Audit: Juneau utility didn't overcharge consumers
JUNEAU, ALASKA - A new audit says a Juneau utility did not overcharge consumers during the power crisis caused by an avalanche in April.
On April 16, avalanches knocked out the transmission lines supplying Juneau's cheap energy from the Snettisham hydroelectric plant.
That forced Alaska Electric Light & Power Co. to use expensive diesel-fueled generators for a month and a half, and rates went up nearly five-fold.
Mayor Bruce Bothello asked an independent Juneau auditing firm to see if the emergency rate hike was proper.
Bothello says he's satisfied with the audit's conclusions that the company did not overcharge customers. The power company paid for the audit.
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A robot is killing weeds by zapping them with electricity
LONDON - On a field in England, three robots have been given a mission: to find and zap weeds with electricity before planting seeds in the cleared soil.
The robots — named Tom, Dick and Harry — were developed by Small Robot Company to rid land of unwanted weeds with minimal use of chemicals and heavy machinery.
The startup has been working on its autonomous weed killers since 2017, and this April launched Tom, its first commercial robot which is now operational on three UK farms. The other robots are still in the prototype stage, undergoing testing.
Small Robot says robot Tom…