New power rules may preserve Exelon nuclear plants in Illinois | Reuters

 

New rules for U.S. electricity providers could save two money-losing nuclear power plants in Illinois from shutting down and may amount to a $10 billion bonanza to U.S. power producers.

A system of rewards and penalties is part of a requirement approved last month by federal energy regulators that applies to a power auction next month.

It may benefit some costly nuclear reactors in the PJM power region, which stretches from New Jersey to Illinois, that have had a tough time competing against the growing use of wind turbines and power plants fired with cheap natural gas.

That is particularly true for two plants operated by Exelon Corp, the biggest U.S. nuclear power plant operator. It has warned it might be forced to shut its Quad Cities and Byron nuclear plants in northern Illinois, unless the reactors' revenues increase.

Other generators expected to benefit from the new requirements, including those with nuclear plants located far away from the Midwest wind farms, include Dynegy Inc, NRG Energy Inc, Public Service Enterprise Group Inc and Talen Energy Corp.

Thanks to the growth of alternative power sources and abundant gas from shale formations, PJM power prices have fallen an average of 20 percent over the past five years to around $50 per megawatt hour compared with the prior five years.

The regulation should provide generators with more money for keeping their units ready to operate when most needed to avoid unexpected power plant outages like those that pushed the system to the brink of blackouts as homes and businesses cranked up their heaters during the polar vortex winter of 2013/2014.

The rule creates a niche for nuclear plants, which run consistently, unlike breeze-dependent wind turbines, and do not need potential upgrades to withstand harsh winter temperatures like gas plants.

Under so-called capacity performance requirements, generators will receive higher fees to keep plants available but face stiff penalties if their units don't deliver power when needed during system emergencies. Fines for an average 100-megawatt plant would be around $350,000 an hour.

One megawatt can power about 1,000 homes.

PJM will hold the auction starting August 10 for power capacity for the June 2018-to-May 2019 time period that will include the capacity performance standards.

Capacity performance prices for the 2018-2019 delivery year are expected to increase by about 25 percent over last year's rates to around $150 to $165 per megawatt day, according to analysts, which could total about $10 billion for the power resources sought in the auction.

If analysts' estimates are correct and all ten of Exelon's reactors in northern Illinois are selected to provide capacity in the auction, the company could receive around $600 million for those reactors during the 2018-2019 delivery year.

"We expect the vast majority of our nuclear units will clear the auction," Joseph Dominguez, Exelon's executive vice president for government and regulatory affairs told Reuters, meaning the company expects most of its reactors in PJM to receive capacity payments for the 2018-2019 delivery year.

He would not speculate on what might happen with Quad Cities and Byron in Illinois and Oyster Creek in New Jersey, which did not clear last year's auction for the 2017-2018 delivery year that did not include the capacity performance standards.

Exelon has already said it planned to retire Oyster Creek in the fourth quarter of 2019, but has not set a closure plan for the Illinois plants.

With the new capacity standards in place, some analysts said Byron and Quad Cities, which are located in Exelon's Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) power delivery zone in northern Illinois, will make the grade for continuing to operate.

"Byron and Quad Cities will clear the 2018-2019 auction because we think the ComEd zone will price at a higher level than the rest of PJM," said Prajit Ghosh, research director North America power, at Wood Mackenzie, an energy consultancy.

Exelon has lost close to $1 billion over the past five years on its nuclear operations - about $350 million at Quad Cities alone. It expects those losses to continue, based on forward power prices, Dominguez said.

Even if Byron and Quad Cities clear the auction, Dominguez said they still face the risk of shutdown unless federal, state and regional policy makers find ways to compensate generators for the environmental and reliability benefits that non-carbon emitting nuclear plants provide.

In the meantime, extra revenues from the capacity auction could keep the money losing reactors operating for a few more years until possible new carbon standards are available.

(Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Jessica Resnick-Ault and Alden Bentley)

New power rules may preserve Exelon nuclear plants in Illinois | Reuters

Boone County leaders: 'We've got to figure out how to grow the economy' - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

 

• BELVIDERE — Since the recession hit in late 2007 and early 2008, a few hard realities have surrounded Boone County budget issues: a dwindling tax base, a stagnant economy, a larger tax burden shifting to property owners.

  In 2008, the combined value of all Boone County properties was more than $1.2 billion. That year, the typical homeowner paid 69 cents for every $100 of a property's assessed value in property taxes. By 2014, the combined property value in the county had fallen 31 percent, to about $880 million. But the amount of money the typical homeowner paid in taxes for every $100 of assessed value increased to $1.26.

  To balance its budget and compensate for its shrinking tax base, the county increased the amount of money — from $8.6 million in 2008 to $10.9 million in 2014 — it collects in property taxes each year, even as values plummeted.

  “The economics of our county were beat up in the recession and have not recovered," County Administrator Ken Terrinoni said. "But you can’t, every single year, put it on the backs of the property taxpayer. ... We’ve got to figure out how to grow the economy."

  To turn things around, the Boone County Strategic Plan Task Force — a collection of county department heads coordinated by Terrinoni, his assistant Justyn Miller and County Board members — has been meeting in "focus groups" to brainstorm ideas to revitalize the economy.

  County Board members Sherry Giesecke and Jeff Carlisle hatched the idea during a board retreat in January; for the past five months, the group has been meeting to identify issues, goals and objectives.

  "We've never done a formal process like this," Terrinoni said.

  The task force is organized into three focus groups: Public Safety and Justice, Operations, and Infrastructure and Economic Development. It has drafted five goals:

  Promote intergovernmental collaboration and communication.

  Promote economic development to support new and existing businesses.

  Maintain and enhance community safety through an integrated law enforcement and criminal justice system.

  Integrate the functions of county departments, including technology, to promote effective and efficient government.

  Plan, develop and invest in the community to enhance quality of life with a focus on infrastructure and transportation.

“Inflation plus new business is the only way to grow revenue," Gieseke said Tuesday during a Public Safety and Justice focus group meeting. "What we really want to do is not just look for money, but we want to look for improving quality of life and increasing revenue to do that."

The Public Safety and Justice group includes representatives from the sheriff's office, the county jail, emergency management, the coroner's office, the probation department, the public defender's office, the state's attorney's office, the 17th Judicial Circuit Court, the clerk of the circuit court's office and information technology.

Page 2 of 2 - The group discussed sending surveys to residents and more aggressively seeking state and federal grants for economic development and infrastructure projects. The most detailed discussion, however, was about figuring out the county's 21st-century identity and "rebranding."

One rebranding idea is to promote and encourage specialty businesses and boutique shops in the area, such as The Complete Sheep Shoppe on Caledonia Road, the McEachran Homestead Winery in Caledonia and Edwards Apple Orchard in Poplar Grove.

"It’s very interesting. It’s a great idea," said Jane Zeien, who owns The Complete Sheep Shoppe with her husband, Paul Zeien Jr. "I don't know very much about it. But I’d like to help out any way I could. ... There’s a lot of things the area has that are positive."

Zeien, whose shop specializes in wool and sheepskin products, pointed to the county fair, the local 4-H club and the county's willingness to promote local businesses as examples.

But retail alone may not be enough.

"We’re never going to solve our basic problems, like kicking the can down the road, not doing this, not doing that, until we’ve solved our tax base," Terrinoni said. "And by that I mean making it more diverse and resilient. You need a little bit of everything. A little (retail), but you need the larger industry that brings in jobs.”

The task force's operations focus group will meet next at 7:30 a.m. Aug. 7 at the Belvidere Township building, 8200 Fairgrounds Road. A meeting for the Infrastructure & Economic Development group has not been scheduled.

“What I’ve learned from my staff that I inherited six months ago is a lot of frustration, especially with county government," Sheriff Dave Ernest said. "We plan and we plan, but nothing ever seems to go anywhere. ... We're at a point where that absolutely has to change.”

