Buffett facing coal conflicts

A Berkshire utility runs into resistance as it tries to move away from coal-fired power plants.

VIEW IN BROWSER | SUBSCRIBE FRI, DEC 20, 2019 WARREN BUFFETT WATCH Berkshire utility faces conflicting coal economics in the West PacifiCorp, the big electric utility owned by Berkshire Hathaway Energy, wants to retire some of its coal-fired power plants sooner than planned, to take advantage of declining costs for renewable energy sources like wind and solar.   The state of Wyoming, where those plants are located, is making it difficult, as officials there worry about what's happening to its coal-fueled economy.   The Financial Times (subscription required) reports state regulators are taking a very close look at PacifiCorp's long-range plan for how it wants to generate power in the next decade.  Wyoming's legislature has also passed a law requiring that utilities look for buyers before they shut down coal plants.   Pushing in the other direction, the states of Washington and Oregon are banning the sale of coal-generated electricity over the next 11 years.     For the utility, the prime driver is money. The FT quotes PacifiCorp's Rick Link as saying the move away from coal is primarily driven by costs that have "really come down quite a bit for renewables," including less expensive ways to store wind and solar power until it's needed by consumers.   "Our customers would, over time, save money by pursuing these largely renewable and storage alternatives rather than continuing to operate certain coal facilities on our system."   Coal, however, is a big part of Wyoming's economy. The state provides 40% of the country's supply.   Kemmerer is home to a coal mine that feeds a plant that's already been partially converted to burn natural gas. A city official tells the FT, "These are not just your average jobs. These are well-paying jobs, and they're the kind of jobs that this culture here is accustomed to having around."   But as an economist tells the FT, "If you're in favor of letting the cheapest supply cost win, the transition [to coal] is going to happen."  BUFFETT'S OUTLOOK FOR COAL At the 2017 Berkshire annual meeting, Buffett was asked about his thoughts on the future of coal as a major source of shipping revenue for Berkshire's BNSF freight railway. Charlie Munger didn't entirely agree with Buffett's forecast. BUFFETT AROUND THE INTERNET Some links may require a subscription Markets Insider has "A Berkshire Hathaway decade in review: Here are the biggest takeaways from Warren Buffett's annual shareholder letters" A Forbes contributor has thoughts on "What We Can Learn From The Buffett Family Motto" BERKSHIRE STOCK WATCH BERKSHIRE'S TOP STOCK HOLDINGS  Berkshire's top stock holdings by market value, based on today's closing prices. The number of shares held is as of September 30, 2019, as disclosed in the company's November 14 13F SEC filing.   The full list of holdings and current market values is available from CNBC.com's Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio Tracker.   QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS Please send any questions or comments about the newsletter to me at alex.crippen@nbcuni.com. (Sorry, but we don't forward questions or comments to Buffett himself.)   If you aren't already subscribed to this newsletter, you can sign up here.    -- Alex Crippen, Editor, Warren Buffett Watch   Unsubscribe Manage Newsletters Terms of Service   Digital Products Feedback Privacy Policy   © 2019 CNBC LLC. All rights reserved. A property of NBCUniversal. 900 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes and Market Data and Analysis. Data also provided by THOMSON REUTERS