Regulation & Policy
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Energy secretary nominee distances himself from Ukraine scandal, pledges baseload power support
Dan Brouillette was grilled on his commitment to Montana's Colstrip power plant and other baseload generation.
By Kavya Balaraman • Nov. 15, 2019 -
CPUC demands PG&E defend power shut-off actions, launches investigation into all IOUs
Regulators want PG&E to show why it should not be fined for violating communication protocols during planned outages in October and November. It could be fined up to $100,000 for each offense.
By Kavya Balaraman • Nov. 14, 2019 -
What will your city's climate feel like in 2080?
At current emissions rates, New York summers are projected to feel nearly 10 degrees warmer. Learn how 10 city climates are projected to feel in 60 years.
By Cailin Crowe • Nov. 13, 2019 -
Cuomo threatens to revoke National Grid's license to provide gas in NYC due to hookup moratorium
The utility's leadership has 14 days to reply to the governor's intention to revoke its certificate to serve 1.8 million customers in Long Island and New York City.
By Kavya Balaraman • Nov. 13, 2019 -
Incentives spur rapid storage growth in New York, outpacing distributed solar expansion: NYSERDA CEO
NYSERDA has been comparing the pace of its storage incentive program, aimed at bringing developers into the state, with the New York Sun program for distributed solar.
By Iulia Gheorghiu • Nov. 08, 2019 -
Florida eases financing for billions in storm hardening spending, retains energy efficiency program
The Public Service Commission voted on Tuesday to allow utilities to bypass the stringent rate review previously required to add storm expenses to base rates.
By Lynn Freehill-Maye • Nov. 06, 2019 -
Congressional Policy Tracker: Everything you need to know from carbon capture to wind energy
Renewable energy developers are lobbying for tax credit extensions while Republican leaders seek bipartisan research-focused solutions to support advanced nuclear, carbon capture and energy storage.
By Iulia Gheorghiu • Nov. 06, 2019 -
Sen. Manchin 'fighting' for White House nomination of Democratic FERC candidate
The independent energy regulatory agency has two vacancies but President Donald Trump only nominated FERC general counsel James Danly for the open Republican seat.
By Iulia Gheorghiu • Nov. 06, 2019 -
FirstEnergy nears proposal to decouple Ohio utility revenues, electricity consumption: CEO
The plan "fixes our base revenues" and makes part of the company "somewhat recession-proof," Chuck Jones said during the company's Q3 earnings call.
By Larry Pearl • Nov. 05, 2019 -
Trump administration continues efforts to ease utility regulatory burdens with dual coal ash proposals
Environmental advocates say the new rules would allow coal-fired power plants to continue polluting and coal ash waste to remain in place longer.
By Robert Walton • Nov. 05, 2019 -
North Carolina eliminates controversial Duke multiyear rate plan from energy legislation
After six months of debate, state legislators agreed Tuesday to eliminate "the biggest paradigm shift in North Carolina electricity regulation in 100 years" from the bill.
By Catherine Morehouse • Oct. 31, 2019 -
OpinionHow utilities wield bad science to stunt clean energy
Big utilities are pulling out all the stops to block a transformational shift to planet-friendly power, two renewable energy advocates write.
By Greer Ryan and Emma Searson • Oct. 31, 2019 -
House introduces $500M carbon capture bill as study questions technology's environmental benefits
"It's never going to be cheaper to use carbon capture or direct air capture because it always has an equipment cost and it never reduces air pollution" from fossil fuel extraction, a Stanford professor said.
By Catherine Morehouse • Oct. 30, 2019 -
'General Motors better wake up' before China takes EV market, former California Gov. Brown tells Congress
"In five years we're going to be buying Chinese cars," Jerry Brown said Tuesday, after three major automakers sided with President Donald Trump in his efforts to prevent California from implementing its own emissions standards.
By Catherine Morehouse • Oct. 30, 2019 -
Deep DiveCalifornia may be a climate leader, but it could be a century behind on its carbon goals: study
Renewables are driving carbon out of the power sector, but economic expansion has led to much less progress in reducing emissions from the transportation, building and industrial sectors, the nonprofit Next 10 found.
By Herman K. Trabish • Oct. 29, 2019 -
FirstEnergy subsidy opponents look to Ohio Supreme Court amid missed deadline on ballot measure
Ohioans Against Corporate Bailouts failed to get enough signatures within the required 90 days to get a measure opposing recently enacted coal and nuclear subsidies on the November 2020 ballot.
By John Funk • Oct. 28, 2019 -
Schumer floats $454B plan to accelerate EV adoption in next decade
The senate minority leader said the plan targeting 100% clean vehicles on U.S. roads by 2040 would be part of a larger climate initiative if Democrats win control of the Senate in 2020.
By Iulia Gheorghiu • Oct. 28, 2019 -
OpinionWe're already paying a carbon price — let's invoice those responsible and collect the dividends instead
Powerful groups on both sides of the political spectrum, ranging from oil majors to environmental NGOs, have concrete ideas on how to set a price on carbon. Now it's just a matter of making the political sausage.
By Jacob Susman • Oct. 24, 2019 -
Deep DiveUtilities' failure to plan for DER surge promises missed opportunities, increased costs, analysts say
Utilities can use skyrocketing customer-owned DER to balance rising penetrations of variable renewables on their systems, if they take on the big work of distribution system planning.
By Herman K. Trabish • Oct. 24, 2019 -
Inefficient coal plant scheduling cost ratepayers $3.5B from 2015 to 2017, report says
Coal-powered generation would have dropped 10% across the Midcontinent Independent System Operator region if utilities were dispatching their units based on market signals rather than self-scheduling, according to a Sierra Club report.
By Catherine Morehouse • Oct. 23, 2019 -
Unpaid debts and lost grants: Co-ops struggle with 2017 tax law as Congress moves to address impacts
The "unintended consequences" from the 2017 tax law have become the "biggest policy priority" for rural electric cooperatives trying to maintain their nonprofit status.
By Iulia Gheorghiu • Oct. 23, 2019 -
New York climate law to drive $115B in utility-scale resource investment by 2040, report finds
As the state transitions from gas-dominated generation, solar and wind would make up 39% of New York’s energy capacity by 2030, and 83% by 2040, according to Energy Ventures Analysis.
By Lynn Freehill-Maye • Oct. 23, 2019 -
DTE, Consumers Energy push back on Michigan legislators' plan to rewrite 2016 energy law
The 2016 statute "created needless challenges and roadblocks for the solar industry," according to one lawmaker, but Consumers says newly proposed legislation would unfairly create subsidies for private solar ownership.
By Robert Walton • Oct. 23, 2019 -
OpinionA formula to fail? Separating fact from fiction in DTE's latest IRP
A singular focus on environmental issues for utility resource plans, without concern for the impact on affordability and reliability, is a recipe for failure, a former Michigan public service commissioner writes.
By Steven Transeth • Oct. 21, 2019 -
Deep DiveEV charging promises a demand response bonanza for utilities, if they can handle it
Aggregated flexible load of high EV penetrations will be lucrative in demand response markets, but for now smaller EV demand gives utilities management practice.
By Herman K. Trabish • Oct. 18, 2019
