Pennsylvania Electricity Rates Spiking By As Much As 50 Percent

Blame it on the polar vortex.

Effective Sunday, Metropolitan Edison customers will see electricity generation rates spike 25.4 percent.

Overall, the company’s electric bills — of which generation is one part — are rising 16 percent, from $93 to nearly $108 a month for the average residential consumer using 750 kilowatt-hours a month, said Met-Ed spokesman Scott Surgeoner.

The reason is two-fold: Demand during the summer, when prices normally rise, is one factor, and the utility purchased some of the electricity for the upcoming three-month period “during the January polar vortex, when prices were extremely high,” he said.

Read more: http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/breaking-news/index.ssf/2014/05/pennsylvania_electricity_rates.html

Flash Flooding Leaves Widespread Damage In Pittsburgh

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Allegheny County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

People in Western Pennsylvania braced Wednesday night for a second round of potentially devastating storms following torrents that dropped as much as 3 inches of rain in some parts of the area during the day.

But all of the foreboding and warnings ended up as mostly just that as a string of storms that arrived shortly after the evening rush hour brought with them less rain than was expected.

“It moved through so quickly,” said meteorologist Brad Rehak, of the National Weather Service.  “It wasn’t as heavy.”

Rainfall that was expected to end just after midnight should be replaced throughout the next three days with drier, more comfortable weather — aiding in crews’ cleanup efforts.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/region/pittsburgh-area-roads-flooded-closed-as-heavy-storms-move-through-694893/#ixzz2Yktumgsi

West Penn Power Parent To Close 2 Coal-Fired Plants In Western Pennsylvania

FirstEnergy Corp., the Ohio-based parent of West Penn Power, said it will shut down two coal-fired plants in Western Pennsylvania in the next three months.

The two facilities — Hatfield’s Ferry Power Station in Masontown and Mitchell Power Station in Courtney — represent more than 2 gigawatts of generating capacity, about 10 percent of the company’s total.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/business/news/west-penn-power-parent-to-close-2-coal-fired-plants-in-western-pennsylvania-694789/#ixzz2YZHM0Q6W

Thousands Still Without Power In Altoona And Surrounding Area

English: Undetailed map of Altoona, Pennsylvania and some surrounding areas From my talk page: :I drew the map of Altoona in xpaint from a map on the Internet and a Rand-McNally atlas. It’s in the public domain. — Djinn112 04:40, 28 Sep 2004 (UTC) –$ 02:38, 2 Oct 2004 (UTC) Category:Altoona (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Four buildings partially collapsed Monday night in Altoona, according to city police.

Emergency crews kept busy tonight with flooded basements, damaged structures and downed trees and power lines as now-post-tropical Sandy continues its march into the mid-Atlantic states.

The humongous storm also brought a wintry mix as far north as Johnstown.

Around 9:45 p.m. Monday, police said they would likely close Fifth and Sixth avenues near Union Avenue in Altoona for the entire night after winds blew a huge chunk of a brick building onto the roadway.

High winds whipped against nearby pedestrians as emergency vehicles blocked the roads.

Read more: http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/565627/-Updated-11-45-p-m—Thousands-still-without-power.html?nav=742