Continue reading Northeast Utilities: A Power Sector Gem

Northeast Utilities: A Power Sector Gem originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 19 Jan 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Utility gem PPL Corp. (PPL), first discussed here on May 26, 2009, at a price of $30.56, has retreated about 10% since September, to about $26, but just look on that dip as an opportunity to scoop-up shares of a superior utility.

PPL provides electricity to 1.4 million U.S. customers in eastern and central Pennsylvania, and has 19.0 megawatts (mw) of power generation capacity. The company also operates two power distribution companies in the United Kingdom, which serve about 2.6 million customers. PPL Energy Plus also markets power to customers in Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

Continue reading PPL Corp.: Well-Positioned for Electric Power Growth

PPL Corp.: Well-Positioned for Electric Power Growth originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading The Southern Co.: Safety with Modest Growth

The Southern Co.: Safety with Modest Growth originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Jun 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading PPL Corp: Investors React Negatively After Acquisition

PPL Corp: Investors React Negatively After Acquisition originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 13 May 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Tell-tale Stat: U.S. Factory Output Jumped In March

Tell-tale Stat: U.S. Factory Output Jumped In March originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 15 Apr 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading PPL Corp: A Utility for Challenging Times

PPL Corp: A Utility for Challenging Times originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 18 Feb 2010 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Consider FPL Group, because the Gold Coast is still there, recession and all

Consider FPL Group, because the Gold Coast is still there, recession and all originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 03 Mar 2009 18:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Choose Verizon (VZ), if you're just as cautious as its subscribers

Choose Verizon (VZ), if you're just as cautious as its subscribers originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading U.S. utilities encounter a shocker: A dip in power demand

U.S. utilities encounter a shocker: A dip in power demand originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 21 Nov 2008 12:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Industrial production falls for third time in four months

Industrial production falls for third time in four months originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 17 Jun 2008 10:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

My, how the U.S. financial landscape has changed from April 2007! A 10% return today doesn't look so bad, and a company that can achieve that and more is utility NRG Energy.

NRG Energy Inc. (NYSE: NRG) is a wholesale power generating company that owns and operates power plants with a net capacity of 22,880 megawatts.

The majority of NRG's revenue is from base load power. The significance? A stable cash flow. Further NRG's power source is largely natural gas-based, which is preferred, given likely additional regulations moving forward for coal-fired plants, as nations address climate change. NRG's power source mix is 45% natural gas, 34% coal, 16% oil, 5% nuclear. NRG's stable includes 175 power generation units at 49 power plants.

Continue reading NRG Energy: A power play to recharge your portfolio

NRG Energy: A power play to recharge your portfolio originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading GE, Siemen AG, Vestas benefiting from growth in wind turbine use

GE, Siemen AG, Vestas benefiting from growth in wind turbine use originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. (NYSE: FGP), a huge propane distributor, recently reported Nov-Jan results. Propane is still the heating source of choice for several million households. How is it that Ferrellgas saw a drop in gross profits during its winter quarter? Granted, the drop in gross profit was not huge, and revenues for the winter quarter increased 15% to $764 million.

But results like this should cause utility and energy stock investors to take a closer look at just how a utility company actually makes its money, particularly with the ongoing deregulation of many utilities. Does a utility or energy company make its money on sales of a commodity, or on renting out its distribution network? Or is the utility or energy company more of a finance company that makes (or loses) money based on its pricing of a commodity?

Such seems to be the case with Ferrellgas Partners in its recent quarter. It lost money because it priced future delivery of propane without factoring in a steep rise in the cost of propane. There is no way to predict or control winter temperatures and resulting level of demand, but a company should be able to accurately hedge its own price contracts to account for fluctuations in demand in its own industry and price its risk accordingly. Failure to adequately price risk is what has led to the subprime mortgage mess. No one wants to see energy and utility companies, and their customers, suffer the same economic debacle.

