The Utility Dive Awards for 2019

The annual awards highlight the biggest trends in innovation in the electric utility sector: from penciling out electrification efforts to pioneering new revenue streams for distributed resources.

Dec. 9, 2019

FPL's Turkey Point first US nuclear plant to get license out to 80 years

Federal regulators extended the approved lifespan of two of the Florida facility's units until 2052 and 2053.

By Kavya Balaraman • Updated Dec. 6, 2019

Explore the Trendline➔

Data Centers and the US Grid

A look at how data centers are affecting the U.S. grid today and how new technologies and rate structures could affect that trajectory in the years to come.

By Utility Dive staff

Is FERC overstepping its authority and hurting renewables? States, power groups question PURPA plan

Diverse stakeholders said the commission's proposal would leave small facilities in unregulated markets at a disadvantage, while several major utilities backed their trade group in supporting the changes.

By Catherine Morehouse • Dec. 5, 2019

What I wish I'd said to California's chief air regulator about clean transportation

Will flexible demand-side resources ever be able to participate in power markets in the same way as supply-side resources? That’s the question before Air Resources Board Chair Mary Nichols — and all of us, the author writes.

By David Farnsworth • Dec. 5, 2019

PG&E failed to properly inspect tower that caused Camp Fire: CPUC safety investigators

Gaps in the utility's infrastructure maintenance were "indicative of an overall pattern of inadequate inspection and maintenance of PG&E's transmission facilities," according to a new report.

By Kavya Balaraman • Dec. 4, 2019

Renewables, legal groups challenge FERC's authority to upend PURPA

Federal regulators are proposing changes to the law for the first time since 2006. Some groups argue the move falls outside the commission's authority and will harm renewables in markets monopolized by utilities.

By Catherine Morehouse • Dec. 4, 2019

California proposal rejects wildfire premium in PG&E, other utilities' ROE

Regulators said recent state legislation removed the need for a premium by eliminating wildfire risk exposure for investor-owned utilities.

By Kavya Balaraman • Dec. 4, 2019

Regulators should 'ask tough questions about carbon capture' before closing coal: Wyoming PSC Chair

Wyoming is in a uniquely precarious position as the country's top coal producer. Its head utility regulator says ratemaking should encourage utilities to profit from carbon capture and utilization outside their rate base.

By Catherine Morehouse • Dec. 3, 2019

Can new transmission tech boost capacity and save billions? Two proposals aim to find out

Advocates are pushing a "shared savings" approach to incentivize deployment, but system operators have doubts.

By Herman K. Trabish • Dec. 3, 2019

FirstEnergy Solutions claims victory on nuke bailout referendum, but proponents push forward

The Ohio Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit challenging a potential referendum on the state's nuclear subsidies, while a separate proceeding brought by referendum proponents is ongoing.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • Dec. 3, 2019

Nevada PUC floats proposal for 1,000 MW storage target by 2030

The proposal comes more than two years after the state legislature passed a bill requiring the commission to look into adopting storage targets.

By Kavya Balaraman • Dec. 3, 2019

Too much wind and solar raises power system costs. Deep decarbonization requires nuclear

Once wind and solar provide around 40% of a region's electric power, costs begin to rise substantially, an author of a new study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology writes.

By John Reilly • Dec. 2, 2019

CAISO says resource adequacy order would cause market uncertainty, asks CPUC to reconsider

The system operator and other stakeholders urged regulators to "re-open the record" on an October decision clarifying the rules.

By Kavya Balaraman • Nov. 27, 2019

2019 holiday wish list: Power sector edition

With the holiday season upon us, what do industry groups and environmental organizations want to see on the state and federal energy policy front?

By Larry Pearl • Nov. 27, 2019

Inside the fight to overhaul PURPA: What three commissioners think of FERC's proposed changes

The 1978 law — largely credited with driving the small renewables market — is facing a potential major shift, and though most regulators agree the rule should be changed, they disagree with some of FERC's mechanisms.

By Catherine Morehouse • Nov. 26, 2019

Despite changes, commissioners see traditional utility system dominating over next decade: NARUC

U.S. utility commissioners agree that traditional fossil fuel generation will be an important aspect of grid reliability over the next decade, according to a NARUC survey.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • Nov. 26, 2019

New NARUC president prioritizes cybersecurity training, ties between state and federal regulators

Commissioner Brandon Presley from Mississippi envisions every state commissioner feeling comfortable to collaborate with their counterparts at FERC or the FCC.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • Nov. 26, 2019

National Grid lifts gas moratorium following deal with New York

The utility is looking into a range of long-term solutions to address supply needs in New York — and a controversial $1 billion pipeline project panned by environmental advocates is still on the table

By Kavya Balaraman • Nov. 25, 2019

FERC is on the right track with resilience. Republicans can help by upholding conservative principles

Republicans in Congress and the administration should affirm local control, while ensuring a high threshold to justify the government favoring any one energy resource or generation technology over another, the author writes.

By Charles Hernick • Nov. 25, 2019

ISO New England chief presses for carbon price in response to Sanders, Warren and others

A carbon price would be a "simple and easily-implemented mechanism" to speed renewables onto the grid, Gordon van Welie wrote, while noting that the region's states oppose its use within wholesale electricity markets.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 25, 2019

Ohio denies AEP cost recovery for 400 MW proposed solar, but projects expected to proceed

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio concluded the utility had not shown a need for the additional generation, but its decision creates uncertainty for the future of solar development in the state, environmental advocates said.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 25, 2019

PNM: Carbon capture would raise San Juan transition cost to $6B, as PRC, legislator battle rages

A proposal to lengthen the coal plant's life through what would be the largest carbon capture project to date is deemed too expensive by its majority owner and raises environmental concerns.

By Catherine Morehouse • Nov. 25, 2019

PG&E says power shutoffs averted hundreds of fire risks, but cities blast lack of coordination

The utility did not tell San Jose officials which geographical areas would lose power and did not allow Sonoma County representatives into its emergency operations center, among other concerns for local officials.

By Kavya Balaraman • Nov. 25, 2019

PJM, NYISO and ISO-NE pay $1.4B annually for excess capacity: Report

Resource adequacy in the Northeast region is determined by grid operators, not states, and it's leading to higher reserve margins, according to Grid Strategies.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • Nov. 22, 2019

Democrats move to take 100% clean energy push national with new bill

The legislation would ​require all sectors of the economy to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, but gas and hydro groups stress the need for a diverse energy portfolio in any climate solution.

By Kavya Balaraman • Nov. 22, 2019