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EPA Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule will Only be Delayed -- Not Canceled
Published by R. G. Lucas in News • 1/31/2011 1:41:07 PM
While some natural gas local distribution companies (LDC's) might be hoping the reporting of certain data elements required under the Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Rule (75 FR 81350) will go away, our government will not be able to regulate emissions with measurements and estimates.

Both the EPA and the DOE’s EIA are requesting similar information and it is difficult to report accurately!

Federal Regulation 40 CFR 98, subpart NN (Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting to the EPA) was passed in October of 2010 and went into effect on 1 January 2011.

Under the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, local natural gas distribution companies (LDCs) that deliver 460,000 thousand standard cubic feet or more of natural gas per year must report the emissions that would result from the complete combustion or oxidation of the natural gas that they place in commerce. Additionally, all natural gas liquids (NGLs) suppliers must report the emissions that would result from the complete combustion or oxidation of the products that they place in commerce.

Suppliers of natural gas and NGLs are required to collect data on their products; calculate the GHG emissions associated with these products; and follow the specified procedures for ensuring data quality, amending missing data, and meeting recordkeeping and reporting requirements.

Is there any pushback from those required to submit reports under the Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting to the EPA? Yes!

Please see notice of hearings about the rule at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2011/pdf/2011-996.pdf

RecoverIR believes this rule will be modified some, but it will ultimately become law, because the United States cannot regulate energy and emissions without measurement and reporting.

What are a few factors which makes the reporting to the DOE and EPA so complex and prone to errors and inaccuracies?

For more information on the complexity of reporting issues please click on the following hyperlink:
http://www.recoverir.com/regulatory_natural_gas_reporting_assistance.html


Utilities Need Another Strategy for Smart Meters
Published by R. G. Lucas in Smart Grid Financing • 1/27/2011 11:43:37 AM
Consumers in California might be wondering, "What's in it for me?" when it comes to smart meters, witness the actions by Menocino County and Santa Cruz California to put a moratorium on the installation of smart meters.
Impacts of Reported Errors to DOE and EPA
Published by R. G. Lucas in EPA & DOE Reporting Errors • 1/26/2011 3:36:53 PM
Should we care if the information collected from the natural gas local distribution companies (LDCs) are off by 35 billion cu.ft. of natural gas per month and as a nation we have not correctly accounted for theft rates of at least 14 billion cu.ft. of natural gas per month?

• Who should care if the EIA’s documented error of 35 billion cu.ft. of natural gas per month is the heating the equivalent of 6 days of oil from Saudi Arabia per month?

• Who should care if our calculations of carbon dioxide (CO2) contributions to global warming are off by 2%-5%, without even considering the full CO2 equivalent impact of excessive natural gas leaks from leaking installations by thieves? (Who should care about the accuracy information collected under the new EPA January 2011 Rule 40 CFR part 98, Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule?)
The Overlooked Way to Finance Smart Meters & Smart Grids
Published by R. G. Lucas in Smart Grid Financing • 1/16/2011 1:55:16 PM
If a utility could save $100 million a year for 10 years, through the reduction of theft, the example utility would capture $1 billion toward the payment of smart meters and the natural gas, fuel oil and propane companies could save about $5 billion.

Transferring savings from apprehension of energy thieves to a utility’s plans to roll out smart meters and a smart grid to all utility customers may become a necessity since energy consumers in the USA and Europe are beginning to push back against the installations.
General Electric Appears to Be Positioning to Support the SmartGrids
Published by News Break in News • 1/12/2011 11:29:23 AM
How long will it be before GE pushes harder to support the SmartGrids and Smart Meters?
Should Large Urban Utilities be Surprised when Natural Gas New Theft Rates Approach 20%?
Published by R. G. Lucas in Energy Theft • 1/10/2011 9:15:13 PM
Before the aerial infrared survey, the utility thought they 5% of the households might be stealing natural gas, but they soon discovered that almost 20% of the households in the a ver large survey area were natural gas thieves. The results of the survey also revealed that 80% of the households stealing natural gas were also stealing electricity.
President Obama is Missing One Way to Help Cut the Equivalent of a Month’s Worth of Saudi Oil
Published by R. G. Lucas in Energy Loss • 1/10/2011 9:07:48 PM
With natural gas theft rates approaching 20% in Detroit, let’s assume it might be possible to find an average of 5% natural gas theft in each of the top fifteen states ranked by consumption of natural gas in residences. (For more information about theft rates in Detroit read the article on this blog “DTE Energy Surprised when Natural Gas Theft Newly Detected Rates in Detroit Approached 20%”)
Which is Better for Job Creation and Reducing Dependence on Foreign Oil? Weatherization or Stopping Energy Thieves?
Published by R. G. Lucas in Weatherization • 1/10/2011 8:42:33 PM
The goals of this article are consistent with President Obama’s 2010 State of the Union Message where he described, * A vision for a clean energy economy. “…to create more of these clean energy jobs, we need more production, more efficiency, and more incentives.” We will build on the historic $80 billion investment made through the Recovery Act. The President’s vision includes investments in important technologies to … reduce our dependence on foreign oil…”
Why Aerial Infrared Surveys can Dramatically Increase ROI for President Obama’s Weatherization Assistance Program in Each State
Published by R. G. Lucas in Weatherization • 1/10/2011 8:19:13 PM
Why Should We Care about Return on Investment (ROI)

Until RecoverIR’s Targeted Weatherization Inefficiencies Survey (TWIS) Program, no one had figured out to most efficiently baseline weatherization potential, deploy weatherization forces, economically check for weatherization effectiveness, and economically check for weatherization fraud after contractor work had been completed.
Americans stealing electricity as power rates rise, money dries up, and families struggle to make ends meet
Published by USA Today examined a growing, dangerous trend: in News • 1/10/2011 8:07:30 PM
USA Today examined a growing, dangerous trend: Americans stealing electricity as power rates rise, money dries up, and families struggle to make ends meet. Wrote the newspaper: “They’re using a wide array of tactics. Some run wires from utility lines directly into a circuit-breaker panel, bypassing the electric meter. Others attach cables on either side of a meter, swipe meters from vacant houses when theirs are removed or tamper with meters to lower their electric bills.”
If The Wrong Type of Pipe Can Cause a House to Explode, Imagine Whether Natural Gas Thieves are Using the Correct Pipe!
Published by See CBS Website in Energy Theft • 1/10/2011 8:00:51 PM
“Federal investigators say a utility company used a wrong pipe to repair a gas line, leading to a deadly house explosion in a Sacramento suburb last year.” (Read more at http://cbs5.com/local/christmas.eve.blast.2.1377961.html)
Detection of Energy Theft, Especially “Marijuana Grow Houses” is Becoming a World Wide Challenge for Utilities
Published by R. G. Lucas in Marijuana Grow Houses • 1/4/2011 7:46:41 PM
On 3 January 2011 on the front page of the Wall Street Journal published an article, “Joint Effort: Dutch Utilities Help Police Smokeout Pot Farmers”. The author John Miller said, “Volt-hungry pot farms have been stealing hundreds of millions of dollars of electricity a year.”