Fuel Oil Grades Explained

Fuel oil grades are generally based on viscosity (i.e., thickness or flow resistance), boiling point, and use. The federal Energy Information Administration (EIA) categorizes fuel oil as distillate (i.e., number 1, number 2, and number 4 fuel oil) or residual (number 5 and number 6 fuel oil). The following table describes each grade as defined in state regulations. Number 3 fuel oil is no longer widely used as a classification.

According to the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), while heavier residual fuel oils contain significant amounts of ash, nitrogen, and sulfur, emissions from fuel oil combustion depend not only on the grade and composition of the fuel, but also on the (1) type and size of the boiler, (2) firing and loading practices, and (3) level of equipment maintenance. For more information, see Table 1.3-1 in EPA’s Compilation of Air Pollutant Emission Factors.

Fuel Oil Grades

Grades	Regulatory Definition and Examples
Number 1	A light distillate fuel oil intended for use in vaporizing pot-type burners. Number 1 fuel oil is used primarily as fuel for portable outdoor stoves and portable outdoor heaters.
Number 2	A distillate fuel oil for use in atomizing-type burners for domestic heating or for moderate capacity commercial-industrial burner units.
Number 4	A fuel oil for commercial burner installations not equipped with preheating facilities that is extensively used in industrial plants. This grade is usually a blend of distillate and residual fuel stocks, but can be a heavy distillate.
Number 5	A residual fuel oil more viscous than number 4 distillate fuel for burners capable of handling a more viscous product. Preheat may be necessary depending upon equipment design and climatic conditions.
Number 6	A high-viscosity fuel oil for commercial and industrial heating and power generation. Preheating is required for satisfactory use. This grade includes (1) heavy-grade residual fuel oil referred to as Bunker C fuel oil and (2) Navy Special, a grade of residual fuel oil for use in steam powered vessels in government service and in shore power plants.

Source: Conn. Agencies Reg., §16a-22c-1

Is Buying Used Electronics a Safe Bet?

Yes for most electronic devices, according a recent New York Times article. Because many pre-owned devices sold by a reputable brand generally undergo a battery of tests prior to being offered for resale, their quality remains high. That’s what the article’s author concluded after found after comparing Amazon, GameStop, and Gazelle’s pre-owned products programs.

Gazelle, for example, runs pre-owned electronic devices through a 30-point inspection, “testing everything from a phone’s camera lens to its wireless connection.” GameStop puts refurbished game consoles through stress tests, “running them for thousands of hours to see if its repairs are long-lasting.”

Many retailers provide 30-day return policies or product warranties in the event a product has a defect.  Some resold products are in perfect condition as they were unused and simply returned without their original packaging.  Others were kept in good condition or may have slight cosmetic issues but are fully functional. In short, if a consumer isn’t anxious to have the latest gadget, wants to save money, and doesn’t mind that the product may have light scratches or scuffs, purchasing used electronics is a good option,” the article states. 

There are other benefits to purchasing pre-owned electronic devices. When consumers purchase such devices, they “do the world a favor by putting more use into the energy, metals, plastics and human labor invested in creating the product,” Carol Mars, a senior research lead for the Sustainability Consortium told the Times.  But she cautions consumers about buying pre-owned large-screen televisions and computer monitors because “a lot more can go wrong with larger screens than with computer equipment.” She added that “the jury is also still out on buying used wearable devices like Fitbit trackers because they make up a fairly new category.” 

The Race to Recycle CO2

There is a $20 million prize at stake from the X Prize Foundation (an organization that incentivizes scientific advancement via financial competition, which it coins ‘prize philanthropy’). The challenge is to find ways to recycle carbon dioxide (CO2) - capturing it as it is emitted from smokestacks and turning it into useful products or new fuel – by 2020.

