Regulation & Policy

New environmental justice office at EPA aims to raise the issue’s national profile

The Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights, which will employ about 200 people, is seen as another step by the Biden administration to prioritize environmental justice in its policies.

By Megan Quinn • Sept. 27, 2022

Avoiding the ‘tax on God’ dilemma when transitioning to dynamic rates

Dynamic rate design is one of the most important tools for decarbonizing the grid. But it is imperative to figure out how to make these types of choices more accessible and better for customers to achieve targets.

By Brad Langley, VP of Marketing, GridX • Sept. 26, 2022

Explore the Trendline➔

The Energy Transition to Renewables

New laws, corporate commitments and favorable economics are giving a significant boost to renewable energy in the U.S., but there are multiple headwinds around grid interconnections, transmission, supply chains and trade disputes.

By Utility Dive staff

FERC rejects complaint from generators seeking strict MOPR in New York

The agency’s decision “should be the final nail in the MOPR’s coffin,” Sarah Ladin, senior attorney at the Institute for Policy Integrity at NYU School of Law, said Friday.

By Ethan Howland • Sept. 23, 2022

NYPA burns up to 44% green hydrogen in GE turbine in first such retrofit of a US natural gas plant

Fuel blends from 5% to 44% hydrogen were tried in the demonstration project.

By Robert Walton • Sept. 23, 2022

Is the Inflation Reduction Act the end of the wholesale clean attribute market?

The IRA may reduce any real or perceived tension between wholesale markets and state policies and the need for other mechanisms to harmonize wholesale markets and state policies, the authors write.  

By Sarah Ladin & Burçin Ünel • Sept. 23, 2022

The maxim of the SEC’s climate rule: What you don’t know can hurt you

The standardized disclosures of climate risks will effectively lay bare companies’ readiness to transition to low-carbon operating models and the mounting physical hazards they face, the authors write.

By Bob Hinkle and Lisa Jacobson • Sept. 22, 2022

High electricity rates could jeopardize California’s electrification efforts: report

The analysis estimates that California’s rate structures raise the cost of operating an electric vehicle by roughly $600 a year, which could reduce EV adoption by between 13% and 33%.

By Kavya Balaraman • Sept. 22, 2022

Manchin permitting-reform bill allows DOE to designate ‘national interest’ transmission projects

While it’s supported by renewable energy groups, the bill faces opposition from some House and Senate Democrats.

By Ethan Howland • Sept. 22, 2022

California could phase out gas heaters by 2030 to cut smog amid electrification push

The home and building appliances are “an underappreciated driver of unhealthy air quality in California cities,” nonprofit advocates said in a report Tuesday, as state regulators consider only allowing zero-emissions alternatives.

By Maria Rachal • Sept. 21, 2022

SoCalGas, SDG&E outline plan for hydrogen blending demonstration projects in California

The utilities intend to use a phased approach to blending hydrogen into utility distribution infrastructure at a 5% level and above.

By Kavya Balaraman • Sept. 20, 2022

Secretive committee of utility insiders could undermine Texas energy leadership and affordability

The Texas Legislature needs to ensure that self-interested electric generation actors are not sacrificing Texas families and businesses to protect their market share, the author writes.

By Landon Stevens • Sept. 20, 2022

California becomes first state to eliminate subsidies for gas line extensions amid electrification push

Current subsidies for gas line extensions are “a vestige of the past” that no longer makes sense in light of California’s greenhouse gas emission reduction goals, CPUC Commissioner Clifford Rechtschaffen said Thursday. 

By Kavya Balaraman • Sept. 16, 2022

Taking the utility monopoly door down to put more solar up

A proposal by Sunnova would end nearly a century of guaranteed monopoly for California utilities by letting other companies not just sell power but use an alternative delivery system to the utility's platform, the author writes.

By John Farrell • Sept. 15, 2022

Fixing California’s resource adequacy woes

The real questions are what level of bulk reliability we want and whether we are willing to invest in the institutional change needed to support it, the author writes.

By Fredrich Kahrl • Sept. 14, 2022

Real-time pricing, new rates and enabling technologies target demand flexibility to ease California outages

Price signals linked to power market needs through smart technologies could make distributed energy resources that are aggregated and automated by third parties an answer to California reliability threats, industry observers said.

By Herman K. Trabish • Sept. 13, 2022

IRA ‘turbocharging’ of clean energy tax credits could boost NextEra, AES, other renewable developers: S&P

Brookfield Renewable Partners, Clearway Energy and Pattern Energy Group are among other companies that also could benefit by providing electricity to make green hydrogen, S&P analysts said in a Sept. 8 report.

By Ethan Howland • Sept. 13, 2022

White House eyes power reliability standards, energy efficiency rules for Bitcoin, other crypto mining

Crypto operations consume up to 1.7% of U.S. electricity and have a climate impact “similar to emissions from diesel fuel used in railroads,” according to a new report from the White House.

By Robert Walton • Sept. 12, 2022

Congress should require FERC, NERC to monitor gas pipeline capacity to ensure reliability, manufacturers say

The federal agencies should delay nuclear and coal-fired power plant retirements if the shutdowns would lead to gas pipeline constraints, the Industrial Energy Consumers of America said Friday.

By Ethan Howland • Sept. 12, 2022

The great resignation — An opportunity to rethink your PPE offerings

What do your PPE offerings have to do with employee retention? Get insights from Red Wing for Business.

By Tito Warren, President Global Industrial Sales and Operations, Red Wing Shoe Company • Sept. 12, 2022

FERC’s duty of candor expansion would pose tough challenges for energy industry communication

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s proposed duty of candor expansion is not ready for prime time, the authors write.

By Zach Terwilliger, John Decker and Ryan Hoeffner • Sept. 9, 2022

PG&E, SDG&E press regulators to revise proposal to end gas line extension subsidies in 2023

One concern is that the California Public Utilities Commission’s suggested sunset date of July 1, 2023, may not align with builders’ planning processes for new construction.

By Kavya Balaraman • Sept. 8, 2022

To boost clean energy, incentivize innovation in existing natural gas infrastructure

Eliminating access to affordable energy options like the direct use of natural gas — particularly at a time when solar and wind are not able to meet energy demand — is not a wise path forward, the author writes.

By Dave Schryver • Sept. 8, 2022

Western utilities to share capacity under proposed resource adequacy program

“We can better ensure reliability by working together, and we avoid the risks and inefficiency of continuing to do it individually,” Rebecca Sexton, Western Power Pool director of reliability programs, said Wednesday.

By Ethan Howland • Sept. 1, 2022

DOE launches $10.5B Grid Resilience and Innovative Partnerships Program

The planned funding includes $2.5 billion for grid resilience grants, $3 billion for smart grid grants and $5 billion for grid innovation efforts.

By Ethan Howland • Aug. 31, 2022

California nears vote on proposal to keep Diablo Canyon nuclear plant online as deadlines loom

The final version of the Newsom administration’s proposal would provide the state with the option to extend the plant’s two units – originally scheduled to shut down in 2024 and 2025 – for another five years.

By Kavya Balaraman • Aug. 31, 2022