I feel for our friends at Stop the Lines in New Jersey, who have been riding a roller coaster lately regarding approvals for one of PJM's other Project Mountaineer transmission projects.

Down:  Susquehanna-Roseland is approved by the PA PUC and the NJ BPU.

Up:  Appeals are filed in New Jersey.

Up:  New Jersey's BPU gets into a battle of wills with PJM and FERC over it's desire to build new gas-fired generation in New Jersey in order to lower electricity prices in the state.  NJ BPU's position is that in-state generation is better than importing electricity via new transmission lines like S-R.  NJ-BPU is likely to deny S-R and use it as a bargaining chip to get what it wants from PJM & FERC, if it is remanded back to the BPU on appeal.

Down:  S-R is named one of Obama's "Rapid Response" Transmission Projects so it can be rammed through approvals.  Rumor has it that the fix is in at the highest levels for the NPS to approve PSE&G's application to cross the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.

Up:  The Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) release a statement exposing the collusion and corruption going on between the NPS, the White House, and PSE&G.

Up:  The NPS recently came out with a "no build" recommendation.

Down:  In this article (one of the most poorly-written articles I've ever seen!) Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Superintendent John Donahue implies that if power company project owner PSE&G proffers a big enough "mitigation package" (aka BRIBE) that he will bend over and grease up the park for annihilation by the Susquehanna-Roseland project.  I'm not sure who Donahue thinks will be paying the cost of the "mitigation package," but it won't be PSE&G.  The cost of project approvals will be borne by all electric ratepayers in the 13-state PJM Region.  That means YOU!  The bigger the bribe, the higher your future electric bill, and the bigger the profit for PSE&G.  Donahue is willing to sacrifice publicly owned assets to a private, for-profit corporation in exchange for that same public gaining a financial/land grab that is ultimately paid for by them.  We pay ourselves to end up with a ruined national park, and PSE&G makes a big profit.

So, what can you do to prevent paying for PSE&G's bribe?  Submit your comments on the NPS EIS for the S-R Project online.

According to Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), who thinks FirstEnergy's re-start of their creaky Davis-Besse nuke isn't all it's cracked up to be:

“We should be looking at this.  The corporations that run nuclear power plants are fundamentally no different than the corporations that drove our economy off a cliff.  They will cut corners to maintain or increase profits in the absence of sufficient incentives to act differently.  They must be sufficiently and carefully regulated.  The consequences of failing to do so are simply unthinkable. I hope we will reflect on the NRC’s position here and help to achieve a culture of independence, objectivity, public interest over corporate interest and will have complete dedication to safety.”

Read the whole statement available at the link and cross your fingers that FirstEnergy doesn't cause a nuclear disaster, because that's about all you can do right now.

It shouldn't come as any surprise.  StopPATH WV and The Power Line have been reporting on this issue since last spring, but here's a new article that wraps it all together.

At a recent DOE "congestion study workshop" utility schmoozers, their PJM and MISO lap dogs, and government officials came together to further their goals of building a whole bunch of unneeded transmission to transport midwest wind to east coast load centers.

“Illinois, Indiana and now northwestern Ohio are seeing a tremendous growth in wind integrations,” said Bob Bradish, head of American Electric Power’s transmission planning group. “A lot of that is now starting to show in the way of congestion on our system out there.”

AEP could also build transmission and pay for it itself, he noted. But the nature of eastern demand is such that a congestion issue identified and addressed in the western part of the PJM system, for example, will lead to other points of congestion.

“East economics are so that they want to pull everything from the west; you fix something, they just pull more, so congestion comes back up again,” Bradish said.

Why should you be worried?  Because it's the same stupid plan as Project Mountaineer -- west to east power flows that require new, expensive, destructive transmission lines, now cloaked in the "green" of wind.  Of course, all those lines "for wind" will also be tied to the existing grid connected to AEP's (and other dirty generators') coal-fired plants.  And as PATH taught us, you can't separate "clean" from "dirty" electrons. By the time that "wind" lights up a flat-screen TV in Annapolis, it's going to be the same old "coal" that's been doing it for years, however the consumer is now being fooled into believing they're using renewable power.

If you live around PATH's proposed "Kemptown" substation site and have been wondering why they persist in dragging the zoning issues through the courts, this is why.  The property is attractive as a target for other "wind" transmission projects.

So, keep an eye on how DOE's congestion study plays out and the progress of off-shore wind, which will turn the west to east flow paradigm completely around and will end up being the cheapest and most efficient solution.

Remember those rumors about AEP merging with Entergy that were floated around the press earlier this year?  Well, that's not going to happen now.