A recent New York Times article highlighted the efforts of several groups of researchers participating in this project. One of the difficulties the researchers have is figuring out how best to split CO2 molecules, which takes a significant amount of energy. One group of scientists is trying to take CO2 and water and turn them into fuel using sunlight – as plants do via photosynthesis. Other groups are working on developing synthetic crude oil with CO2 and water and a CO2 conversion device.

Electric Competition in Connecticut

The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) has just published its annual report to the legislature on the state of electric competition in Connecticut. Since shortly after the deregulation of Connecticut’s electric industry in 1998, the law has required PURA to monitor and report on the state of electric competition (CGS § 16-245x(a)). Deregulation generally allowed customers to choose among competitive offers from various licensed electric suppliers.

Public Act 14-75, among other things, required PURA to redesign the standard billing format for residential customer electric bills. This year’s report includes sample bills showing the new formats, which, according to PURA, allow customers to review future pricing policies and changes.     

The report also discusses customer complaints regarding electric suppliers. In 2015, PURA received a total of 809 complaints on electric suppliers, down from 2,161 in 2014, as shown in Figure 1.

Read the full report on PURA’s website.

Connecticut Microgrids

OLR Report 2016-R-0068 provides an overview of microgrids, acts affecting microgrids, and microgrid grant and loan programs.

A “microgrid” generally refers to a small-scale electric distribution network that links several users to one or more nearby distributed energy resources.  It can be operated in conjunction with or independently from a larger electrical grid.  Microgrids use energy from local connected sources, which can include renewable sources, fuel cells, batteries, or fossil fuels.

Public acts regarding microgrids have been passed in the last several years largely in response to the widespread power outages caused by storms in 2011.  To encourage the development of microgrids, legislation authorized pilot programs and provided funding by way of grants and loan programs to public and private entities.

The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection was charged with establishing the programs and has spearheaded efforts to enlist critical facilities and promote its benefits. The goal is to provide critical facilities with reliable energy during times of electricity grid outages.   

Click here to read the full report.    

Grid Modernization Project Concepts Submitted

As a 2015 law requires, Connecticut’s two electric distribution companies have submitted draft proposals to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) for a pilot program to build, own, or operate grid-side system enhancements and investigate how to integrate distributed energy resources (DER) into the electric distribution system. (PA 15-5, June Special Session (§§ 102 & 103) (see the public act summary here.))

Eversource’s draft proposal describes eight potential project concepts, including (1) deploying utility-owned energy storage systems to support intermittent DER and (2) developing online mapping and other tools aggregating information on existing and future DER projects. UI’s draft proposal describes five potential project concepts, some of which are similar to Eversource’s proposal. Concepts include (1) forecasting solar adoption to identify opportunities to defer distribution capacity investments and (2) localized DER targeting (i.e., integrating DERs into grid planning and operations).

DEEP accepted public comment on the draft proposals through March 1, 2016. According to Eversource, as quoted in the New Haven Register, if the company receives approval from DEEP and the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, projects could begin operating in late 2017.

Connecticut’s Electric Efficiency Partners Program

The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) has released its 2016 report on the Connecticut Electric Efficiency Partners Program (EEP). The report is available here. 

By law, the EEP program, established in 2008, provides electric ratepayer funding to electric company customers and vendors of energy efficient or load shifting technologies to purchase and deploy those technologies (CGS § 16-243v). According to PURA’s report, nine technologies are eligible for incentives under the EEP program, including:

• gas chillers: natural gas powered devices that provide cooling for area air conditioning applications or for industrial and commercial processes;
• real time energy feedback devices: devices that allow users to reduce their energy consumption by providing them with a real time display of their energy use and other energy-related data; and
• energy saving algorithms: thermostats that can be (a) programmed with algorithms specific to the climate and building occupancy schedules and (b) connected to the internet to gather local weather data.

PURA describes the EEP as a secondary program for emerging technologies and states that its use is limited. To date, the EEP program has spent just over $1 million. (The law limits program expenses to $60 million annually.) These funds are recovered through the systems benefit charge on ratepayer bills. For more on the systems benefit charge, see OLR Report 2015-R-0047.