Ferrellgas Partners (FGP): Utility investors need to look closer originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 12 Mar 2008 15:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Washington Post reported over the weekend that the CIA had warned U.S. utilities of the possibility of attacks, or threats with extortion demands, via the internet. At a conference in New Orleans attended by security officials from governments, utilities, and companies such as Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) and BP (NYSE: BP), a cybersecurity analyst broke with CIA disclosure polices to detail several recent cyber intrusions outside the United States, one case resulting in a power outage that affected several cities.

Increasingly sophisticated intrusions into corporate computer systems have cost companies worldwide more than $20 billion each year, according to some estimates. And extortion is a growing threat, with attackers radically increasing their take from online gambling sites, e-commerce sites, and banks, which pay up to prevent their sites from being shut down and to avoid public knowledge their sites have been hacked.

With the rising tide of cyber attacks on the infrastructure over the past year or so, and the vulnerability of the power grid, transportation systems, and big banks becoming increasingly clear, investors have to wonder how secure the exchanges are from extortion or efforts to manipulate the markets by individuals or organized groups. The London Stock Exchange suffered a cyber attack this past June. Such attacks frequently originate from overseas, sometimes supported by foreign governments, and perpetrators can be next to impossible to track down and bring to justice.

CIA warns of cyber attacks on utilities -- is Wall Street next? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 20 Jan 2008 17:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Investors could very well get a positive charge from Exelon Corp.

Investors could very well get a positive charge from Exelon Corp. originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 18 Jan 2008 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

FPL Group's results may shine when others' don't originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Jan 2008 18:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Bush, Congress still seen backing revised energy bill

Bush, Congress still seen backing revised energy bill originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 04 Dec 2007 17:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The US government hopes that a large number of nuclear plants will be built in the US over the next 20 years to cut the country's need for oil. But GE (NYSE: GE) CEO Jeffrey Immelt says they will not be built without incentives from the Feds.

According to the FT, "Immelt said only five to 10 US nuclear power projects were likely to go ahead unless there was a carbon-pricing framework to create incentives for utilities to build more." That may be true, but GE should be quiet about championing aid for building those facilities. GE and Hitachi (NYSE: HIT) have a joint venture to build nuclear plants, and the parties would not want to be seen as sell-serving.

The comments raise a difficult issue. The government and utilities both know that the long-term future of cheap oil looks bad. But building nuclear plants take years, is expensive, and requires passing government safety standards. Over the next decade it may actually be cheaper to continue to use fossil fuels even it the price of oil stays high.

GE will make a lot of money on the move to nuclear fuel, but that does not mean that its call for government help is wrong.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

GE wants incentives to help nuclear energy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 19 Nov 2007 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

October industrial output falls 0.5%, most since January originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 16 Nov 2007 12:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Security guards at an Exelon Corp. (NYSE: EXC) nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania were found sleeping on the job, according to media reports. The Chicago-based utility company said it dropped Wackenhut as security contractor for its Peach Bottom plant and is reviewing the security firm's work at other company reactors, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer,

This couldn't have come at a worst time for the nuclear power industry whose reputation has improved over the past few years as a lesser evil to global warming-causing coal-fired power plants. NRG Energy Inc. (NYSE: NRG) is even proposing to build its first nuclear power plant in almost 30 years. But every time the nuclear power industry takes one step forward, it takes two steps back.

In Exelon's case, the embarrassment was captured on video by another security guard over several months and sent to New York television station WCBS-TV, The Inquirer said. The incident, involving fewer than 10 workers, is investigated by the company and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the paper said.

Exelon, of course, was mortified by the video.

"This is not acceptable and we will not tolerate it," said Exelon Generation Chief Operating Officer Chris Crane in a press release. "I want to be clear that nothing has happened at Peach Bottom that represents a security or safety threat to the public. We are dealing with unacceptable behavior, and we will fix it."

What's scary is that it's happened before. Workers were caught napping at the control room of the same nuclear power plant in the late 1980s, according to the New York Times.

Those that don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

Exelon (EXC) finds security officers dozing at nuclear plant originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 25 Sep 2007 10:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.