Ben Stanley: 815-987-1369; bstanley@rrstar.com; @ben_j_stanley

By Ben Stanley
Rockford Register Star

 

Boone County leaders: 'We've got to figure out how to grow the economy' - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

Boone County prosecutor says County Board chairman wrong to talk to judge - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

 

By Georgette Braun
Rockford Register Star

Posted Jul. 30, 2015 at 3:59 PM
Updated Jul 30, 2015 at 4:53 PM

BELVIDERE — Boone County State's Attorney Michelle Courier told Boone County Board members this week that Chairman Bob Walberg had inappropriately told a judge handling a case against Plote Construction Inc. that he "did not approve of the lawsuit against Plote."

Courier said in a letter posted on the Boone County Community Forum Facebook page that "while there is a pending case, judges are forbidden to have ex parte communications about that case." She said Walberg's actions were "inappropriate." Courier said that Judge Rob Tobin had said in court Tuesday that he told Walberg he couldn't talk about the case and ended the conversation.

Walberg said today that he had called Tobin to talk about politics and the economy as he does sometimes but that his conversation "wasn't anything with the case. ... I didn't realize there was a problem." He said Courier, a Republican who is seeking re-election, is making the situation a political one.

Tobin asked Courier and an attorney for Plote whether they wanted him to withdraw from the case. Courier said in her letter to County Board members that she didn't. Courier could not be reached for further comment. Courier said in the letter that Plote's attorney had asked for a new court date to discuss the offer with Plote. An attorney for Plote could not be immediately reached for comment today.

Hoffman Estates-based Plote operates a quarry at 1050 Ecs Way, Belvidere. Courier had filed a lawsuit against Plote for operating beyond the hours approved by the County Board. She obtained a temporary restraining order that was violated, and she said in the letter that she had filed a motion for sanctions that was set to be heard Tuesday.

Above is from:   Boone County prosecutor says County Board chairman wrong to talk to judge - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

 

TO SEE THE ACTUAL COMMUNICATIONS FROM Judge Tobin and States Attorney Courier GO TO:  http://boonecountywatchdog.blogspot.com/2015/07/actions-by-chairman-walberg-may-affect.html

Rauner Called Out Over Gender Balance - Journal & Topics Newspapers Online: News

 

Several groups are calling out Gov. Bruce Rauner claiming some of his political appointments fail to comply with a state statute that demands state boards and commissions be balanced with regard to gender.

Specifically, the National Council of Women’s Organizations, a Washington D.C.-based group representing more than 200 women’s groups, the Illinois Green Party and Buffalo Grove activist Rob Sherman want members of the Illinois Senate to deny the governor’s Illinois Tollway Board nominees. Their gripe is that each of the tollway board’s nominees is male, which violates state law in the Gender Balanced Appointments Act.

The act states, “All appointments to boards, commissions, committees and councils of the State created by the laws of this State and after the effective date of this Act shall be gender balanced to the extent possible and to the extent that appointees are qualified to serve on those boards, commissions, committees and councils. If gender balance is not possible, then appointments shall provide for significant representation of both sexes to boards, commissions, committees and councils governed by this Act.”

The appointment of an all-male tollway board, “is a social injustice as well as a statutory violation,” Vito Mastrangelo of the Illinois Green Party (ILGP) said. “The ILGP urges the Illinois Senate to refuse to confirm appointments that are not gender balanced in accordance with Illinois law.”

National Council of Women’s Organizations Corporate Accountability Project Director Martha Burk urged tollway board nominations be withdrawn as they do not conform to the law or “basic principles of fairness and good governance” in a June 21 letter to Rauner and Assistant Senate Majority Leader Antonio Munoz (D-1st) who sits on the executive appointments committee.

