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PG&E Says It Will File Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

January 22, 2019

California utility PG&E Corp. on Jan. 14 gave its workers the state-required 15-day advance notice of its intent to file a Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company on Monday said its electric and natural gas service to customers should not be impacted during its reorganization, which comes as PG&E faces billions of dollars in liabilities related to the role of its equipment in a series of deadly wildfires over the past two years.

The company late Sunday said that PG&E CEO Geisha Williams had stepped down, with John Simon named interim CEO. PG&E’s board said it would search for a new chief executive with “extensive operational and safety expertise.” Williams had been CEO since 2017. Simon has held various roles with the company since 2007, most recently as executive vice president and general counsel.

PG&E in a news release Monday said the company “and its wholly owned subsidiary Pacific Gas and Electric Company currently intend to file petitions to reorganize under Chapter 11 of the U.S.…

Plagued by Grim Challenges, Vogtle Nuclear Expansion Lags Behind Schedule, Says Oversight Consultant

December 6, 2018

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The two-unit Vogtle expansion in Georgia faces major challenges that are poised to derail its schedule and ramp up costs—and the project is already behind schedule, a consulting firm tasked with construction oversight of the project told regulators.

In revealing testimony filed with the Georgia Public Service Commission’s (PSC’s) public interest advocacy staff on November 30, Donald Grace, vice president of engineering for Cost Plus Technology—Nuclear Construction Oversight (CPT), noted that the total construction cost—which includes all owner-shared costs but excludes financing costs—to complete the two Vogtle units by the scheduled November 2021/2022 timeframe is $ 17.1 billion. Only about 60% of the project is complete, he said.

Meanwhile, the project faces several potentially debilitating challenges that could cause delays and drive up costs. Foremost among them are labor shortages. While Georgia Power noted about 7,000 workers were onsite as of December 4, according to Grace, “Obtaining sufficient numbers of qualified craft labor pipe fitters and electricians are necessary to support the planned installation rate for bulk piping and electrical commodities.”…

Report Says More Nuclear Plants in Financial Trouble

May 15, 2018

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A report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) says the financial struggles of U.S. nuclear power plants continue to increase, and it is likely more plants will be faced with early retirement. It’s another acknowledgement of the tough operating environment for nuclear facilities as gas-fired and renewable energy sources continue to grab more power generation market share in an era of lower electricity costs and slowing demand for electricity.

Nicholas Steckler, an analyst with BNEF, on May 15 said 24 of the more than 60 U.S. operating nuclear power plants are either set to close or will not be able to cover their operating costs through 2021. Steckler wrote in his report that those sites have total generation capacity of 32.5 MW, which is nearly a third of the nation’s total nuclear nameplate generation capacity of just above 100 MW, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

A 2016 POWER magazine report detailed the nuclear retirement picture at that time, and several more units have announced plans for premature closures over the past several months.…

PJM Says Grid Reliable, but Will Analyze Resilience

May 1, 2018

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The operator of the nation’s largest electrical grid on April 30 reiterated its system will remain reliable even with the retirements of substantial generation resources. But PJM Interconnection, whose system covers customers in 13 states, said it will conduct a review of its operations over the next several months “to understand the fuel-supply risks in an environment trending towards greater reliance on natural gas.”

PJM wants to know whether its network could still operate reliably in the event of outages from natural disasters such as extreme weather, a cyberattack, or pipeline issues that would curtail the flow of natural gas on its system. The regional transmission organization (RTO) in March 2017 issued a report—”PJM’s Evolving Resource Mix and System Reliability”—that said its system could add more natural gas and renewable power generation and remain reliable, but “heavy reliance on one resource type” could bring risks to grid resiliency.

PJM recently said more than 3,600 MW of generation capacity will retire in its service territory in 2018.…

Under Competitive Pressure, Nuclear Industry Doing All It Can, NEI Head Says

April 15, 2018

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The nation’s paramount nuclear power trade group has launched a wide-ranging strategy to help generators stay profitable in tight markets, the head of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) told Wall Street analysts on April 12.

In an address broadcast on Facebook, Maria Korsnick, NEI president and CEO, said that nuclear plants that operate in competitive wholesale markets “are obviously under significant economic stress.” Six reactors have retired over the last five years, and plant owners have announced intentions to shutter another 12 in the coming years. “If nothing is done to save those plants, the impacts will be devastating,” she said, pointing to job losses and resiliency worries.

“We didn’t have to stress these virtues 10 years ago, but in today’s market we do,” she said. The nation’s fleet of 99 reactors produces no air emissions, which is important especially in places where downwind air quality is already bad. A unit can operate for months or years after a refueling, making it immune to problems with pipelines, barges, and railroads that sometimes afflict fossil fuel generators, Korsnick noted.…

IEA Says Southeast Asia Will Keep Coal Demand High

October 29, 2017

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The International Energy Agency (IEA) says the need for cheap electricity in Southeast Asia will drive global demand for coal for power generation through 2040, even as many countries continue to retire coal-fired plants and cancel projects for new coal facilities.

IEA, which is set to release its World Energy Outlook 2017 on November 14, this week said India and Southeast Asia will account for the majority of the use of coal in the coming years, as those areas’ economies continue to grow and demand for electricity rises.

“Coal maintains a strong foothold in [Southeast Asia’s] projected consumption, not only because it is markedly cheaper than natural gas, but also because coal projects are in many cases easier to pursue as they do not require the capital-intensive infrastructure associated with gas,” the IEA said in a report in advance of the release of the November outlook.

The agency said about 100 GW of new coal-fired power generation capacity is expected to come online in Southeast Asia by 2040, increasing the region’s installed capacity to about 160 GW.…