They published my LTE in the Alaska Highway News:

That’s the Coal Creek plant, a photo I took on a tour.  If you’re an electric co-op member in Minnesota (elsewhere too?), they offer tours regularly, and it’s something you should do!  Check your co-op’s newsletter for info.

State Register Notice:

MPCA_StateRegister_Pages from 40_05

Just released FEDERAL Clean Power Plan:

Clean Power Plan Final Rule (PDF)(1560 pp, 3.3 MB, About PDF) – August 2015

Look at how the “adjusted” Minnesota’s baseline levels due to Sherco 3 being out for nearly 2 years:

The EPA examined units nationwide with 2012 outages to determine where an individual unit-level outage might yield a significant difference in state goal computation. When applying this test to all of the units informing the computation of the BSER, emission performance rates, and statewide goals, the EPA determined that the only unit with a 2012 outage that 1) decreased its output relative to preceding and subsequent years by 75 percent or more (signifying an outage), and 2) could potentially impact the state’s goal as it constituted more than 10 percent of the state’s generation was the Sherburne County Unit 3 in Minnesota.  The EPA therefore adjusted this state’s baseline coal steam generation upwards to reflect a more representative year for the state in which this 900 MW unit operates.

Clean Power Plan Final Rule (PDF p. 796 of 1560).

And from the state, which acknowledges imminent release of FEDERAL Clean Power Plan Final Rule , also released today, just in from the MPCA (direct quote):

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has issued a request for comments on possible rule amendments to bring Minnesota into compliance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Clean Power Plan. You can read the full request in the August 3, 2015, edition of the State Register, available at www.comm.media.state.mn.us/bookstore/mnbookstore.asp?page=register.

The amendments we are considering will help Minnesota meet standards established by the Clean Power Plan, which sets state-specific carbon dioxide emission targets and requires each state to submit a plan detailing its strategy for meeting the targets. As of State Register press time, we have not yet started drafting a plan because the EPA has not yet published the standards that Minnesota’s plan will need to meet, so the MPCA requests public input to help guide our considerations of methods for meeting the EPA’s targets, as well as any other objectives that the state’s plan might include.

Stakeholder meeting agendas, notes, and other related documents are posted on the website for this rulemaking at www.pca.state.mn.us/w9y3awr.

To access information about a particular Minnesota rulemaking, visit the Public Rulemaking Docket.

Xcel Energy’s 2nd quarter call was this morning.

Xcel Energy (XEL) Benjamin G. S. Fowke on Q2 2015 Results – Earnings Call Transcript

From the Seeking Alpha transcript, a cute tidbut:

The decline in residential sales is driven by lower customer usage. We believe this trend is due to a combination of factors including appliance efficiency, conservation efforts, and an increase in multi-unit dwellings. We have adjusted our annual electric sales guidance to reflect year-to-date results, which lowers our expected growth rate for 2015 to about 0.5%.

Got that?

0.5%

That’s a ways away from the 2.49% upon which the CapX 2020 transmission build-out was based.  DOH!

And about multi-year plans and why they “underperformed,” there was this snippet on the Seeking Alpha transcript:

And I think if you look at why we’ve under-earned, we’ve had a lot of CapEx going through a funnel. We had to relicense our nuclear plants. We had some challenges there as everyone in the industry did. And we didn’t have a lot of forums to communicate some of those challenges. So it’s not only the mechanisms associated with the legislation in the multi-year plan; it’s kind of what that frees you up to do. And I am optimistic that we will make good progress next year and in the years to come.

And from our friends at Xcel:

2Q 2015 Report_1001200774

And more:

• Xcel Energy Second Quarter 2015 Earnings Report
• Xcel Energy Second Quarter 2015 Earnings Presentation

And for those of you into charts and graphs (from the 2Q 2015 Report_1001200774):

This killing is very disheartening.  I’m shook.  As one who spends an inordinate amount of time outside the doorway of nearly every utility infrastructure meeting, open house, and hearing, handing out flyers and greeting everyone as the come in (just attended this last round of GNTL, printer not working so no flyers to be handed out!), this killing by RCMP is most disturbing.  When stationed outside meetings, I’ve been told to leave, to stop handing out flyers (pretty revolutionary flyers, too, telling people how to file comments on the records, urging them to show up at hearings), and I’ve been told to get off private property, that’s happened a few times over the years.  And each time I’ve objected, “resisted” following their directions, standing my ground.  I’ve also objected to police presence at these meetings — sometimes they’re called to keep an eye on things (?? exactly what and why??), and admittedly certain people, and I tell the organizers and the officers that I object, and stress that it has a chilling effect on participation.  Now?  Guess I’ll think twice, or maybe three times, about getting vocal when told to leave.

What happened in Dawson Creek?  There was a tweet prior to the meeting saying “Anonymous splinter group (to) attend the scheduled meeting in Dawson Creek tonight starting at 6pm,” (seems to have been deleted?).  One protester attended the open house, and he got rowdy at a meeting, it’s not clear exactly what happened, did he have a mask on or not, but it sounds like he dumped over displays and tore up maps, and then was asked to leave and he did leave the meeting without further hassle.  Meanwhile someone called police.  RCMP arrived on high alert, found a man at the entrance wearing a mask, according to statements, officers presumed it was same one disrupting the open house, they had an agitated back and forth with the man near the door, it’s reported he had a knife, in hand or in case on belt.  RCMP shoots and kills him.  The youtube shows the aftermath.  Photos show a guy with hood up, Guy Fawkes mask on, hands in front of him.  He visibly bled out on the sidewalk.  Initially, it was reported that it was the same guy as was inside the open house, and then, many hours afterwards, they revealed that no, the man who was killed was not the same person who was causing the disturbance at the open house (not that causing a disturbance should be a death sentence), and the one causing the disturbance had left the scene, he was alive and well.  There were also reports that the man shot and killed was involved in an unrelated domestic disturbance in the bar but that has disappeared from reports and appears not to be true.  An apartment was raided, and it seems it was the “disruptors” family’s apartment.

