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Gasoline prices dipped for a second straight day on Wednesday, providing a reprieve to motorists after a 20-day streak of gains, even though they’re expected to rise again.
The nationwide average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline slipped 0.3 cent to $3.533 on Wednesday, reported the motorist group AAA. In Chicago, gas prices were down 0.3 of a cent overnight to $3.693. A week ago, Chicago gas prices averaged $3.72. Get the full story »
Oil prices fell more than $3 per barrel on Tuesday as investors worried about the impact of the Japanese crisis on the global economy. U.S. crude for April delivery slid $3.52 to $97.67 a barrel in electronic trading. The contract was down as much as $4.48 before rebounding. Get the full story »
In vetoing two bills Monday that would have paved the way for two coal-to-gas plants to be built in the state, Gov. Pat Quinn signaled his support for cleaner uses of Illinois coal but said he would not support the technology at the expense of consumers.
The bills would have forced state utilities to buy synthetic natural gas, which was expected to be more expensive than natural gas for the next two decades, from a $3 billion plant on Chicago’s Southeast Side proposed by New York-based Leucadia National Corp. and a $1 billion southern Illinois plant proposed by Power Holdings of Illinois. Get the full story »
Nuclear generators’ shares are falling on concerns they will face greater scrutiny and new regulations as Japanese utilities try to prevent meltdown at a number of reactors.
Exelon, the largest U.S. nuclear operator, is down 2.9 percent, to $41.91, in early afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange. PSEG is down 3.2 percent, to $3.36, and Entergy has dropped 5.6 percent, to $69.58. Get the full story »
Oil prices fell Friday, briefly slipping below $100-a-barrel level, after a massive earthquake and tsunami struck Japan.
The main U.S. oil contract, West Texas Intermediate, for April delivery dropped $1.54 to settle at $101.16 a barrel. Earlier, prices hit a low of $99.01. Get the full story »
Commonwealth Edison faced a tough room Thursday at a public hearing to discuss the utility’s request for rate hikes that would add $5 a month to the average customer’s electricity bill.
“It couldn’t come at a worse time. When you have the economy as it is and these unemployed people, where’s the money going to come from?” said apartment building owner and Lansing resident James Kimbrough. Get the full story »
Brent and U.S. crude oil futures pared losses on Thursday, beset by deeper geopolitical concerns on witness reports that police fired upon protesters in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern province. Get the full story »
A nonprofit watchdog group has released an apples-to-apples price comparison for electricity contracts offered by ComEd and other suppliers in northern Illinois.
The Citizens Utility Board posted the comparison on its website.
Its shows that BlueStar, Champion, Constellation, Direct Energy and Spark offer 12-month fixed-rate contracts with prices lower than Commonwealth Edison’s through at least May of 2011. Get the full story »
Exelon Corp., the largest U.S. nuclear power plant operator, expects to invest 22 percent more this year, giving an outlook on Wednesday for 2011 capital expenditure of $4.05 billion. Get the full story »
Dynegy Inc. warned it could seek bankruptcy protection if it cannot amend or replace its existing loan facility, the latest twist in the power company’s bumpy effort to restructure itself.
Investors seemed to mostly shrug off the warning, made in a regulatory filing, as the company’s shares fell 1.7 percent. Get the full story »
Residents of Chicago’s Southeast Side descended on the Thompson Center Wednesday morning to urge Gov. Pat Quinn to veto a bill that would pave the way for a coal-to-gas plant to be built in their neighborhood.
The deadline for the governor to sign or veto the legislation is March 14, and he has not said whether he plans to sign the bill, which would require utilities to purchase the synthetic natural gas the $3 billion plant would produce for the next 30 years. Get the full story »
Springfield – Consumer advocates, environmental groups, utilities, government officials and business leaders laid out their wish lists Tuesday for legislation aimed at modernizing the electrical grid, signaling that a version of the bill with added protections for consumers and businesses could have a future in Springfield.
The testimony at a joint hearing of the House Public Utilities and the Senate Energy committees will ultimately be used to hash out the details of Commonwealth Edison-backed legislation that calls for an overhaul of the regulatory process used to set utility rates. Get the full story »
John W. Rowe. (Chuck Berman/Chicago Tribune)
Natural gas will remain cheaper than other sources of electricity generation for “a long time,” Exelon Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive John W. Rowe said Tuesday.
“I have never seen a time, not once, where one fuel source seems to be so dominant for so long,” said Rowe, one of the senior utility executives in the U.S. and former head of two utility trade organizations in Washington. “The supply-demand equations for gas are very powerful and I believe they are real for a long time.”
As a result of those economics, Rowe said, the U.S. Congress should “do nothing” on energy policy and allow the market to replace aging coal generating plants with natural gas, which releases less carbon than coal when burned. Get the full story »
U.S retail gasoline demand fell last week as prices rose in all U.S. regions, MasterCard Advisors’ SpendingPulse report showed Tuesday.
Average gasoline demand fell 1.8 percent, to 8.953 million barrels-per-day, in the week to March 4. Get the full story »
