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A scheme that contributed to utility’s ruin and a pattern of whistleblower suppression; Potential new grounds for bondholder claims in bankruptcy proceeding; ‘History is repeating itself in Puerto Rico’
July 18, 2018, SAN JUAN (IEEFA) — A long-running practice in which Puerto Rico’s public utility bought low-quality oil at high-quality prices has been mostly ignored in Gov. Ricardo Rosselló’s privatization of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA). A report published today by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) — “Multibillion-Dollar Oil […]
Dennis Wamsted
Price, public policy, and technological gains are driving market-share gains
The uptake of renewable energy across the U.S. is occurring now at a speed that almost defies description. At the end of 2007, some 16.7 gigawatts (GW) of wind-generation capacity had been installed; total capacity this year is expected to top 90 GW and additional capacity under construction will soon push the total past 100 […]
Bruce Robertson
Producers continued to starve the domestic market while making super profits off consumers
NEW SOUTH WALES, Australia — “Australia may soon be importing gas.” What a bizarre, implausible statement. Australia is the second largest exporter of gas in the world. Why would we ever import gas? Our very own Department of Industry, Innovation and Science ranked Australia’s market share at 20 per cent of world gas exports in […]
Gerard Wynn
Policy muddle as one big EU economy hits pause on reactor buildout, another moves toward shutdown, a third plans expansion
LONDON — Europe’s three leading economies are taking three radically different approaches to nuclear power, reflecting contrasting national public priorities in a transition from fossil fuels, and showing the scale of government intervention in energy policy. France, Germany and the U.K. are all global top-20 generators of nuclear power by market share. France is No. […]
Press Release
Oil, gas, and coal industries are seen as ‘increasingly speculative;’ Sector will continue to be weighed down by lackluster rewards and daunting risks; A ‘proper financial response’ is due
July 20, 2018 (IEEFA) — A paper published today by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis details the growing rationale for divesting from the fossil fuel industry. The paper—“The Financial Case for Fossil Fuel Divestment”—is aimed primarily at trustees of investment funds that continue to hold stakes in a sector that is freighted […]
Cathy Kunkel and Tom Sanzillo
The door is wide open for conflicts of interest and political hires; New law will not lead to much-needed transformation of energy generation mix
The law that Puerto Rico enacted last month to privatize the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) has many flaws, including labor protections that are too weak, an unnecessary restructuring of the Puerto Rico Energy Commission and a lack of commitment to strong energy planning. And it is likely to lead to more contracting scandals […]
Simon Nicholas
Exporters will likely be disappointed at a policy- and cost-driven decline in important demand
SYDNEY — In describing India as an “amazing opportunity,” U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry presumably is eyeing it as a long-term export destination for American coal that would be used to power plants built with American technology. If this is the case, then the energy secretary is mistaken. Granted, U.S. coal exports surged in 2017 mostly […]
Tim Buckley
Project postponements and cancellations are harbingers of a new Asian energy economy
SYDNEY—Tony Abbott, Australia’s former prime minister, was photographed in Parliament just a couple of weeks ago clutching a document titled, “Coal era is not over.” According to Australia’s pro-coal “Monash Forum” parliamentarians, of which Abbott is a founding member, India in particular is ensuring a rosy future for coal exporters such as Australia by way […]
Elrika Hamdi
A dangerous overreliance on the coal industry and state-owned enterprises
JAKARTA — Next spring’s presidential and parliamentary elections are fast approaching, and a classic Indonesian pre-election syndrome that combines nationalism and populism has become widely apparent. As with many countries, Indonesia is dangerously susceptible to such fervor, which can make for questionable policy choices on strategic domestic issues such as infrastructure development and energy affordability. […]
Tom Sanzillo
Company versus company, and skirmishes between regions
When the current presidential administration took office, one might not have expected it to be the beginning of a new coal war—of company against company, region against region—each seizing the industry mantle, but none representing it as a whole. Industry watchers knew it would try to use the keys to the kingdom provided by its […]
IEEFA report: Effects of long-running oil-purchase scandal undermine privatization and contract-reform initiatives at PREPA
A scheme that contributed to utility’s ruin and a pattern of whistleblower suppression; Potential new grounds for bondholder claims in bankruptcy proceeding; ‘History is repeating itself in Puerto Rico’
July 18, 2018, SAN JUAN (IEEFA) — A long-running practice in which Puerto Rico’s public utility bought low-quality oil at high-quality prices has been mostly ignored in Gov. Ricardo Rosselló’s privatization of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA). A report published today by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) — “Multibillion-Dollar Oil […]