Entergy made a deal last week with ITC Holdings Corp. in which it will divest itself of its transmission assets.

All those snapping, buzzing, money-making transmission lines and AEP didn't get a single one.  Big frowny face for AEP :-( !!!

So, who's left on AEP's merger shopping list now? 

How about Dominion merging with AEP so that AEP's next transmission project in Virginia won't get back-stabbed by Dominion and end up on the cutting room floor at PJM?  Sneaky, back-stabbing birds-of-a-feather are often very happy together...

... and checking it twice.  Gonna find out who's... ut-oh, AEP, you've been naughty this year!

I take back my snarky comments about this reporter after his silly "evil twin" story about new AEP CEO Little Drummer Boy. Dan Gearino of The Columbus Dispatch actually did some investigative journalism about AEP's sneaky rate hike deal with Ohio's Public Utilities Commission.  The deal could raise electric rates for small businesses by more than 30%, while lowering rates for big, industrial energy hogs.  Check out the results of the reporter's investigation here.

AEP is going to raise the electric rates of Kentucky Power customers 31% to installer scrubbers on their Big Sandy plant so that it can continue to burn lots of MTR coal far into the future instead of switching fuel sources.  Keep in mind that the power companies always ask for more than double the rate increase they actually need because they know the state utilities commission is going to hack it up until it resembles something just and reasonable.  Could AEP be padding the cost of this upgrade to support Mikey's EPA "train wreck" fantasy?  I hope the Kentucky utilities commission checks AEP's claim that installing the scrubber is truly the least cost option over the long term instead of switching fuels, or other options.

If you're an Appalachian Power customer in Virginia, you can now start giving those Santa suit clad bell ringers the hand on your way into Wal-Mart because the Virginia SCC has now made AEP your charitable contributions coordinator.  In a split decision, the SCC has allowed Appalachian Power to recover the cost of their charitable contributions from their customers.  Dissenting Commissioner Mark Christie gets it right when he says recovery of charitable contributions have no place in a monopoly franchise.  The company can deduct these contributions from their taxes, but they'd much rather recover them from their customers and take credit for the "charity."  Outrageous!


And last, but not least, check out this episode of The Keystone Cops that ensued when Appalachian Power held a storm response drill in West Virginia.  APCO would do better to just spend some of that money they received in rate increases to repair and maintain their crumbling distribution system instead of playing storm games.  Be sure to check out the comments -- hysterical -- AEP will next practice filing for more rate increases!  :-)

Ho Ho Flippin' Ho, AEP!

State and local approval processes for new electric transmission line projects are supposed to impartially determine whether a project is needed and provides an acceptable balance between the larger public good and the local detriments caused by the project.  While participating in this legal process is an expensive and time-consuming necessity, it isn't the only area where project opposition should focus their efforts.  When you participate in the public process at the state PSC and/or other agencies, you are an intruder in the utility's play pen and no matter how good your lawyer or how compelling your evidence, you are playing by the utility's rules.  When you play respectably in their venue and by their rules, you're almost certainly destined to failure.  The system is designed for them to succeed and they have been doing it a lot longer than you have.  They also have tremendous financial resources to hire any number of "experts" and/or create any number of "studies" that are designed to produce the desired result.  The utility's financial resources are coming out of your pocket because electric ratepayers reimburse the utility for all costs of the approval process, plus a generous return on equity, over the life of the transmission line.   Transmission line approvals are a very dirty business and you're going to have to roll up your pant legs and jump into the mud if you're going to succeed.

There's another huge effort by the utility going on behind the scenes that you may not notice until it's too late.  While the public approval process is going on, the utility is carrying out a very expensive influencing campaign, intended to hand them the approvals they need, even if your state/local entity is on the verge of denying their application.  It's not about the public legal process going on at all, it's about the schmoozing and inducements going on in private back room meetings with your elected representatives, local Chambers of Commerce, business groups, the press, influential community members and government agencies.  While you're putting your cash and effort toward a lawyer and experts, believing that you can win a respectable victory, the utility is working behind your back ensuring their ultimate victory by any means necessary.  While the decision to approve the project is purportedly made by a PSC or other entity, ultimately it will come down to a political decision and your elected officials will be twisting the arms of the PSC to decide as they are told to decide.

