Michigan energy policy is moving forward….to higher costs under full monopoly control
As previously noted, the MI House Energy Committee voted on three bills without reading them. These bills were sent to the full House for a vote.
Where do they stand now:
- Electric Energy Choice: currently, 10% of MI customers can choose an electric energy supplier. The result has been millions of $$ dollars in savings. House Bill would have imposed non-commercial requirements on the energy marketers causing them to withdraw from offering customers an alternative to the utility.
- As of now, 10% would stay in place BUT customers would be barred from switching for 15 YEARS! What choice is this?
- Energy suppliers will face additional regulatory requirements that would do nothing more than raise their cost to provide service, thereby limiting customer savings.
- Thirty percent (30%) renewable energy goal by 2025. This “goal” has no enforcements. Currently, MI is achieving a 1.5% efficiency gain per year. So this a net increase of 5%. A token nod to a cleaner environment and improved energy efficiency.
MI must hope that the MI Senate counters this energy policy with a policy that encourages market competition and clean energy production.
Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer in the states of Illinois, Michigan and Indiana. We offer Service Plans that will provide electric and natural gas at wholesale pricing direct to customers without any utility markup. Our Service Plans work with the local utility to provide seamless service and annual energy savings. Service Plans include Guaranteed SavingsTM, ManagedPriceTM, ManagedGreenTM and Index, Fixed pricing.
Additional information
DOE Eia Weekly Gas Storage Report
Working gas in storage was 4,000 Bcf as of Friday, November 13, 2015, according to EIA estimates. This represents a net increase of 15 Bcf from the previous week. Stocks were 404 Bcf higher than last year at this time and 207 Bcf above the five-year average of 3,793 Bcf. At 4,000 Bcf, total working gas is above the five-year historical range.
Survey predicts storage to hit historic 4 Tcf level
- EIA storage estimate gets an overhaul
- 4-plus Tcf becomes the new normal
Actual 15 Bcf.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration on Thursday is expected to report a natural gas storage injection between 17 and 21 Bcf for the week that ended November 13, according to a Platts’ survey of analysts. If the injection comes in as expected, storage levels will crack the 4-Tcf level, an all-time record. An injection within expectations would be more than the 9-Bcf withdrawal reported at this time last year and more than the 12-Bcf five-year average withdrawal, according to EIA data. Last week, the EIA reported a 54-Bcf injection that increased inventories to 3.985 Tcf, which was 379 Bcf, or 10%, more than the year-ago inventory of 3.606 Tcf, and 180 Bcf, or 4.7%, more than the five-year average of 3.805 Tcf.
Will SMART Meter installations bring smart services?
Bay City, MI is 4 years into implementing a citywide Smart meter program for water and electric utilities. The result: non-complaint customers will be charged $9 / month who have not cooperated with meter installers.
That’s right; a higher cost for those who DO NOT have a smart meter installed. This affects about 10% of accounts.
What benefits do you get with a smart meter? For consumers, none. For the water company, discrepancy in water usage is more readily found.
With MI electric choice, under threat of repeal the benefits for the Smart electric meter don’t look all that appealing either. Additional information: http://realgyenergyservices.com/energy-policy-passes-house-energy-committee-without-being-read/
So, get your Smart meter and pay more along with those who don’t…just don’t look for any benefits.
Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer in the states of Illinois, Michigan and Indiana. We offer Service Plans that will provide electric and natural gas at wholesale pricing direct to customers without any utility markup. Our Service Plans work with the local utility to provide seamless service and annual energy savings. Service Plans include Guaranteed SavingsTM, ManagedPriceTM, ManagedGreenTM and Index, Fixed pricing.
Additional information:
http://www.mlive.com/news/bay-city/index.ssf/2015/11/bay_city_residents_without_sma.html
Could a superman leap this wind turbine?
The tallest U.S. wind tower is under construction in Iowa. At 377 feet from ground to hub, the wind tower is as high as a 40 story building. The tower is attempting to show that concrete can be used as the tower base for wind turbines. Typically, steel is used in tower construction.
MidAmerican Energy will own and operate this tower as part of a 154 megawatt wind farm. Each 1 megawatt can supply about 800 homes.
Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer in the states of Illinois, Michigan and Indiana. We offer Service Plans that will provide electric and natural gas at wholesale pricing direct to customers without any utility markup. Our Service Plans work with the local utility to provide seamless service and annual energy savings. Service Plans include Guaranteed SavingsTM, ManagedPriceTM, ManagedGreenTM and Index, Fixed pricing.
Additional information
http://midwestenergynews.com/2015/11/16/tallest-u-s-wind-tower-under-construction-in-iowa/
New Methodology for Storage in the US
Here is an interesting article concerning how the EIA reports on storage activity within the US.
- EIA will use five regions: East, Midwest, South Central, Mountain and Pacific
- changes were prompted, at least in part, by user request “A lot of our customers had been asking to see the storage data at a greater granularity”
- the discrepancies between the two formats are “largely a methodological issue”
- related to a change in how the storage numbers are rounded as well as how the non-sample estimate is calculated
- The new method also includes a change in rounding. Currently, storage stocks reported in each region are rounded, and then the Lower-48 total is calculated as the sum of those rounded values. This caused the sum of the three regions to always equal the Lower-48 total.
- However, under the new five-region format, the Lower 48 total will be calculated, and then each region and the national total will be rounded individually to the nearest Bcf. This could cause the sum of the five regions to differ from the Lower-48 total by as much as 2 Bcf in a given week. But the EIA argue this technique is a more methodologically sound approach, “as rounding is typically the very last step in an algebraic operation.”
Energy policy passes house energy committee without being read
Rep Gary Glenn of Michigan has attempted to stop a freight train.
The Michigan House Energy Committee voted to forward energy legislation to the entire House of Representatives BEFORE it WAS READ. That’s right; they voted on energy policy that wasn’t even reviewed, understood or had a chance to be read by the committee members. It will now go to the full House for review.
The bill they passed, by a majority, will in fact limit if not eliminate MI electric customer choice.
- The 10% of energy users will have to return to the utility default service.
- Customer Choice marketers will withdraw as the requirements put upon providing service ARE NOT commercially available.
o Since MI Electric Customer Choice began every energy marketer has delivered its energy, never a default
- Michigan will continue to have the HIGHEST electric costs in the Mid-west
- Michigan will have some of the most polluting power plants in Mid-west
We salute Rep Gary Glenn for trying to bring reason to a process that has been dominated by lobbyist and utility donations to politicians.
Unfortunately Rep Gary Glenn, could not stop this runaway train that carried this bill forward.
Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer in the states of Illinois, Michigan and Indiana. We offer Service Plans that will provide electric and natural gas at wholesale pricing direct to customers without any utility markup. Our Service Plans work with the local utility to provide seamless service and annual energy savings. Service Plans include Guaranteed SavingsTM, ManagedPriceTM, ManagedGreenTM and Index, Fixed pricing.
Additional information: www.realgyenergyservices.com
Supporting Video: https://youtu.be/J-ssV31O8Ig