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Plentiful rain and snow this past winter not only ended California’s drought, it gave a healthy boost to Pacific Gas & Electric's hydroelectric power.
The added snow and rain is already benefiting the utility’s customers, the environment, and the power grid, according to the company.
That’s because hydroelectric power is less expensive than most other forms of power available in the market.
Hydropower also generates energy without producing greenhouse gases and helps increase the percentage of PG&E’s renewable generation for the year.
During the hotter months of the summer, typically in July and August, hydropower helps PG&E meet peak-demand periods.
When the river systems are under control, water flows can be routed through the powerhouses to produce electricity to meet increased demands on the energy grid.
This year the abundant snowpack could lengthen the typical hydropower yield into the late summer.
PG&E anticipates this year’s hydroelectric power yield will be 21 percent above average. The additional hydroelectric power means PG&E won’t have to produce or buy as much power from other generation sources which rely on more expensive fuels, such as natural gas, to generate power.
The added hydroelectric power translates into a reduction of 886,621 metric tons of CO2 emissions – equivalent to the electricity use of 107,600 homes for an entire year, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator.
California’s mountain snowpack was at 163 percent of normal as of April – the highest amount since 1995. A cool spring and additional precipitation has slowed the snowmelt, leaving the state’s snowpack at more than three times of normal as of June 1. That late snowpack poses its own set of challenges as the hot summer days approach and snowmelt accelerates.
“We have both abundant water supply and a late season snowpack – a great problem to have when it comes to hydroelectric production,” said Mike Jones, power generation lead. “We are vigilantly managing these additional late season water flows to produce energy to meet our customers’ needs while also striving to ensure public safety.”
Jones points out how PG&E does not have sufficient water storage capability to capture all this snow as it melts.
“Consequently, we seek to manage the hydro runoff in a predictable manner – releasing water to our hydro facilities and into river systems before reservoirs are full,” said Jones. “River flow changes are controlled for recreational users. We want some reservoir space available in case we have a heat wave or thunderstorm that results in a sudden influx of snowmelt.”
Because PG&E’s rates are based on the forecasted cost of delivering the energy, less money spent on power in the open market translates into cost benefits for customers.
These hydro levels are also likely to help bring PG&E closer to its renewable portfolio standard (RPS) goals, since small hydropower generation of less than 30 megawatts qualifies under California’s RPS mandate.
Although most of the news about full reservoirs is good, Californians need to be aware as they enjoy recreational activities at the many public facilities such as boat launches, fishing docks, picnic areas and campgrounds maintained by PG&E. The wet year increases the chance for potential dangers at these recreational facilities.
The water in rivers and reservoirs is deeper, colder and moves more swiftly. To help keep the public safe, PG&E is increasing communications about water safety and how to avoid potential water hazards.
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Thirty wines of the 1,900 entries were awarded this distinction.
Winemaker Mark Burch believes that this 2010 vintage Sauvignon Blanc is one of his best.
Since becoming the winemaker at Wildhurst in 1997, Burch has garnered a major Sauvignon Blanc award 10 times.
The 2010 Sauvignon Blanc wine was produced and bottled at Wildhurst Winery and came from Holdenried Vineyards, Vincent Price Vineyards in Kelseyville and Bill Oldham Vineyards in Upper Lake.
“This is a very fitting award as part of our 20 year anniversary celebration of the founding of Wildhurst Winery.” states owner Myron Holdenried. “The list of award winning wines over the past 20 years validates the consistent quality of Wildhurst wine and Mark‘s attention to detail in winemaking. These awards also show that Lake County does compete favorably with any wine grape growing region. ”
Holdenried, a fifth generation farmer in Kelseyville, noted some of the history of Lake County’s wine grape industry.
“Before Prohibition, Lake County had thousands of acres of grapes and at least 28 wineries,” he said. “With the onset of Prohibition, the vineyards were abandoned, and pear or walnut orchards were planted on the same ground. Over the past two decades, there has been the reverse action. The pears and walnuts have been pulled out, and grapes have been planted. in their place. In 1966, we stepped out of the pear box, and planted our first winegrape vineyard on former pasture land.”
