Power Generation by Natural Gas in the U.S. Accelerated During July’s Summer Peaks

EIA.gov (In-Brief Analysis) – Kimberly & Chris Peterson

EIA-NG-Electricity
EIA-NG-Electricity

During the month of July 2024, most power utilities across the country experienced summer peak power demands while dangerous warnings of weather heat advisories were announced. With the spike in warmer than average temperatures and record-breaking heat temperatures, power generation providers relied more on natural gas generation to meet electric power demands.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), “Power plant operators generated 6.9 million mega watthours (MWh) of electricity from natural gas on a daily basis in the Lower 48 states on July 9, 2024, probably the most in history and certainly since at least January 1, 2019, when we began to collect hourly data about natural gas generation.”

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Chattanooga’s EPB Rated Best in Nation by JD Power

Chattanoogan.com

EPB-PWR-ISP
EPB.com (PWR & ISP)

The Chattanooga Electric Power Board (EPB) utility was ranked #1 in the southeastern U.S. by its customers among residential power providers according to “J.D. Power’s newly launched U.S. Utility Brand Appeal Index Study.”

High marks were given to EPB for “customer trust, company reputation, and marketing execution.” EPB was also ranked #2 across the nation as an Internet Service Provider (ISP) by “Consumer Reports” with high marks for “value, reliability, speed, and technical support.”

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FCC Has Approved New Rules for Power Pole Attachments

BroadbandBreakfast.com – Taormina Falsitta

NRECA-Power-Poles
NRECA-Power-Poles (Denny Gainer)

“The announcement was made by the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) Wireline Competition Bureau regarding new rules that are intended to assist Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) that need to attach their wires and other facilities to utility poles owned by various third parties.”

The new rules went into effect at the end of July 2024 in order to help “speed-up the broadband deployment.”

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FBI Warning of Cyber Attacks to Power Grid Weaknesses

EnergyCentral.com (source CNBC)

EnergyCentral.com (CNBC) - FBI-Warnings
EnergyCentral.com (CNBC) – FBI-Warnings

In the U.S., with the increased connections to the power grid by cleaner, greener, carbon-free electric generation, and renewable resources, the FBI has issued a warning for the nations power system. “The federal government is becoming more concerned about vulnerabilities with new energy systems being a target for cyberattacks.”

Adversaries and hackers are looking at potential weaknesses in the power sector with “private and individual owners of renewable power systems.”

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Nuclear Reactor ‘Hermes’ in Oak Ridge Is Underway

Knoxville News Sentinel – Daniel Dassow (Oakridger.com)

Oak-Ridger-Knoxville News Sentinel
Oak-Ridger-Knoxville News Sentinel-Jennifer Granholm

“Oak Ridge has emerged as a critical hub for newer technology like the Hermes Low-Power Demonstration reactor.” These efforts hope to achieve “affordable nuclear heat, but it will not produce electricity.”

This new “$100 million investment created 55 new high-paying jobs” in the area where construction began in July 2024.

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