Deep Dive
Industry insights from our journalists
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State of the Electric Utility 2021: Gas doubts rise, DER focus wanes, and 5 other key takeaways
Despite the impacts of COVID-19, the energy transition is stronger than ever, the results of Utility Dive's 8th annual industry survey show.
Larry Pearl • April 01, 2021 -
California's last nuclear plant is poised to shut down. What happens next?
A large amount of carbon-free energy will come offline once the Diablo Canyon power plant retires, raising questions around how the state will replace it.
Kavya Balaraman • March 23, 2021 -
Amid rising rooftop solar battles, emerging net metering alternatives could shake up the sector
As distributed resource penetrations rise, a shift of costs to non-solar owners due to retail rate net energy metering is driving innovations in policy and rate design that can replace it.
Herman K. Trabish • March 18, 2021 -
Photo illustration by Brian Tucker/Utility Dive; photograph by jhorrocks via Getty Images
'A total mindshift': Utilities replace gas peakers, 'old school' demand response with flexible DERs
Utility-customer cooperation can balance renewables' variability with flexibility without using "blunt" demand response or natural gas.
Herman K. Trabish • March 08, 2021 -
Texas must increase ties to the national grid and DER to avoid another power catastrophe, analysts say
Planning for inter-regional transmission and distributed resources could do what ERCOT's competitive, energy-only market didn't – keep the heat and lights on, energy advisors say.
Herman K. Trabish • March 02, 2021 -
Danielle Ternes/Utility Dive
Possible hundreds of billions in US power sector securitizations spur ratepayer protection debate
Securitization can ease impacts of COVID-19 moratoria debt, stranded asset costs, and extreme weather losses, but bankers and regulators agree that customer costs need oversight.
Herman K. Trabish • Feb. 22, 2021 -
Danielle Ternes/Utility Dive
Power experts cite gas constraints as main cause of ERCOT outages, but system planning questions remain
"The fact that this was not wind's fault is not an argument that the wind system as we currently have it would have done better if it were a bigger part of the grid," said a professor of environmental engineering at Georgia Tech.
Catherine Morehouse • Feb. 18, 2021 -
Arizona showdown: Lawmakers face regulators in fight over zero-emissions mandate
Conservatives say the Arizona Corporation Commission's proposed zero-carbon mandate oversteps its constitutional authority while defenders say the legal debate is an excuse to impede the state's climate fight.
Herman K. Trabish • Feb. 10, 2021 -
Nuclear has another friend in Biden, but changes at the NRC could mean more scrutiny ahead
The president has voiced strong support for nuclear, but as a new NRC chair begins his tenure, the sector could face stricter regulations.
Matthew Bandyk • Feb. 01, 2021 -
'No compelling reason not to': Former FERC chairs, commissioners call for federal transmission overhaul
Nine former commissioners and chairs agree that now is the time for federal regulators to tackle interregional grid planning, following the release of a report.
Catherine Morehouse • Jan. 28, 2021 -
Want a more distributed and lower cost power system? Try this new planning tool
Vibrant Clean Energy offers system modeling to match today's granularity and breaks the barrier between bulk system and distribution system planning.
Herman K. Trabish • Jan. 28, 2021 -
Courtesy of Mack Trucks
Fleet tech forges ahead, for the waste sector, but some bide time on higher-stake EV investments
The pandemic strained finances for some waste and recycling collectors looking to upgrade their operations. But falling costs and ESG pressures could catalyze EV pilots, routing software adoption and more in 2021.
Maria Rachal • Jan. 27, 2021 -
Hawaii finalizes utility regulation considered potential template for US power system transformation
Stakeholders agree the state's final performance-based regulation order includes opportunities and safeguards that can lead to a new regulatory paradigm.
Herman K. Trabish • Jan. 19, 2021 -
2021 Outlook: Greening natural gas while planning for service reliability
Natural gas remains essential to the U.S. energy grid despite deep decarbonization targets, experts say, as utilities and generators pilot lower emission projects, while also looking to energy storage and other options.
Iulia Gheorghiu • Jan. 15, 2021 -
NPPD
2021 Outlook: Will hydrogen experience a breakthrough?
Industry analysts say 2021 could be the year U.S. policy on hydrogen catches up with the EU and China, but other key milestones could take longer.
Emma Penrod • Jan. 14, 2021 -
2021 Outlook: 10 power sector trends to watch
A new administration under a new party is one of many signs that 2021 will look different for policymakers, regulators, utilities and other stakeholders, but the continuation of some older trends is expected as well.
Catherine Morehouse • Jan. 13, 2021 -
Permission granted by Fermata Energy
2021 Outlook: The future of electric vehicle charging is bidirectional — but the future isn't here yet
Within a few years, cars may be able to power homes, participate in energy markets and help businesses lower power bills, experts say.
Robert Walton • Jan. 12, 2021 -
2021 Outlook: The DER boom continues, driving a 'reimagining' of the distribution system
The rise of distributed resources will require a renewed distribution system that gives utilities more visibility of what's going on at the customer level to cut costs and protect reliability.
Herman K. Trabish • Jan. 12, 2021 -
Two barriers to utility and customer savings with flexible loads and how regulators can help
Utilities, regulators and load flexibility authorities say better distribution system control technologies and compensation are needed to increase the use of flexible customer-sited resources.
Herman K. Trabish • Jan. 06, 2021 -
Want to know how to pick an energy market? Watch the Mountain West power providers
Xcel Colorado just joined California’s imbalance market, SPP will offer imbalance services, and researchers have proposed a Colorado-centric system. But what do power providers want?
Herman K. Trabish • Jan. 04, 2021 -
The search for the next net metering policy takes center stage in California
California’s utilities and solar advocates agree a forward-looking successor tariff must use the state’s nation-leading rooftop solar penetration to address its increasingly dynamic system needs with storage.
Herman K. Trabish • Dec. 23, 2020 -
APS's plan for closing coal plants could be a gamechanger, analysts say, but who will pay?
The company's current rate case includes $144.45 million for communities impacted by its proposed coal closures, the biggest-ever such U.S. utility commitment, but customers would pay over 80% of the plan.
Herman K. Trabish • Dec. 18, 2020 -
Trio of New England decisions could help or hurt renewables as ISO-NE, NEPOOL face off at FERC
Some clean energy advocates say one of the decisions could make it more difficult to develop energy storage pojects in the region.
Robert Walton • Dec. 16, 2020 -
Getty
No 'green halo' for renewables: First Solar, Veolia, others tackle wind and solar environmental impacts
From the toxics and wastewater in manufacturing to the difficulty of recycling PV panels and turbine blades, solar and wind in particular create impacts the industries are trying to reduce.
Lynn Freehill-Maye • Dec. 14, 2020 -
Kendall Davis/Utility Dive
Utility customers owe up to $40B in COVID-19 debt, but who will pay it?
Shutoff moratoria have provided a reprieve for some on 2020 power bills, but still-mounting debt needs forgiveness or securitization, analysts say.
Herman K. Trabish • Dec. 03, 2020
