“There’s no indication of any near-term impacts from the overseas gas disruptions,” SoCal Edison spokesman David Eisenhauer told City News Service Friday. “From an electricity supply and pricing standpoint, we don’t see impacts.”

In Riverside, the municipally owned Riverside Public Utilities also was not forecasting any dramatic changes, noting that natural gas inputs to the power grid are “fairly moderate and limited.”

“Riverside’s internal natural gas generation … is typically used to meet just about 5% of the city’s total load-serving needs,” RPU told CNS. “And the expected amount of natural gas we anticipate using this summer has already been pre-purchased at competitive prices.”

Earlier this week, joint U.S.-Israel military attacks on Iran resulted in significant damage to the country’s South Pars natural gas field, one of the largest in the world and generally described as a “lifeline” to meet the Islamic republic’s needs.

The nation’s forces responded in kind, hurling missiles and drones at Qatar, which hosts the largest American military installation in the Middle East, inflicting major damage to liquified natural gas repositories. According to published reports, the LNG facilities could require three or more years to repair.

The tit-for-tat strikes come following Iran’s announced closure of the Strait of Hormuz to oil and LNG ship tanker traffic navigating the Persian Gulf, with the exception of a few select countries, and then only after payments in Chinese Yuan for passage, according to reports based on statements by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Spot market contracts on natural gas priced per million British thermal units spiked to nearly $3.30 BTUs on Thursday but receded 2% in U.S.- based commodities trading Friday, according to TradingEconomics.com and OilPrice.com. The softening was similar to minor downward adjustments in per- barrel spot prices for West Texas Intermediate Crude. Despite touching $100 a week ago, late futures trading Friday saw WTIC oil prices holding at $98 per barrel, which is still causing prices at the gasoline pump to steadily rise everywhere.

Domestic oil prices have been mildly restrained by the White House’s decision to release 172 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. In overseas oil futures trading, per-barrel prices on some crude products have already jumped to nearly $150.

While diesel or other fuel isn’t vital to run power plants, natural gas often is, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

“Natural gas is the single-largest source of energy used to generate electricity in the United States, making up 43% of electricity generation,” the EIA said.

The Imperial Irrigation District, which supplies electricity to a large swath of the eastern Coachella Valley, told CNS there’s an “action plan” in place to contend with any price surges stemming from greater pressure on U.S. natural gas producers to sell more product overseas due to Middle East supply breakdowns.

“Of 1,340 megawatts, 40% of this power generation would come from natural gas,” IID said. “To protect against market volatility, we have a risk management policy and procurement plan … that supports a strategic natural gas and energy hedging program, giving us flexibility to changing conditions.”

The utility said that as of now, “we have secured up to 90% of our forecasted natural gas requirements for this summer.”

IID said its power purchasing team keeps a close eye on market fluctuations and can “make resource decisions daily, hourly and even minute by minute … to protect customers from volatility.”

SoCal Edison’s power portfolio is sufficiently diverse to “help shield customers” from market shocks, according to Eisenhauer.

“Unlike gasoline, which can re-price quickly, electricity rates don’t move in real time,” he said.

SCE is the largest energy provider in Riverside County.

Eisenhauer said less than 10% of SCE’s power plants operate exclusively on natural gas, and he emphasized that pricing adjustments are subject to hearings at the state level.

According to RPU, because of advance contracts on natural gas purchases, “even if natural gas prices start to rise significantly, Riverside will be protected by fixed cost forward gas purchases.”

The utility further noted that most of its acquisitions originate from Delta, Utah, “where natural gas is much less expensive.”

“RPU staff do not anticipate experiencing any material deviations to our budgeted energy costs this year, regardless of how domestic natural gas prices might change,” the agency stated.

The U.S.-Israel operations, dubbed “Operation Epic Fury,” started with the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader and most of his family, as well as the bombing of a girls school, where more than 150 children died, according to Amnesty International and multiple other sources. The Trump administration did not obtain a formal declaration of war from Congress, and no exit strategy has been announced by the White House.

Iran’s IRGC and military have made it clear the U.S. needs to vacate the entire region to restore peace.

Inflation predictions vary, but energy price impacts from the war will likely weigh on most sectors of the economy, according to the Federal Reserve Bank and other sources.

The post RivCo Utilities Prepared For Potential Energy Price Shocks From Mideast War appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Anthony Silvas Miera, 51, of Spring Valley was arrested in December following an investigation by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department’s Cold Case Unit.

Miera is slated for arraignment Friday before Superior Court Judge Jay Kiel at the Riverside Hall of Justice.

The defendant is being held on $1 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail.

According to sheriff’s Sgt. Jarred Bishop, he allegedly gunned down 21- year-old Raymond Cardenas in the predawn hours of June 18, 2006, on Citrus Street, near Northgate Street, less than a half-mile south of Interstate 215.

Bishop alleged there was an unspecified confrontation between the men on the street during which Miera pulled a handgun and opened fire, then fled.

The victim managed to run to a nearby residence and wake the occupants, who called 911.

“Deputies arrived on scene and located … Cardenas, suffering from gunshot wounds,” the sergeant said.

The young man was pronounced dead minutes later by paramedics.

“Although Miera was identified as a suspect (at the time), there was insufficient evidence to charge him, and the case went cold,” Bishop said.

He said the investigation was shelved until Cold Case Unit detectives reopened it in August.

“After conducting additional investigation, the unit developed sufficient evidence to charge Miera,” Bishop said, without providing specifics.

An arrest warrant was served at Miera’s residence, where he was taken into custody without incident on Dec. 26.

He has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.

The post Man Accused In Deadly RivCo Attack Almost 20 Years Ago Due In Court appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.