natural gas

Xcel Energy-Colorado expects its rates to stay relatively flat in the second quarter of 2024, with a slight rise in electric rates and a small drop in natural gas bills. The utility said in a statement that based on natural gas costs, the typical residential customer could see a 4.17% decline, or $1.73, in the monthly bill. Rates for small commercial customers are expected to drop 4.82%, or $9.19, a month. Xcel said residential electric bills will likely increase on average 1.67%, or $1.49, a month and bills for small…

For the ninth straight month, Earth has obliterated global heat records — with February, the winter as a whole and the world's oceans setting new high-temperature marks, according to the European Union climate agency Copernicus.The latest record-breaking in this climate change-fuelled global hot streak includes sea surface temperatures that weren't just the hottest for February, but eclipsed any month on record, soaring past August 2023's mark and still rising at the end of the month.And February, as well the previous two…

Earlier this week, a new satellite launched to track methane as it emanates from oil and gas fields across the world, hoping to expose major producers of the greenhouse pollutant and hold them accountable for their commitment to lower emissions.Prime Day Ain't That 'Green'MethaneSAT launched on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Monday as part of the Transporter-10 rideshare mission, along with 52 other payloads. The emissions monitor is designed to detect methane from 300 targets worldwide, which account for 80% of global…

Our planet is changing. So is our journalism. This weekly newsletter is part of a CBC News initiative entitled "Our Changing Planet" to show and explain the effects of climate change. Keep up with the latest news on our Climate and Environment page.Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox every Thursday.This week: From fashion to burials: How fungi can help fight climate change 2024 has barely started and is already threatening to set temperature records World's globetrotting animals at risk due to habitat…

Four years after an overhaul of Colorado’s oil and gas rules that was meant to cool conflicts over drilling, a draft bill that would phase out new permits for wells is running up the temperature. Fanning the heat even more are ballot proposals that could restrict efforts to boost renewable energy. Gov. Jared Polis said he hoped a law approved in 2019 would end the state’s “oil and gas wars” by tightening regulations and putting protection of public health and the environment front and center. But growing concerns about…

CLIMATEWIRE | The White House decision to pause approvals of liquefied natural gas terminals has fed a contentious debate: Is LNG dirtier than coal?Many environmentalists argue that it is, challenging the conventional wisdom that gas is a sort of diet fossil fuel that could help reduce climate pollution as the energy system shifts to renewable power.But the picture is more complicated than that, say many researchers who study the carbon content of fuels. Gas — and LNG exports in particular — most likely contributes more…

Natural gas prices are lower than a year ago, when many Coloradans saw big jumps in their heating bills, but the need for help to pay utility bills remains high, say agencies that offer assistance. For the week ending Jan. 21, the nonprofit Energy Outreach Colorado fielded 555 applications for assistance and spent $333,229, said spokeswoman Denise Stepto. “The need is just unprecedented. These numbers are bigger than we’ve seen them before,” Stepto said. She attributes the ongoing need to overall elevated costs. And…

Xcel Energy-Colorado is seeking an increase in natural gas rates to boost its revenue by nearly $171 million, which the utility said will help pay for improvements to the gas distribution system as well as upgrades to the electric grid. The company said in a document filed Monday that a typical residential monthly bill would increase by 7.4% if the Colorado Public Utilities Commission grants its request to defer any increases until mid-February 2025. That’s when a temporary rider on customers’ bills to pay costs from a…

CLIMATEWIRE | The Biden administration is taking a fresh look at what U.S. liquefied natural gas exports mean for climate change. And the review could push the Energy Department to make President Joe Biden’s temporary pause on new LNG approvals permanent.Experts say the review will likely focus on two key assumptions that DOE has made under both the Trump and Biden administrations: that gas is a relatively clean fuel and that U.S. exports would replace other fossil fuels abroad, but not renewables.DOE’s current assertions…

Denver International Airport will bring in a new shuttle operator next year to transport passengers and employees to and from its parking lots after the City Council on Monday approved a contract potentially worth $371 million. LAZ Parking Midwest will replace replacing DIA’s longstanding contactor, which missed goals for on-time service every day for three straight years before the pandemic, city auditors found. DIA’s contract with LAZ will start in February 2025 and stands as the airport’s largest single operations…