Regional District wants BC Hydro to hit brakes on Site C

Site C Dam and Powerplant Not Needed

And let’s not have anymore gatherings about this project for a while, makes sense:

BC Hydro Site C protest in Vancouver cancelled due to concerns about violence

And:

B.C. Hydro delays Site C job fair events in three northern B.C. communities, citing safety concerns

But I sure hope everyone’s keeping in mind just who’s being violent here!

Alaska Highway News seems to be doing the most thorough coverage of this, and where else is this being reported?  The man shot by RCMP outside the BC Hydro Site C meeting, about the proposed new dam project, was identified as James McIntire:

.
When you’re challenging utility projects, be careful. The guy who was shot was misidentified, but he’s still dead, that won’t change…

There was someone disrupting the BC Hydro open house/meeting, tearing up maps, toppling easels, etc., and he was asked to leave and was escorted out. It seems it was another person who was shot! There’s been no claim that the disruptive person was armed or threatening anyone. There are reports that the man who was shot didn’t follow police instructions/didn’t listen to orders, something like that, and that he had a knife. SHOT?!?! KILLED?!?!

See below, confirmation that the “Site C protester” and the man who was shot are DIFFERENT PEOPLE!

Report from Red Power Media:

‘Guy Fawkes’ Masked Man Dead After RCMP Shooting at BC Hydro Open House

In the press:

Two men involved in fatal RCMP shooting in Dawson Creek (this one says he may had been involved in a domestic dispute in the bar)

Police say man shot in Dawson Creek was masked and aggressive (they’ve changed the headline on this article)

Anonymous issues warnings over Dawson Creek shooting

Dawson Creek police shoot man who refused to throw weapon away, witness claims

Fatal shooting in Dawson Creek not connected to “Site C”

RCMP fatally shoot man at BC Hydro information session

Two men involved in fatal RCMP shooting in Dawson Creek

Here’s the witness’ video, he saw them shoot him and started recording:

OH, CANADA…

Press conference – IIO’s Kellie Kilpatrick, executive director of public accountability with the Independent Investigations Office:

Site C protester and shooting victim were not the same man

Nearly 24 hours after a police shooting left a man dead outside a Dawson Creek restaurant, B.C.’s law enforcement watchdog was convinced the victim and a man who disrupted a Site C dam open house inside were one and the same.

They were not.

“We verified, verified, verified. At two o’clock I was told the same guy, at three o’clock I was told the same guy, then I land in Dawson Creek and I’m told ‘different guy,'” said Kellie Kilpatrick, executive director of public accountability with the Independent Investigations Office (IIO) at a media conference at 7 p.m. Friday.

Thursday night, the IIO and RCMP said the shooting occurred outside a public information session on the Site C dam, and that the man who was killed was “believed to be connected” to the disturbance inside.

Instead, the man who reportedly flipped tables and destroyed maps at the BC Hydro event is alive, while another is dead.

The IIO could not yet confirm what the victim was doing at the Fixx Urban Grill restaurant on the evening of July 16, but said he had a knife. Police shot the man after he acted aggressively and refused to comply with police instructions. He died shortly after. Little is known about him, as investigators have not released his name.

As for what investigators know about the man at the Site C event: “He’s alive,” Kilpatrick said.

According to Kilpatrick, the Dawson Creek investigation has been one of the most complex the office has encountered since it was created in 2012.

“Since the beginning of the operations of the IIO, we’ve not seen a case that has quite as many moving parts as this one,” she said.

“The RCMP as well as the IIO spent close to four hours last night confirming what we thought was the most relevant, most accurate information. To come speak to you now almost 24 hours later, and provide a significant change in the information is not something we typically find ourselves dealing with.

“That’s a fairly substantive clarification that needed to be made.”

It was a remarkable turn in a day that saw Dawson Creek and its police force thrust into the spotlight, and one of the most controversial projects in B.C. linked to a police shooting.

At about 6:30 p.m. Thursday, police shot and killed the man outside the front door of the Fixx restaurant. A video of the aftermath emerged online, showing officers with guns pointed at the man, who appeared to be holding a knife.

An open house about construction of the controversial $8.8-billion Site C dam was taking place in banquet facilities of the restaurant that evening.

According to an attendee, a man flipped tables and tore display boards illustrating the dam from their stands before being escorted out of the room.

Curtis Pratt was inside and said he did not hear shots, but later saw the body. He said the victim was wearing a mask, and he wasn’t sure whether it was the man from inside.

Kilpatrick did not have additional information about the protestor, but said “he never did come into contact with police.”

Her office is continuing to investigate the shooting. The officers involved have been sequestered, and it is not clear whether they will be charged, suspended or placed on administrative leave. The IIO also said investigators were not sure if the officers had tasers or other lesser means of force, which will be a key part of the investigation.

“That’s something our investigators have been following up on today. I don’t have the answer to that,” Kilpatrick said.

“What an officer carries on his toolbelt varies depending on officer location, detachment and the type of work they are doing.”

What is clear is that “police came in response to the disturbance and found themselves in contact with this other individual,” Kilpatrick said.

The IIO is asking anyone with information about what happened in the area to come forward, saying cell phone videos are of particular interest.

“In this day of social media, we aware that there is a lot of information circulating out there,” Kilpatrick said. “We’re very interested in speaking with anyone who has information about what they saw or what they heard here last evening,” she added.

Anyone with information is asked to call the IIO at 1-855-446-TIPS.