The utility employs the seven common propaganda devices to develop champions for their project, both by applying direct pressure on the individuals and groups mentioned previously, and through a public relations and advertising campaign intended to drum up widespread public support.  The support of "the public," whether real or manufactured, warms the vote-scrounging hearts of your elected officials.  Utilities will create and support third party propaganda front groups pretending to represent "grassroots" support for their project; hold "educational" events in closed groups who have no prior knowledge about the project so that the utility's version of "the facts" is the only one presented; spread donations and "corporate stewardship" funds liberally to Chambers of Commerce and business groups; lobby elected representatives relentlessly (although they call this "education"); hold expensive "media events" where the press is presented with only the utility's cherry-picked version of "the facts"; hire influential, respected community leaders to be a part of their "team" at inflated "salaries" for the amount of make-work produced; and persuade government agencies to drop any opposition to the project by providing them with land, donations, economic development projects or other "inducements."

All of this influence-buying is quite expensive, but unlike any other corporate entity who would be required to cover the cost of approvals in the ultimate cost of their proposed product, the utility will be reimbursed for ALL expenses of their public relations campaign by electric customers through their electric bills.  The total cost of utility influencing initiatives is often reimbursed as it's spent, long before a project is built, thanks to FERC-administered formula rates.  There is no cap on the amount the utility can spend on this effort and PR totals are not considered as a part of project cost estimates, so they are free to spend whatever it takes to win approval.

So, how do you beat them at this game?  No reason you can't run your own influencing campaign -- just be sure you get there first and keep everything out in the sunshine where everyone can see it.  If you need more detail than that, you'll have to email me.  I don't give away all the secrets here ;-)

As if FirstEnergy doesn't have enough trouble already (see recent posts below) they are also managing to screw up rather liberally all around.  I guess this is one of those "merger synergy" benefits whereby we can now share in the multiple liabilities created by two greedy, depraved, investor owned utilities all rolled into one great, pocket-picking package.

First, read how FirstEnergy whines about a "high" property tax assessment "lack[ing] uniformity and is discriminatory, unjust and inequitable."

Oh, the double standards!  Whatever happened to being a good corporate steward in the communities FE serves?  Oh, that's right, it's all smoke and mirrors!  Heaven forbid -- paying property taxes in a local community might cut into FE's profit margin!  That would never happen anyhow... FirstEnergy and other utilities have their properties taxed at a different, lower "utility" rate and they pass any taxes paid along to electric ratepayers in their cost of service.  They don't pay taxes, WE pay their taxes for them!

The story says FE's legal genius showed up without any appraisal of the property to attempt to back up their whining that the assessment is too high.  FE, your legal prowess cracks me up!!  :-)

Next, here's a rather heart-breaking letter from one of the victims of FirstEnergy's Little Blue Run Poison Pond.  As if this woman doesn't have enough problems already, FE's coal ash disposal pond is leaking onto her property, washing out her driveway, undermining the foundation of her home and causing mold problems.  Considering what they're dumping in Little Blue Run, I think the mold might be the least of her worries.  But, she's just more collateral damage in FE's eyes.  I hope she sues the bastards!

Last, but certainly not least, Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich has asked the NRC to hold public hearings before FirstEnergy powers up their beleaguered Davis-Besse nuke facility.  Read some of the comments on the article -- looks like the locals aren't appreciating FE's "corporate stewardship."  Read Kucinich's letter to the NRC.  He says that , "FirstEnergy has a long history at Davis-Besse of placing profit ahead of safety."  And that's not the worst thing he says -- read the entire letter about how unsafe this facility really is, despite  "statements made by FirstEnergy [which] have been misleading at best."

Gosh, FE, thanks for the synergies...

What is it about "no" that industry lobbyists don't understand?  HR 3280, the Powering America for Tomorrow Act, was introduced by electric utility pet Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) last month.

I finally got around to reading this legislative Charlie Foxtrot.  Here's what it intends to do for you!

It establishes "Regional Transmission Planners" as approved by FERC.  In our region, that would be our biased friends at PJM Interconnection, who lied about the "need" for the PATH project for years.

These "Regional Transmission Planners" would apply to FERC for a federal Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for the projects they "approve," and "substantial deference" by FERC would be given "to any proposed finding of public convenience and necessity by a regional transmission planner in a regional transmission plan" during a FERC "notice and opportunity for hearing."  This completely cuts out any role for your state public service commission for any lines 230KV or higher.  The bill says your state PSC still has "siting authority," unless they "den[y] a complete application seeking approval for the siting of the transmission facility."  In other words, if your state PSC says "no," then FERC can overrule them and issue a permit.  What kind of a role is that for the states?

Once FERC issues their permit, "A proposed finding by a regional transmission planner of public convenience and necessity regarding a regional transmission project is excluded from review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), provided an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement is required to be prepared by the Commission under such Act."  That's right, FERC is going to do away with any environmental reviews and allow transmission projects to plow right through your backyard, or wherever else they please.