Virtual Net Metering

OLR Report 2015-R-0264 describes the virtual net metering program, including data on (1) projects that are currently operational or approved but waiting to proceed, (2) the value of distributed virtual net metering credits, and (3) the program's cost to ratepayers.

Traditional net metering allows a renewable energy system's owner to receive billing credits for power generated by the system, in effect running the meter "backwards."  If the system produces more power than the owner used in a billing period, the credits can be applied to future bills.  With virtual net metering, the system's owner can share these excess credits "virtually" with other owner-designated accounts, thus running their meters backwards too.

In Connecticut, the law limits virtual net metering to municipal, state agency, and agricultural customers who meet certain requirements (CGS § 16-244u).  Among other things, the law specifies (1) which types of renewable energy systems can participate for each customer type, (2) generating capacity limits, (3) the types of accounts that can share virtual net metering credits with the host facility, and (4) that credits are calculated at the wholesale power generation rate plus a portion of the electric company's transmission and distribution rates which decreases from 80% to 40% over three years.

The law also caps virtual net metering credits at $10 million per year, divided between the state's electric distribution companies (Eversource and United Illuminating) in proportion to their respective customers' electrical load.  Within that total, each eligible customer type (municipal, state agency, and agricultural) is further limited to 40% of the allowed credits.

Read the full report here.

Cybersecurity and the Grid

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), the not-for-profit international regulatory authority tasked with assuring the reliability of North America’s bulk power system, ran a two-day drill simulating a series of coordinated cyber and physical attacks on various automated systems and key transmission and generation facilities. NERC conducts these types of exercises every two years to give participating utilities and governmental agencies the opportunity to assess their emergency response and recovery plans. While NERC did not release any findings from the test, called “GridEx III”, they expect to complete a report on the test and resulting recommendations by early next year. Read NERC’s press release here.

NERC conducted the last such exercise (“GridEx II”) in November 2013. The report following that test recommended, among other things, that stakeholders:

1. review communication infrastructure to identify redundancies or alternatives to maintain communication during a crisis,
2. build relationships with relevant government agencies to establish communications procedures prior to a crisis,
3. clarify reporting roles and functions, and
4. develop mechanisms to preserve evidence and collect forensic data following a physical or cyber attack.

Guidance for Entering into Fuel Plans and Contracts

Summer is almost over. This means, for many people, it is time to start thinking about winter heating. For those who heat with fuel, the Department of Consumer Protection’s September Consumer Watch newsletter provides guidance on choosing a heating fuel dealer. The newsletter emphasizes the importance of research. It encourages comparing prices, confirming a prospective dealer’s state licensure, and asking for references. The newsletter describes the different types of heating fuel plans and contracts available to consumers and provides a list of the terms a fuel contract must contain. It also gives tips for reducing fuel use. 

Hyperlink:
DCP Consumer Watch Newsletter (already hyperlinked above): http://www.ct.gov/dcp/lib/dcp/pdf/publications/consumer_watch_september_15_fnl.pdf 

Construction Begins on First Offshore Wind Farm

Last month, construction began on what the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects to be the nation’s first offshore wind farm.   Located three miles southeast of Block Island, Rhode Island, the Block Island Wind Farm is expected to come online in 2016 with five turbines totaling 30 megawatts of generation capacity. 

According to the EIA, there is an estimated 8.8 gigawatts (GW) of installed global offshore wind turbine capacity worldwide; 90% of which is in Europe.  Offshore wind turbines can take advantage of more consistent wind speeds over the ocean, which allows for greater utilization rates than onshore wind turbines.  However, offshore projects are significantly more expensive to build and maintain due to factors such as transporting equipment and workers to the sites, securing the turbines to the bottom of the ocean, and the need for greater maintenance due to the harsher offshore environment. 

Click here to read more at the EIA’s website.

