PG&E probation judge demands details after utility equipment seized in wildfire investigation

The Zogg Fire began in late September and has since caused four fatalities and burned more than 56,000 acres.

By Kavya Balaraman • Oct. 13, 2020

FERC's Glick blasts fellow commissioners for intruding on New York's resource mix decisions

FERC voted 2-1 last week to remove an offer exemption for some demand response resources in the New York ISO capacity market, which some experts say will reduce the competitiveness of those resources.

By Robert Walton • Oct. 12, 2020

Explore the Trendline➔

Top 5 Stories from Utility Dive

Power demand is rising amid dramatic shifts in federal energy policy, but technology and markets continue to push the grid toward cleaner, more distributed resources. 

By Utility Dive staff

Illinois Commerce Commission launches new probe to resolve questions about Ameren's net metering claims

Ameren announced its intention to switch from full retail net metering for future residential solar customers due to market saturation, and solar installers claim the plan is worse for business than the pandemic shutdown.

By John Funk • Oct. 9, 2020

Solar groups challenge FERC Broadview order reversing 40 years of PURPA precedent

Just six weeks before the order, FERC issued a final PURPA rule that doesn't address the decades-long precedent on qualifying facilities, making the commission guilty of an "abuse of discretion," solar advocates said.

By Catherine Morehouse • Oct. 8, 2020

Heat storm and insufficient planning caused August rolling blackouts, California regulators say

"[I]t is our responsibility and intent to plan for such events, which are becoming increasingly common in a world rapidly being impacted by climate change," regulators said in their preliminary analysis.

By Kavya Balaraman • Oct. 8, 2020

EIA raises forecast for coal generation bump in 2021, and more carbon emissions

Coal-generated electricity is on a long-term decline in the U.S., but the Energy Information Administration expects a 4% bump in its share of the nation's generation in the next year.

By Larry Pearl • Oct. 7, 2020

Ameren rejects Illinois regulators' request, ends retail net metering for new residential solar customers

Ameren said the Illinois Commerce Commission's Oct. 1 "request" that it continue full net metering would lead the utility to violate its approved tariff.

By John Funk • Oct. 6, 2020

FERC carbon pricing conference shatters attendance records, but where were the state voices?

No state within a regulated market was represented. "I truly believe that the leadership at FERC has been dysfunctional for 3.5 years," said New Jersey's head regulator, adding it's "not friendly" to states.

By Catherine Morehouse • Oct. 5, 2020

PBR for utilities: Is it better than the beer?

A poorly designed and executed performance-based regulation mechanism can harm utility customers when the intent is to benefit them, the author writes.

By Kenneth W. Costello • Oct. 5, 2020

Biden could pursue 'easy' climate solutions, elements of the Green New Deal if elected: experts

Renewable energy, storage and transmission projects will continue to face challenges even in "blue" states supportive of such development, according to speakers at the Society of Environmental Journalists' annual conference.

By Gloria Gonzalez • Oct. 2, 2020

Colorado roadmap targets 80% GHG reduction from power sector by 2030, but some see greater possibilities

The state's proposed 20-year plan for carbon reduction sets the state's renewable, electric industries up for rapid growth, but a new study suggests there could be room for greater gains.

By Emma Penrod • Oct. 2, 2020

Illinois regulators move to preserve retail net metering rate, order audit of Ameren's bid to end it

Ameren Illinois says customer solar generation is about to reach 5% of peak demand on its system, allowing it to end retail net metering under state law.

By John Funk • Updated Oct. 2, 2020

Virginia regulatory staff project $800 annual customer bill increase for Dominion to meet clean energy law

Plans proposed by the utility, ranging from around $44 billion to $84.3 billion, did not include a least-cost compliance option, according to staffers.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • Oct. 1, 2020

FERC has legal authority to implement a carbon price, experts tell commissioners

Panelists did not reach consensus on whether a price could be unilaterally implemented during FERC's first-ever carbon pricing technical conference.

By Catherine Morehouse • Oct. 1, 2020

Whitehouse sees 'pent-up pressure' in Congress for comprehensive climate bill

But if Democrats do not gain a majority in the Senate, "that's a more difficult path," said Whitehouse, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

By Kavya Balaraman • Sept. 29, 2020

Ameren pledges net zero carbon by 2050, 3.1 GW new renewables by 2030, keeping coal into 2040s

Pending negotiations over securitization legislation in Missouri could encourage the utility to retire its coal assets faster, according to stakeholders.

By Catherine Morehouse • Sept. 29, 2020

NYISO highlights case for carbon pricing days before highly-anticipated FERC conference

The grid operator hopes the Sept. 30 conference will convince federal regulators that the mechanism is the most efficient way for regulated markets to support state decarbonization goals.

By Catherine Morehouse • Sept. 29, 2020

Utility carbon reduction actions lag net zero targets, but there's time to catch up, Deloitte finds

One industry observer said current utility resource plans rely on "magical thinking" with their focus on unproven technologies and continued use of gas, but companies have plenty of time to close the gap, according to Deloitte.

By Thomas Gresham • Sept. 28, 2020

Demand response failed California 20 years ago; the state's recent outages may have redeemed it

The West's recent heatwaves put California power users in the dark but showed how flexible demand response, including distributed storage, can keep the lights on.

By Herman K. Trabish • Sept. 28, 2020

P3s hold the key to a clean energy future post-COVID

Making progress on climate is still within our grasp, but the critical first step is to recognize the benefits of collaboration, and then to reach across the aisle. 

By Bill Prindle • Sept. 25, 2020

Ohio attorney general sues to block $1.3B bailout of former FirstEnergy nuclear plants

The move comes as Ohio lawmakers hold hearings on competing bills to replace HB 6 with a new bailout bill, or simply repeal it.

By John Funk • Sept. 25, 2020

FERC's carbon pricing dialogue may be worth the price of admission

A productive dialogue may heal other wounds by taking steps toward aligning state and FERC policies with their mutual interests, the authors write.

By Devin Hartman and Jason Stanek • Sept. 24, 2020

Michigan vows to go carbon neutral by 2050, increase oversight of utility resource plans

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, D, signed an executive order on Wednesday setting the most ambitious greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal in the Midwest.

By Catherine Morehouse • Updated Sept. 24, 2020

Murkowski 'not giving up' on Senate clean energy bill vote before the end of 2020

Despite a potentially more difficult path for the legislative package following the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee chair is determined to see her bill get a vote by the end of this year.

By Catherine Morehouse • Sept. 23, 2020

Utilities aren't rewarded for saving money. FERC now has a chance to fix this

Current federal incentives for improving transmission all point the wrong way: rewarding utilities for building expensive, inefficient boondoggles, rather than making the most of what they already have, the authors write.

By Jigar Shah and Rob Gramlich • Sept. 23, 2020