Well, isn't that special?  This bill allows FERC, Regional Transmission Planners and Electric Utilities to operate outside the law, usurp existing state authority, and make sure you don't have a voice in what happens to your property.  You also get to pay for these transmission projects as well, with delightful double-digit rates of return for the electric utilities.

According to this article, "Rob Thormeyer, a spokesman for the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, said his group opposes the legislation. “It takes the local element out of siting, shutting out consumers and landowners,” he said in an email. “It would create a larger federal bureaucracy likely resulting in the unnecessary and inefficient building of transmission.”

The bill is currently in the House Subcommittee on Energy and Power (second committee listed on the page).  Entertain yourself by calling up the members of this Committee and letting them know that you think this bill is a very bad idea.  These representatives and the electric utilities must think we're morons.  What a hoot!

So, you all know that too much being serious causes me to itch severely.  And I've been itching for days to comment on the AEP freak show that's been going on while I was otherwise engaged in serious stuff.

AEP has finally officially handed the corporate drumsticks to The Little Drummer Boy, announced a staggering 3rd quarter profit, and packed Mikey into his Popemobile for one final journey to Filthy Rich Retirement Acres.

First let's talk about AEP's new CEO - Little Drummer Boy Nick Akins.

“I grew up wanting to be a rock star,” he said.

He played drums in the high-school band and idolized Neil Peart, the drummer for the Canadian rock band Rush."

Don't be fooled by all that "humble beginnings" drivel, our pal Nick raked in over $3.4M in compensation last year while senior citizens and single parents in 11 states struggled to pay their ever-increasing AEP subsidiary electric bills.  Nick's long since forgotten where he came from.

Who besides the Columbus Dispatch reporter dreams of future corporate hijinks where the rhyming Nick and Rick trade places for a week, ala Hayley Mills and Hayley Mills in The Parent Trap?  Sadly, this interview is probably the highlight of this reporter's career.  The evil twin, switching identities thing has been overdone ad nauseam.  Remember Jeannie and her evil twin, Jeannie?  How about Samantha and her evil cousin Serena?  I suppose this will come in handy for future Little Drummer Boy double-speak though -- he can just blame any future gaffes on evil twin, Rick, who doesn't know diddly squat about running a utility.

But it will hardly matter, because Mikey is going to hang around as Chairman of the Board and breathe down The Little Drummer Boy's neck instead of signing up for Mahjong down at the Senior Center.  Some people just can't let go, can they?  Maybe that's because AEP's earnings were up 67 percent in the 3rd quarter.

"Waves of extreme heat in both the eastern and western U.S. were good for power demand and for AEP, said Michael G. Morris, chairman and CEO.

"We had solid financial performance in the third quarter, with load created by warmer-than-normal weather," Morris said in a statement.

AEP said its results also benefited from a Texas Supreme Court decision worth $425 million that allowed the company to recover some costs related to retail competition."

Only Mikey could get so excited about extreme weather caused by all his stinking, coal-fired dinosaurs and wresting millions from Texas electric consumers while also simultaneously crying "poor me" to Congress about how the EPA is causing the financial ruin of AEP and driving up electric rates with new air pollution rules.

Mikey gets a few last words in before his impending November 11th date with doddering destiny during AEP's Q3 Earnings call:

"We think that the order on RITELine by the FERC was an appropriate order. It has reasonable rates of return, not the high numbers that we saw in the early undertakings and joint venture transmission plays through the FERC. But reasonable for sure, north of 11%, we think is a great place to put money to work.

Our well discussed and brought forth Transco project concept in our traditional service territory is also on a pretty reasonable path. We'll be north of $1 billion invested some time in calendar year 2012. We will continue to see pretty substantial earnings strength from those activities by improving the reliability and the intellectual capacity of our energy delivery system in our traditional service territory. So we really feel good about the things that are going on there."

Intellectual capacity of an energy delivery system?  ???  Oh, poppycock, Mikey!  Isn't there a glass of warm milk and a dribble bib waiting for you somewhere?

Nick, you should have gone with the rock star thing instead.  Just sayin'.

You didn't think FirstEnergy was going to escape scrutiny tonight, did you?

In their earnings call today, FirstEnergy claims:

"As Tony mentioned, we continue to be pleased with the integration of Allegheny, and we believe that we are suavely on track to achieve the benefits we expected from this combination."

This can only come under the category of:  What the... ???

Suave wouldn't be my first choice of adjectives for FirstEnergy's merger finances.