HOT REPORT: ACTS AFFECTING ENERGY AND TECHNOLOGY

OLR Report 2015-R-0174 highlights new state laws enacted during the 2015 regular and special sessions affecting energy and technology. 

Included are new laws:

• extending, by two years, Connecticut Green Bank's anaerobic digestion pilot program;
• authorizing a two-year Department of Energy and Environmental Protection pilot program to support the development of shared clean energy facilities;
• expanding Connecticut Green Bank's residential solar investment program to include supporting up to 300 MW of new residential solar PV installations by 2022;
• prohibiting electric suppliers from entering into or automatically renewing variable rate contracts for residential electric generation;
• allowing municipal gas and utility company customers to pay required security deposits by cash, letter of credit, or surety bond; and
• prohibiting employers from requesting or requiring employees or job applicants to provide information needed to access their personal online accounts.

Read the full report for more information on these and other recently enacted energy and technology related laws.

A National Review of Broadband Offices

OLR Report 2015-R-0130 describes dedicated broadband offices in other states and how they are funded.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), over the past several years, every state, including Connecticut, has established a task force, commission, or other initiative to help promote the expansion of broadband service. These entities and initiatives have been largely funded through the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), with grants provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

In Connecticut, PA 07-254 created the Broadband Internet Coordinating Council to monitor trends and developments in the state’s efforts to develop a state-wide “world-class” communications infrastructure. The council was eliminated in 2011. In 2010, the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority received a $4 million grant from the NTIA to (1) develop guidelines for expanding access to and adoption of broadband services across the state, (2) create a state website devoted to broadband services, and (3) collect data from the Internet service providers operating in the state. The grant is managed by the state Broadband Policy Coordinator through the Office of Consumer Counsel. More recently, PA 15-5, June Special Session, among other things, established the Office of State Broadband and required it to work to increase access to, and adoption of, ultra-high-speed gigabit-capable broadband networks.

NTIA invested a total of $293 million in State Broadband Initiative (SBI) projects in every state. Initiatives funded through SBI grants focused on (1) collecting and verifying broadband availability data for a national broadband map and (2) helping states identify and address obstacles to broadband deployment and adoption by supporting state and local task forces and planning teams. According to the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program’s (BTOP) March 2015 Quarterly Program Status Report, 19 of the 233 total BTOP grants awarded remained active as of September 30, 2014, as did 55 of the 56 SBI grants awarded.

Click here to read the full OLR report.

Lower Wholesale Electricity Prices in New England

ISO-New England reports the average real-time electric energy price for June 2015 was $19.61 per megawatt-hour, a decline from nearly twice that much for the same period last year and an almost 85% drop from February 2015 when the price was $126.70 per megawatt hour. ISO-New England notes that this price is the lowest average wholesale electric energy price since March, 2003. Factors that affect this price include power plant fuel prices, electricity demand, and the fuel mix (i.e., the mix of resources used for power generation in any given time period).

Some of the region’s energy companies may cause the price to drop even further, according to an article posted by Utility Dive. The article notes that Emera Energy will upgrade its Rhode Island plant to increase the facility’s efficiency. The president of the New England Power Generators Association notes that companies in New England may prefer to add generating capacity through such efficiency upgrades rather than building new plants. He argues that upgrades could also decrease the wholesale price of electricity. Emera Energy also owns a plant in Connecticut.

States’ LEED Certification Programs Provide Incentives to Building Owners and Developers

OLR Report 2015-R-0061 provides a brief summary of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) incentive programs in other states.  The LEED program is a building certification process developed and administered by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) that aims to improve a building’s performance across a variety of “green” areas.  Additional information on obtaining LEED certification is provided in OLR Report 2014-R-0200. 


Several states have implemented incentive programs to encourage private sector building owners and developers to pursue LEED certification for their buildings. These incentives include financial incentives such as grants, tax credits, rebates, and priority permit processing.


