Energy In-depth: Arkansas PSC Gets A Makeover Overnight
by January 9, 2015 12:01 am 101 views
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ARKANSAS PSC GETS A MAKEOVER OVERNIGHT
In a span of 48 hours, the Arkansas Public Service Commission received a major makeover. The three-member panel will change dramatically with the departure of former chairwoman Colette Honorable.
Honorable was confirmed for a slot on the powerful five-member Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Upon her resignation, Gov. Mike Beebe appointed his deputy chief of staff, Lamar Davis, to fill that position. State law allows the governor to select who the chairman of the PSC will be.
Beebe deferred that honor to Gov.-elect Asa Hutchinson, who will be sworn in on Tuesday (Jan. 13). Another PSC position will open later this month when the term of Olan “Butch” Reeves expires. Hutchinson said he would appoint consultant and former State Rep. Ted Thomas to Reeves seat. Hutchinson also named Thomas as the new chairman of the PSC.
Elana Wills, the third member on the panel, was reappointed to her position by Beebe in 2014.
CRUTHIRDS REPORT WINDS DOWN
For those in the energy and utility regulatory sector, you may have already heard that David Cruthirds has wound down his independently produced Cruthirds Report, a multi-state newsletter closely watched by industry officials. Cruthirds said financial support for the news and analysis product had deteriorated.
Cruthirds tracked scores of issues, rulings, and inside baseball at a number of state and federal utility regulatory bodies, compiling the information into a one-stop shop for a news roundup.
“I am sad to report that this is the last scheduled edition of The Cruthirds Report. As previously announced, financial difficulties associated with our expansion to cover MISO didn’t work out as we hoped, so The Cruthirds Report is up for sale, and we are scheduled to suspend operations effective Dec. 31, 2014,” Cruthirds said in his final distribution.
BLOOMBERG STUDIES OIL’S BIG DROP, IMPACT ON NATURAL GAS
Bloomberg News has been pursuing the angle of how oil’s big drop in prices has repercussions for U.S. energy independence and the natural gas industry, which has been in high gear for nearly a decade thanks to shale technology.
“The U.S. shale boom that’s brought the country closer to energy self-sufficiency than at any time since the 1980s will be challenged in 2015 as never before. The benchmark U.S. crude price fell below $50 today for the first time since April 2009. Demand growth is weakening and OPEC, which controls 40 percent of supply, is unwilling to cut output,” Bloomberg reported a week ago.
This week, oil prices rebounded in trading but not enough to change the equation.
Oil extended its rally a third day amid speculation a slowdown in the U.S. shale boom will reduce a glut that’s driven prices to the lowest in 5 1/2 years. Futures rose as much as 1.7 percent in New York, trimming a seventh weekly decline. U.S. producers are bailing out of long-term contracts for drilling rigs as prices sink below $50 a barrel. U.S. crude stockpiles unexpectedly shrank by 3.06 million barrels in the week ended Jan. 2, according to the Energy Information Administration.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is battling a U.S. shale boom by resisting production cuts, signaling it’s prepared to let prices fall to a level that slows the highest American output in more than three decades. The United Arab Emirates has no plans to curb production no matter how low prices drop, Yousef Al Otaiba, the nation’s ambassador to the U.S., said in Washington.
ARKANSAS ELECTRIC COOPERATIVES HIRES LOWERY
J.D. Lowery of Maumelle is the new manager of community and economic development for the Arkansas Electric Cooperatives Corp. Lowery most recently served as the director of the Arkansas Energy Office for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.
He fills a position that was held by Kirkley Thomas, who was promoted to VP for governmental affairs for the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas.
“J.D. has a wealth of knowledge and experience involving energy industry issues, including the many opportunities and innovations that are evolving and on the immediate horizon,” said Thomas. “He also understands the community and economic development environment in the state and will work with cooperative members, business leaders and government officials to find solutions to make the quality of life in Arkansas even better.”