utility companies news stories on Newser

Energy Giant Guilty of Spying on Greenpeace

Rob Quinn — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 04:25:05 CST

French electricity giant EDF, the world's biggest operator of nuclear power plants, has been found guilty of spying on Greenpeace and fined $2 million. EDF, a frequent target of Greenpeace campaigns, hired a security agency to hack into the group's computers to gain information about its anti-nuclear activities, the Telegraph...

9 Days After Storm, 88K in Connecticut Still Lack Power

Mark Russell — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 05:56:49 CST

Nine days after an early snowstorm knocked out power to millions around the northeast , tens of thousands of homes remain in the dark, reports the AP . In Connecticut alone, 88,000 people are still without electricity, and likely will not have power restored until Wednesday, said a senior executive at...

Power Grid Experiment May Confuse Electric Clocks

Sarah Whitmire — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 17:31:48 CDT

If electric clocks seem a little off later this year, there's good reason: A yearlong experiment conducted by the group that manages the nation's power grid is expected to begin, and it could theoretically make electric clocks run up to 20 minutes fast. It's also possible that nothing will happen...

Google Applies to Buy, Sell Electricity

Kevin Spak — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 10:28:00 CST

Google has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for permission to become an “electricity marketer,” a designation that would allow it to buy and sell energy in bulk like a utility company. It’s an unorthodox move, but one Google says will help it power its sprawling operations and give it...

Utilities' Green Plea: Best Your Neighbor

Rob Quinn — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 09:37:21 CST

Utilities have discovered that tapping into consumers' competitive urges is the most effective way to jolt them into using less energy, the New York Times reports. Sacramento—in a program now copied in at least 10 other major cities—began awarding smiley faces to customers who did well compared to...

As Deadbeats Soar, Utilities Quick to Pull Plug

Jim O'Neill — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 06:51:36 CST

Utilities are growing increasingly aggressive about shutting off the juice even as more customers struggle to pay their bills in a sinking economy, reports the Wall Street Journal . The trend has regulators and consumer advocates worried companies have become too focused on their bottom lines, but utilities say they’re battling...

GM, Utilities Join to Speed Plug-Ins

Clay Dillow — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:49:20 CDT

General Motors and three dozen electric utilities in nearly 40 states have agreed to work together on the transition to plug-in electric vehicles that are expected to begin rolling out within 2 years, the Wall Street Journal reports. With GM’s Chevy Volt and Saturn Vue expected to hit the market...

Engineer's Goof Turned Out Florida Lights

Rob Quinn — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 10:31:08 CST

One engineer's blunder shut off the power in Florida Tuesday, the Miami Herald reports. Florida Light & Power says a field engineer diagnosing a faulty switch disabled two levels of safety backups—against company policy—as he worked. In a bit of extremely unfortunate timing, a fault then occurred that...

US Multinational Faces Human Rights Trial

Jonas Oransky — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 14:47:23 CDT

A landmark trial addressing corporate culpability for human-rights violations committed on foreign soil gets under way this week, testing whether an 18th-century antipiracy law applies to modern business practices. At issue is the 2001 murder of three Colombian mining-union leaders, the Wall Street Journal reports, and under scrutiny is the...