Utilities say coal, nuclear power units still to be shut

Competition from renewables, natural gas keeps up pressure

President Donald Trump has ordered a rescue of the nation’s struggling coal and nuclear power industries, but that doesn’t mean utilities are reconsidering the shutdown of unprofitable plants.

Many power generators contacted said Trump’s June 1 announcement hasn’t altered their plans to retire old units even as the administration dangles the prospect of using emergency powers to force grid operators to buy power from struggling plants.

“I will tell you it is not a matter of if we are going to retire our coal fleet in this nation, it’s just a matter of when,” Ben Fowke, Xcel Energy Inc.’s chief executive officer, said June 6 at a utility trade group conference. The company announced later that day that it would retire two coal-fired units in Colorado and add thousands of megawatts of capacity from renewable power and natural gas.

That trend has been underway for years. Since 2010, nearly 40 percent of the capacity of the nation’s fleet of coal-fired power plants has either been shut down or designated for closure, according to the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, a trade-group that represents coal-fired utilities and mining companies such as Peabody Energy Corp., and Murray Energy Corp.

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Trump ordered Energy Secretary Rick Perry on June 1 to take immediate action to stem further coal and nuclear plant closures in the name of national security. The Trump administration argues that the loss of coal and nuclear plants is harming the dependability of the U.S. power grid and its ability to recover from storms or cyber attacks.



Much more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-18/coal-plants-keep-shutting-despite-trump-s-order-to-rescue-them

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s ethical dilemmas have pushed watchdog agencies to investigate his actions while members of his own party have called for his removal. But while Pruitt may have moral shortcomings, the central question is whether such workplace mores are established by the U.S. president.

Donald Trump has always touted his private sector dealings as evidence of why he would be a good national steward. But successful organizations have always stood by their stakeholders — and their communities in particular. That moral compass is set by applying codes of conduct and then working to ensure that proper standards are maintained within a given entity and beyond its borders.

“The American public needs to have confidence that ethics violations, as well as the appearance of ethics of ethics violations, are investigated and properly addressed,” David Apol, acting directing and general counsel for the U.S. Office on Government Ethics wrote to EPA’s inspector general. “The efficacy of, and the public trust in, our government depends on it.”

The allegations against Pruitt are adding up: A D.C. condo-rental from someone lobbying his agency; using government employees to run personal errands and to find family members jobs; leveraging his position to get sporting tickets and, flying first class all over the world. Meanwhile, the Government Accountability Office concluded that Pruitt’s installation of a soundproof phone booth in his office violated the Antideficiency Act. The list goes on.

The context here, of course, is that previous cabinet members have been forced to resign for fewer indiscretions. But the more fundamental picture is whether the president’s own behavior has given implicit permission to embark on such self-dealing: The Trump Foundation, for example, is now alleged to have misdirected monies donated to it to resolve the president’s own legal entanglements, as well as to help finance his presidential campaign. Then there was the $25 million settlement to those who were duped by Trump University. That list also goes on.

More: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kensilverstein/2018/06/18/trumps-energy-and-environmental-policies-are-clouded-by-pruitts-ethics-allegations/#1e0093067578



Demonstrators hold up signs as Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) chief Scott Pruitt testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee after ethics scandals April 26, 2018 on Capitol Hill in washington,DC. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP) (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Major U.S. energy companies including Plains All American Pipeline (PAA.N), Hess Corp (HES.N) and Kinder Morgan Inc (KMI.N) are among many seeking exemptions from steel-import tariffs as the United States ratchets up trade tensions with exporters including China, Canada and Mexico.

There have been nearly 21,000 requests overall for exclusions submitted to the U.S. Commerce Department since the Trump administration imposed levies this year. Of those, more than 500 petitions involve pipes and related materials.

Initial decisions are expected this month, offering the first clues as to how the administration will balance an agenda favoring oil and gas exports while also supporting the U.S. steel and aluminum industries.

For the energy industry, the potential for relief has taken on added importance after China surprised markets last week by proposing 25 percent levies on about $1 billion a month in U.S. oil imports in retaliation for U.S. tariffs.

The pipeline industry could face higher costs from tariffs as about 77 percent of the steel used in U.S. pipelines is imported, according to a 2017 study for the pipeline industry. Benchmark hot-rolled U.S. steel coil prices are up more than 50 percent from a year ago, according to S&P Global Platts.


More: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-tariffs/u-s-oil-pipeline-companies-producers-seek-relief-from-steel-tariffs-idUSKBN1JF0DZ



FILE PHOTO: A pump jack lifts oil out of a well, during a sandstorm in Midland, Texas, U.S., April 13, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Saphir/File Photo

Trump Wants To 'Win' More Than He Wants To Lead



The President's message of empathy to his party regarding the forcible separation of children from parents: 'Win!'




Trump Wants Fox News To Learn From North Korea's State TV



Move over, Tucker Carlson. Trump wants to make room at Fox News for the 'pink lady' of North Korea's state TV.




The Other Cruel White House Lawn Press Conference



Trump's impromptu press conference on Friday wasn't the only heartless Q&A happening on the White House lawn.

Comedian and host Seth Meyers says if President Donald Trump stopped giving comedians so much material, they would "move on to something else."

President Trump faces extreme backlash for his policy of separating immigrant children from their parents, but "Fox & Friends" pundits attempt to put a positive spin on it.

Roy Wood Jr. goes on a ride-along with a Jersey City officer to find out what policing is really like in a sanctuary city.

Seth takes a closer look at Trump attacking the Russia investigation while lying about his administration's cruel policy of separating families at the border.

Chinese president Xi Jinping is amassing an alarming amount of political power. If only his propaganda videos made the idea of unrestricted authority seem as troubling as the concept of singing children.

Lewis Black runs down a few of the extreme security measures that schools are using to protect against shootings, including smoke cannons, backpack shields and nursery rhymes.