Realgy Supports a Review of the January 2014 Energy Price Spikes
REALGY couldn’t agree more with the need to investigate this winter market reaction. As highlighted in the various articles posted on the Realgy blog, the cost borne by utilities, marketers and our customer’s sky rocketed.
This winter weather required every energy marketer and utility to purchase the energy being used by our customer’s (above their planned usage) at the going market price; there is no planning or negotiations during such periods.
Therefore, any manipulation by traders or owners/operators of power plants or pipelines that took advantage of this weather to inflate the market price needs to be investigated.
Realgy will look to send a letter in support of FERC investigating the market response and all/any irregularities. For instances, Feb 2014 pricing is above Jan 2014 pricing!
Realgy is continuing to work hard, as the weather vortex is back (as of Feb 26th 2014) to reduce the impact of this winter weather on our customers.
Check out the full Citizens Utility Board article “As Electric/Gas Bills Skyrocket, CUB and Consumer Advocates In 10 States Request FERC Review Of January Price Spikes”
Shedd Aquarium in Chicago is planning to create an energy saving road map that other cultural institutes can follow
However this task won’t be easy. Keeping 32,500 animals healthy, happy and well-lit takes a lot of energy. Part zoo, part art space, the building is a life-support system for 1,500 species operating under the parameters of just about every time zone on the planet.
John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Illinois
“What we’re talking about is bigger than the Shedd,” said Mark Harris, president and CEO of the Illinois Science and Technology Coalition, which led the consortium that developed Shedd’s energy saving plan.
Following a plan developed pro bono by a public-private consortium, Shedd plans to swap out light bulbs, buy solar panels and sell “negawatts” (getting paid to power down). The aquarium plans to participate in a program that pays big energy users to power down on days when the electric grid is strained by demand from air conditioners. But first that means finding out what in the aquarium can be safely powered down.
“The Shedd’s in a unique position. It’s been there for 100 years and it’s going to be there for another 100 more; so, when you look at a 15-year return on investment, that’s not too bad,” Hulsebosch said.
Read the whole story: Citizens Utility Board, “Shedd Aquarium looks to slice energy bill”