Detroit Edison, a unit of DTE Energy Co., has selected Alysis Technologies Inc. to implement business-to-business e-billing application software, Alysis reported. The agreement represents Alysis' first implementation of the enhanced product and its fourth utility customer, the company said. Alysis said Detroit Edison will be able to present large, complex bills to business customers, and allow them to do their work analyzing and reconciling the information, and then pay online.
SGI International (SGII) said it has agreed with AEI Resources (AEI) to extend until Oct. 31 the deadline to satisfy certain conditions of a contract under which SGII acquired all of AEI's liquids-from-coal assets, including the Encoal plant. SGII said the extension will permit it to finalize the financial assistance required for the restart of Encoal. Dynegy Coal Trading and Transportation LLC, a unit of Dynegy Inc., and SGII have agreed to extend the delivery date for commencing shipments of upgraded coal from the Encoal plant until Sept.1, 2001, SGII said, allowing sufficient time for the necessary restart work to be completed.
Avista Corp. said it filed a petition for reconsideration before the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC) requesting the commission reexamine certain portions of a Sept. 29 ruling on Avista's electric and gas price increase requests. The commission originally ordered a temporary electric rate decrease of $3.4 million or 1.4%, and a gas rate increase of $1.7 million or 2.1%. Avista contends the commission's ruling overstates interest benefits associated with the buy down of an electric contract Avista had with Portland General Electric Co. and that the tax benefits associated with interest expense have been overstated for both electric and gas operations by treating the cost of preferred stock as being tax deductible. Separately, Avista Corp. said it is preparing to file an additional rate case focused on higher power supply costs and other related issues.
Mariah Energy Corp., a unit of the Suncurrent Group, Calgary, has signed a 126-unit, 2-year order for Capstone Turbine Corp.'s microturbine power systems, Capstone reported. As an original equipment manufacturer, Mariah Energy will resell or deploy the Capstone products as a component of its Heat PlusPower micro cogeneration packages worldwide, the company said. The 126 systems will combine Mariah's heat exchangers, load management equipment, and electronic controls with Capstone's ultra-low-emission microturbines. Capstone said the result will be a clean distributed micro-utility, with all equipment operated from a web-based central dispatch and control facility.
Conectiv reported it has sold the southern regional division of Conectiv Services, in southern Delaware and eastern Maryland, to the unit's employees. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. The Conectiv Services unit provides new construction, replacement, service, and maintenance of heating, cooling, and plumbing services for residential and commercial customers. The new company will operate under the names Collier Service Today and Jones Refrigeration Today. Conectiv said the sale is another step in the company's plan to focus on its core energy strategy.
The R�e de l'�rgie has ratified a new performance incentive plan for Gaz M�opolitain & Co. LP, Montreal, the company said. The new regulations apply to rates Oct. 1, 2000 and, in principle, will be in force for 5 years. Gaz M�opolitain's performance will be measured before the beginning of a fiscal year by comparing the rates required to cover projected costs with rates that would be indexed to consumer prices, less 0.3%. Any favorable variance, which will be considered as a productivity gain, will be shared as follows: 47.5% for customers and 52.5% for the utility as an incentive return on equity. If authorized rates still generate overearnings, which will only be known after the end of the fiscal year, customers will recover 66 2/3% of the amount, the company said. Gaz M�opolitain has about 150,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers in Qu�c.
USEC Inc. said it has completed 20% of the 20-year U.S.-Russian Megatons to Megawatts program that converts material from Russian nuclear warheads into fuel for commercial power plants. One hundred tonnes of weapons-grade uranium�the equivalent of 4,000 nuclear warheads--have been converted into fuel for power plants and delivered to USEC. Under the contract, 500 tonnes of Russian warhead material will be converted to fuel in Russia and purchased by USEC over a 20-year period, for an expected purchase value of about $8 billion. To date, USEC purchases total $1.7 billion. USEC's utility customers around the country are using Megatons to Megawatts fuel in their commercial nuclear reactors to generate electricity. These customers include Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant in Maryland and Nebraska Public Power District's Cooper station, USEC said.
SeaWest WindPower Inc. and Cinergy Global Power Ltd., a Cinergy Corp. unit, reported the 16.8 Mw Foote Creek IV, Arlington, Wyo., wind power project has begun commercial operation. The Foote Creek IV project will allow SeaWest to supply the Bonneville Power Administration with enough power for over 10,500 homes. Over the past 3 years, SeaWest has developed three utility-scale projects on the Foote Creek rim site.