After selling grapes to Parducci, Fetzer and Jess Jackson for many years and just being part of the “blend,” Myron and Marilyn Holdenried believed there was a need for more recognition of Lake County wines.
In January 1991, they joined forces with four Collin Brothers with farm backgrounds from Fresno, and took the plunge to start a new Lake County winery.
This was an opportunity to become part of the growing Wine Country industry and market.
“We hired a young woman winemaker, Kathy Redman from South Africa, who would work under the tutelage of Jed Steele,” Marilyn Holdenried said.
“We leased the Lower Lake Winery from the Stuermer family,” she said. “After five years, we decided to relocate the winery and tasting room to Kelseyville. The IOOF Hall in Kelseyville, owned by the Borghesani family, was available and we were willing to renovate the downstairs area for a Retail Visitor Center. It made sense to be in a location which already had existing events, a festival, and a marketing more strategy.”
Myron Holdenried added, “In 1997, Mark Burch, who was working at Kendall Jackson winery in Lakeport, entered the picture and took over making our wine. He was very passionate about the quality potential of Lake County grapes, especially Sauvignon Blanc. He believed that there were great opportunities for our products.”
The Holdenrieds constructed a winery cellar on Benson Lane, north of Kelseyville, on the location of their pear packing facility in 1998.
The original cold storage building used by the Holdenrieds for their packing operation is now the official permanent barrel and case storage facility for Wildhurst. The pear packing facility was closed in 2005.
Under the committed direction of Burch and assistant, Banyon Kirkendall, Wildhurst now produces wines for other custom clients as well as their other labels of Mackinaw and Plunkett Creek.
“Mark and Banyon work many long hours getting the best out of the grape,” Myron Holdenried said.
The couple said that in the past 20 years they have been fortunate to have had very dedicated and innovative employees who have contributed significantly to the Wildhurst success.
“With great creativity, energy, and hard work, the staff has put on some amazing events and parties,” they said. “Here is a toast to the next 20 years!”
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The order addresses allegations that Wells Fargo Financial employees steered potential prime borrowers into more costly subprime loans and separately falsified income information in mortgage applications.
In addition to the civil money penalty, the order requires that Wells Fargo compensate affected borrowers.
In agreeing to the order, Wells Fargo did not admit any wrongdoing.
“The alleged actions committed by a relatively small group of team members are not what we stand for at Wells Fargo,” said Chairman and CEO John Stumpf. “Fair and responsible lending practices have been at the core of our culture, and they will continue to guide us as we work closely with the Federal Reserve to provide restitution to customers who may have been harmed, and to reinforce our internal controls so they further reflect Wells Fargo’s commitment to helping customers succeed financially.”
The $85 million civil money penalty is the largest the board has assessed in a consumer-protection enforcement action and is the first formal enforcement action taken by a federal bank regulatory agency to address alleged steering of borrowers into high-cost, subprime loans.
Wells Fargo Financial – a once-active, non-bank subsidiary of Wells Fargo – made subprime loans that primarily refinanced existing home mortgages in which borrowers received additional money from the loan proceeds in so-called cash-out refinancing loans.
The order addresses allegations that Wells Fargo Financial sales personnel steered borrowers who were potentially eligible for prime interest rate loans into loans at higher, subprime interest rates, resulting in greater costs to borrowers.
The order also addresses separate allegations that Wells Fargo Financial sales personnel falsified information about borrowers' incomes to make it appear that the borrowers qualified for loans when they would not have qualified based on their actual incomes.
These practices were allegedly fostered by Wells Fargo Financial's incentive compensation and sales quota programs and the lack of adequate controls to manage the risks resulting from these programs.
These deficiencies allegedly constitute unsafe and unsound banking practices and unfair or deceptive acts or practices that are prohibited by the Federal Trade Commission Act and similar state laws.
The order requires Wells Fargo to compensate borrowers affected by these practices.
To identify prime-eligible borrowers with cash-out refinancing loans who were subject to improper steering, Wells Fargo is required to reevaluate the qualifications of all borrowers who took out a subprime, cash-out refinancing loan between January 2006 and June 2008 to account for certain specific steering techniques.