In Connecticut, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the Office of Policy and Management administer the Green Buildings Tax Credit Program which provides a tax incentive for building owners and developers of certain commercial properties that meet or exceed the LEED gold certification standard.


Many states and local governments also offer incentives that could be used to achieve LEED certification, but do not specifically require certification in order to qualify for the incentive.


For more information, read the full report.

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Home Cooling

With the summer heat finally here, the U.S. Department of Energy recently posted an “Energy Saver 101: Everything you Need to Know about Home Cooling” infographic on its website.  According to the infographic, 6% of an average household’s energy use is for space cooling, two-thirds of all U.S. homes have air conditioners, and homeowners spend $11 billion a year to run their air conditioners.  The site also has information on how different types of air conditioners work, tips on AC maintenance and common problems, and tips for saving energy and lowering your cooling costs.

A Review of the Federally Mandated Congestion Charge (FMCC) Component of Electricity Bills

OLR Report 2015-R-0105 describes the federally mandated congestion charge (FMCC) component of electricity bills. It also explains how funds collected through this charge are spent.


Residential electricity customers pay FMCCs in both the distribution and generation portions of their bills. For the average residential Eversource customer using 700 kwh per month, the FMCC is approximately 2% of the bill.


By law, FMCCs are collected on electricity bills to cover certain costs the Federal Regulatory Authority (FERC) approves and various costs the Public Utility Regulatory Authority (PURA) approves (CGS § 16-1(35)).


The report describes many of the components of FMCCs and the proportion of funds allocated to each component based on the publicly available information in the electric companies’ filings in the most recent PURA docket currently under review. FMCCs include (1) nonbypassable charges – charges that customers must pay regardless of retail energy supplier and (2) bypassable charges – charges that customers may avoid by selecting a retail energy supplier rather than receiving service through the electric companies’ standard service rates.


For more information, click here to read the full report.

World’s Largest Fuel Cell Park

If built, a fuel cell park planned for Beacon Falls, Connecticut will surpass a South Korean facility to become the world’s largest, according to the Hartford Courant. Developers of the Beacon Falls Energy Park have signed a letter of intent but will still need financing, engineering studies, and permits before the facility is built. They seek to build the plant over the next three years.


The planned facility would contain 63.3 megawatts of fuel cells on eight acres of land, surpassing South Korea’s 59-megawatt fuel cell park as the world’s largest. Connecticut is already home to the largest fuel cell park in the United States, a 15-megawatt facility in Bridgeport.


A fuel cell is similar to a large, continuously operating battery that produces power from an electrochemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen. The oxygen comes from the air and the hydrogen from fuels such as natural gas. Unlike a battery, a fuel cell does not run down, as long as it is supplied with hydrogen and oxygen.


According to the Hartford Business Journal, Connecticut is one of three states that consider fuel cells to be a renewable energy.

ISO-NE Predicts Sufficient Power for this Summer

The Independent System Operator-New England (ISO-NE), which operates the regional electric grid, recently predicted that New England should have enough electric generation and demand-response resources available to serve forecasted peak demands this summer.  ISO-NE expects electric demands to peak at 26,710 megawatts (MW) under normal weather conditions of about 90 degrees Fahrenheit, although an extended heat wave in the mid-90s could push demand over 29,000 MW.  Last summer, power demands peaked on July 2nd at 24,443 MW.  The all-time record was set on August 2, 2006 when demand reached 28,130 MW. 


Click here to read more about ISO-NE’s projections.

Advice for Solar Energy Installation Consumers

The Department of Consumer Protection (DCP), attorney general, and Connecticut Green Bank issued a press release on Earth Day with advice for consumers who want to lease or buy solar power. Among other things, they advise consumer to:

1. obtain several itemized quotes from licensed or registered contractors,
2. expect realistic savings,
3. understand applicable tax credits and rebates, and
4. research home insurance coverage.

The press release also encourages consumers to visit DCP’s website for information on choosing and working with contractors.

Click here to read more and find links to other resources.