“Fifty percent of the members the governor has appointed or reappointed to the tollway board are minorities, so to insinuate that the administration hasn't made diversity a priority is misguided,” Rauner’s Press Secretary Catherine Kelly told the Journal & Topics in the first of several email exchanges on the issue.

“The law is about gender equity,” said Burk. “The governor’s office is to be commended on race (racially diverse appointments), but the law is not relevant to race and it is insulting for them to try to change the subject.”

Kelly said in a later email: “Gov. Rauner has increased the number of women serving on boards and commissions requiring senate confirmation. Fourteen boards have seen the number of women members rise under Gov. Rauner compared to the previous administration. Women now lead the Human Rights Commission, the Illinois Criminal Justice and Information Authority, the Illinois Liquor Control Commission and the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, which has its first woman chair since Gov. Thompson’s administration.”

State Rep. Elaine Nekritz (D-57th) pointed out that the former chair of the Illinois Tollway Board and its former director under Gov. Pat Quinn were both women.

“Illinois is a diverse state, it (the tollway board) should reflect the state, so appointing women and minorities should be a priority,” Nekritz said.

Ethnicities are not listed on a state website listing the names of board and commission appointees, nor are genders. The Journal & Topics requested the governor’s office provide a breakdown of appointees by gender and race. The governor’s office did not supply that information as of press time late Monday, July 27. The Journal looked at a number of higher profile board and commission appointee lists to determine their makeups. While determining race is not possible by those lists, determining common use of names by gender is.

The Journal found mixed results in a random sampling of state boards and commissions. Besides the tollway board, the Illinois Gaming Board consists of four members with one vacancy, all of them appearing to be male. The Illinois Labor Relations Board is comprised of eight members, six appointed by the governor and one each appointed by the Cook County board president and Chicago mayor. All eight are male.

Some boards appeared more mixed. The Illinois Commerce Commission is made up of what appears to be three men and two women. The Illinois Board of Education appears to be made up of six men and three women. The Illinois Board of Higher Education includes what appears to be seven women and five men. The Illinois Human Rights Commission is chaired by a woman and appears to have seven women and five men on its board. The Illinois Housing and Urban Development Board has what appears to be five women and four men.

Above from:   Rauner Called Out Over Gender Balance - Journal & Topics Newspapers Online: News

Mrs. Rauner’s group joins “formal complaint,” request for investigation

 

Mrs. Rauner’s group joins “formal complaint,” request for investigation

Thursday, Jul 30, 2015

* Check out the groups listed at the end of this press release…

Today, Voices for Illinois Children, along with other early childhood education advocates, submitted a formal complaint and request for an official investigation into the harmful cuts to Illinois’ child care program enacted unilaterally by Governor Rauner and the Illinois Department of Human Services. The complaint and request for an investigation were submitted to the Department of Human Services and the Members of the Joint Committee on Administrative rules, the body responsible for assessing the validity of the rulemaking process.

“The Department of Human Services, under the direction of Governor Rauner, failed to follow procedures required by the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act when they radically changed the child care system in Illinois,” said Emily Miller, Policy and Advocacy Director at Voices for Illinois Children.

On July 1, 2015, Governor Rauner improperly used emergency rulemaking to change the Child Care Assistance Program, or CCAP. The purpose of CCAP is to ensure that low-income, working families have access so safe, quality early learning environments for their children.

As a direct result of the Governor’s actions, 90% of low-income families who apply for CCAP are being denied.

“We hope that once the Governor reflects on the detrimental impact his actions continue to have on our families and communities, he will voluntarily rescind the rule,” concluded Miller. “If the Governor fails to stop the cuts to child care, we request that JCAR complete their investigation, object to the rule, and require the Department of Human to rescind it.”

Children’s Home and Aid, Illinois Action for Children, the Ounce of Prevention Fund, and Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law joined Voices for Illinois Children in filing the complaint and request for investigation.

 

You gotta respect that woman’s guts.

- Posted by Rich Miller

FROM:  Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar » Mrs. Rauner’s group joins “formal complaint,” request for investigation