To identify Wells Fargo Financial borrowers whose income information was falsified without their knowledge, Wells Fargo is required to set up a procedure for potentially affected borrowers to show that their actual income at the time did not qualify them for the loans they were granted.
Wells Fargo is required to provide notice of this procedure to all borrowers who obtained cash-out refinancing loans between January 2004 and June 2008 at a Wells Fargo Financial office where there is evidence that sales personnel at that office altered or falsified borrowers' income information.
These compensation plans must be approved by the Federal Reserve. An independent, third-party administrator will review determinations about the eligibility of individual borrowers for compensation and the amounts of compensation provided.
The Federal Reserve also will monitor compliance with the approved plans. Failure to comply with the plans will constitute a breach of the cease and desist order.
The amount of compensation provided to individual borrowers will depend on a number of factors, including differences between what borrowers paid and what they should have paid in terms of origination points, interest payments, fees, and penalties.
ntil specific determinations of harm to individual borrowers are made, it is difficult to determine the total amount of compensation provided to borrowers, according to the Federal Reserve's Wednesday announcement.
Based on preliminary estimates, the amount of compensation that each eligible borrower will receive ranges between $1,000 and $20,000, but some eligible borrowers may receive less than $1,000 and others may receive more than $20,000. The number of borrowers who may receive compensation under both plans is estimated to be between 3,700 and possibly more than 10,000.
Further information for borrowers may be found at www.wellsfargo.com/mortgage.
In addition to the monetary components of the settlement, Wells Fargo is required to improve oversight of its anti-fraud and compliance programs and incentive compensation and performance management policies for personnel who sell and underwrite home mortgage loans.
The board also has issued consent orders against 16 former Wells Fargo Financial sales personnel prohibiting them from becoming employed in the banking industry.
The board also has issued a consent cease and desist order against another former Wells Fargo Financial sales person prohibiting future improper conduct.
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According to AAA, which tracks gas prices as a service to consumers, all but one Northern California metro area tracked by the organization saw a double digit decrease at the pump over the past month.
The Golden State’s average for a gallon of regular, unleaded gasoline is $3.78, down 16 cents since last month’s AAA report on June 14. For perspective, that’s 64 cents higher than California’s average price on this date last year.
Among all 50 states, California is tied with Rhode Island, Washington and Michigan for the ninth highest state average price for regular, unleaded gasoline. Alaska is first and Hawaii is second. Both are the only states with averages over four dollars.
Northern California gas prices are now averaging $3.77, down 15 cents from last month.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, motorists can expect to pay an average price of $3.86, which is a 16-cent drop.
The national average price of $3.64 is down by 6 cents, which is 92 cents more than the national price on this date last year, when it was $2.72.
“There has been huge volatility with crude oil prices recently, which is reflected in the gas prices that consumers are seeing at the pump,” explained AAA Northern California spokesperson Matt Skryja. “This recent jump in pump prices, across many parts of Northern California, comes as demand for gasoline rose over the last week. Prior to that, demand had dropped the last two weeks in June.”
Recently, investors have been spurred to buy more crude oil by a weak U.S. dollar and positive news about Greece’s financial future. This helped to drive up the price of crude, with gas prices following.
Because oil futures are traded in U.S. dollars, when the dollar weakens, investors, including those holding foreign currencies, get comparatively more oil for their money. This makes crude oil a more attractive investment, which puts pressure on prices to move higher.
Additionally, positive economic news spurs investors to buy, as they see growing economic strength as an indication that demand will increase.
On July 8, a reversal of this positive outlook started to take hold. Poor jobs numbers in the U.S. and economic concerns about Portugal and China helped to curb investors’ buying activity and helped to put downward pressure on crude prices.
The least expensive average price in Northern California can be found in Marysville, Modesto and Tracy where regular is $3.66.
Of all the metro areas in Northern California where gas prices are tracked by AAA, Eureka’s average price of $4.07 is the highest. It’s also the highest price in the lower 48 states.
The least expensive gasoline in the country is found in St. George, Utah, where the average price of gas is $3.40.
Wailuku, Hawaii, holds the dubious crown for the highest average price in the nation, at $4.37 per gallon.
AAA now offers text alerts via mobile phone for low gas prices in your area. Sign up today at www.aaa.com/gas.