As Texas sweats, its electric grid has remained stable, in part due to renewables

The Public Utility Commission of Texas continues to develop a new dispatchable reliability reserve service and approved an 83% pay raise for the board of the state’s grid operator on June 29.

By Robert Walton • June 30, 2023

Vistra-Energy Harbor deal poses market power risks, say Ohio rate payer advocate, PJM market monitor

“Vistra currently has market power in the PJM energy and capacity markets … and adding the Energy Harbor nuclear units to its fleet will increase the incentive to exercise market power,” PJM’s market monitor said.

By Ethan Howland • June 26, 2023

Arizona Public Service reaches settlement with ACC, will raise rates to recover Four Corners investment

The utility will also be allowed to earn a higher return on equity after a court determined regulators overstepped their authority in lowering the ROE to punish the utility for customer service issues. 

By Robert Walton • June 26, 2023

A 360-degree approach to industrial sustainability: Parmacotto and Enel X Global Retail

Climate change is not some future state — it’s here today, and the scientific predictions are increasingly dire.

June 26, 2023

Gas-fired capacity surges this year, solar poised to boom: FERC report

About 113,700 MW of solar, wind and gas-fired generation is highly likely to start operating by April 2026 but could be offset by about 44,100 MW of power plant retirements, according to the report.

By Ethan Howland • June 23, 2023

Conventional generation outages set a record in 2022: NERC

The performance of wind and solar resources must also improve, NERC said, particularly as they place “increased operational demands on the now smaller fleet of conventional generation.”

By Robert Walton • June 23, 2023

NRC authorizes first US high-assay low-enriched uranium enrichment plant critical for advanced reactors

The start up of HALEU operations in Ohio is a “significant step in establishing commercial production” in the U.S., said Jon Carmack, DOE’s deputy assistant secretary for nuclear fuel cycle and supply chain.

By Stephen Singer • June 22, 2023

In a reversal, Arizona regulators approve 575-MW Salt River Project gas plant expansion

A larger expansion of Salt River Project’s Coolidge Generating Station was denied in 2022, primarily due to its potential impact on a nearby Black community.

By Robert Walton • June 22, 2023

Four non-transmission solutions for clean energy with new power lines in the permitting ‘Valley of Death’

Smart technologies, storage, overbuilding and distributed resources can move the energy transition ahead until workable reforms bring new transmission online, stakeholders agreed

By Herman K. Trabish • June 21, 2023

ERCOT expects record peak demand Wednesday as Texas regulators continue work on reliability standard

 The grid operator for most of Texas anticipates sufficient resources as it forecasts demand near 83 GW on June 21, but observers note coal and gas plant outages are higher than anticipated.

By Robert Walton • June 16, 2023

Power plants remain vulnerable to outages in extreme cold, despite warnings, FERC and NERC find

Most power plant outages during Winter Storm Elliott were caused by problems with freezing, fuel supply, and mechanical and electrical issues, echoing challenges from previous cold spells, FERC staff said Thursday.

By Ethan Howland • June 16, 2023

EPA could set tighter NOx limits for new gas-fired power plants under proposed consent decree

The standard for new gas-fired power plants hasn’t been updated in more than 16 years, so it no longer reflects achievable emission limits, according to the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club.

By Ethan Howland • June 15, 2023

More regional transfer capacity is key to mitigating grid reliability risks: ACORE panel

Ensuring that electricity markets properly value demand response is also an important approach, experts said at a discussion hosted by the American Council on Renewable Energy.

By Robert Walton • June 14, 2023

As states differ on the benefits of Bitcoin, is there a solution to its climate and power-system impacts?

Bitcoin miners’ 24/7 electricity need and financial focus raise red flags for climate activists about increased fossil fuel use, but some miners are starting to see a new solution in clean energy.

By Herman K. Trabish • June 8, 2023

How to communicate rising energy costs to utility customers

Advice for how to use the right message to share rising energy prices, improving customer satisfaction.

June 5, 2023

FERC approves PG&E plan to spin off 5.6 GW in advance of possible minority stake sale

“We've actually seen pretty robust inbound interest in the asset, and so we do expect a fairly competitive process,” Carolyn Burke, PG&E Corp. CFO, said.

By Ethan Howland • June 2, 2023

DOE targets nuclear fusion pilot plant design in 5 to 10 years as it announces $46M in funding

The money will go to eight companies and is part of an agencywide initiative to accelerate the viability of commercial fusion energy in partnership with the private sector.

By Stephen Singer • June 1, 2023

PJM, PSEG, others urge FERC to reject generator pleas to drop Winter Storm Elliott non-performance penalties

“These failures could have had life and death consequences had events played out differently,” the PJM Interconnection said. “PJM operators preserved reliability while contending with unprecedented difficulties."

By Ethan Howland • May 31, 2023

Texas plan to provide generators with incentives worth up to $1B annually heads to Gov. Abbott

Lawmakers passed the reliability program a day before the end of Texas’ 2023 legislative session.

By Robert Walton • May 30, 2023

The generators who cry ‘wolf’: How competitive wholesale markets handle generator bankruptcy

Generators with competitive operating costs that enter bankruptcy have every incentive to remain in business and to produce as much energy as they can whenever they can earn more than their variable costs.

By Mike Hogan • May 24, 2023

Oklo announces plans for 2 nuclear plants in Ohio area touted as prime real estate for advanced reactors

The probability of “any significant unknowns relative to the site is extremely small,” said a 2017 report to the U.S. Department of Energy, referring to its past industrial use.

By Stephen Singer • May 22, 2023

As Texas eyes new gas power plants, ‘probably the most important bill for grid reliability is effectively dead’

The likely failure of a bill to expand energy savings targets for investor-owned utilities is a “significant disappointment,” said Cyrus Reed, conservation director of the Sierra Club’s Lone Star Chapter.

By Robert Walton • May 22, 2023

The grid orchestration opportunity for America’s G&T cooperatives

Post-IRA, G&T co-ops have a historic opportunity to transform their relationship with member co-ops and lead the rural energy transition.

May 22, 2023

MISO capacity prices plunge over 93% as generation comes online, demand dips in first seasonal auction

Capacity prices fell to $2/MW-day to $15/MW-day depending on the season from $236.66/MW-day a year ago across the grid operator’s central and northern regions.

By Ethan Howland • May 19, 2023

Exelon, other generators urge PJM to reject proposal to reduce ‘capacity performance’ penalties

The proposal would undermine reliability when more frequent extreme weather and falling capacity margins make it more important for resources to meet their capacity commitments, the companies said.

By Ethan Howland • May 19, 2023