt

Fast, Citywide WiFi Launches In Baltimore (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95545746&ft=1&f=3

GENERAL NEWS

Cold snap to grip Western Washington (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_100908WXB_cold_weather_coming_SW.f78804bd.html

Columbian newspaper could file bankruptcy (Portland Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2008/10/06/daily27.html?ana=from_rss

Olympian Editorial – Haigh, Finn best choices in 35th District (Olympia, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/opinion/story/612470.html

DIVERSIONS

100-ton crane aids in cat rescue
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_100808WAB_cat_rescue_KS.f3188e76.html?npc

Blonde Sues L'Oreal Over Brown Dye – Case Dismissed
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/17661245/detail.html

Bremerton's ‘Little Elvis' Wows King-Loving Crowds
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/oct/03/bremertons-145little-elvis-wows-kitsaps-king/?partner=RSS

Stolen Ore. truck recovered after 22 years
http://www.examiner.com/a-1629990~Stolen_Ore__truck_recovered_after_22_years.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines

Judge Sentences Rap Music Fan To Bach, Beethoven
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/17671702/detail.html?treets=sea&tid=2653595907813&tml=sea_nots&tmi=sea_nots_1_01000310092008&ts=H