Regulation & Policy: Page
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Minnesota advances on performance-based rates, asks what metrics to consider
State regulators opened a public comment period last week on what data points must be measured in order to evaluate utility performance — the first step in linking those outcomes to utility rates.
By Robert Walton • April 9, 2019 -
Opinion
Grid modernization is the best new deal
A Grid Modernization Act could accomplish many of the Green New Deal's goals by improving public health, creating jobs, spurring innovation, strengthening national security and making our communities more resilient.
By Hon. Dennis McGinn and Roger Sorkin • April 9, 2019 -
Explore the Trendline➔
Brandon Bell via Getty Images
TrendlineData 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 -
Ohio GOP lines up bill to save FirstEnergy nuclear plants
Draft language released last week would create an "Ohio clean air fund" that would direct $300 million in annual customer payments to the Perry and Davis-Besse nuclear plants.
By Gavin Bade • April 8, 2019 -
Montana Supreme Court upholds ruling that PSC intentionally set PURPA rates to kill solar projects
Solar developers sued state regulators and NorthWestern Energy after a commissioner was caught on tape admitting that cuts to compensation rates were likely deep enough to kill small solar projects.
By Catherine Morehouse • Updated Aug. 25, 2020 -
New Mexico efficiency bill ensures utilities don't take hit from lower energy use
The bill, signed into law Thursday, also boosts energy efficiency funding 67% and is expected to save customers $500 million over the next decade.
By Catherine Morehouse • April 5, 2019 -
Bankruptcy judge turns back FirstEnergy reorganization plan
The company's deal with creditors would have shielded it from cleanup costs at 8 GW of retiring coal and nuclear plants, but the judge called it "patently unconfirmable."
By Gavin Bade • April 5, 2019 -
House Democrats roll out energy storage tax credit while pushing broader clean energy incentives
Amid a broad policy push for climate action and decarbonization, more than 100 House Democrats are pushing near-term action to boost the deployment of renewables and battery storage.
By Iulia Gheorghiu • April 5, 2019 -
Indiana GOP advances coal rescue bill that would pause utility plant builds
House Republicans in the state are taking a novel approach to keeping coal plants online — preventing investment in their competitors.
By Gavin Bade • April 5, 2019 -
States can grow battery resources with 'one simple step,' report finds
Citing Massachusetts as an example, Clean Energy Group recommends states redefine energy efficiency to include peak demand reduction, which could spur energy storage via access to additional incentives.
By Robert Walton • April 5, 2019 -
Deep Dive
Floating solar offers unique bargains — U.S. utilities are missing out
Siting photovoltaics on water is proving reliable worldwide, and the PVs could meet almost 10% of U.S. electricity needs at market-competitive costs, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
By Herman K. Trabish • April 4, 2019 -
As Maine re-ups net metering, fight over solar tariffs brews in Connecticut
Connecticut last year quietly passed a law to end net metering and lawmakers are now struggling to find answers for the future of solar.
By Catherine Morehouse • Updated April 4, 2019 -
Watchdog raises concerns over Duke's request to recover $137M for cybersecurity upgrades
After paying a record-breaking $10 million fine in January for cybersecurity violations, the utility asked federal regulators to recover their investments in system upgrades from their rate base.
By HJ Mai • April 3, 2019 -
FERC asks grid operators for more detail on storage participation
Federal regulators on April 1 asked RTOs and ISOs to beef up their compliance filings for Order 841 after the energy storage sector raised concerns with their original proposals.
By Gavin Bade • April 3, 2019 -
Federal judge blocks potential path to viability for 2.3 GW Navajo coal plant
Coal producer Peabody Energy, the Hopi Tribe and labor union United Mine Workers of America tried to add legal pressure onto the Central Arizona Project to ensure the coal-fired plant had a large buyer for its output.
By Iulia Gheorghiu • April 3, 2019 -
Duke: North Carolina coal ash pond excavation order to cost up to $5B
Eight of 14 sites had been slated for excavation at a cost of $5.6 billion, but the fate of the remaining sites was unknown until Monday, when regulators ordered the final six sites excavate all their ponds.
By Catherine Morehouse • April 2, 2019 -
Duke proposes adding nearly 2.5K EV chargers in North Carolina
Depending how quickly state regulators act, the $76 million program could be operational as soon as Q3, according to Duke Energy's director of electrification strategy, Lang Reynolds.
By Iulia Gheorghiu • April 2, 2019 -
Maryland passes energy storage pilot program to determine future regulatory framework
The bill applies only to Maryland's four investor-owned utilities: Potomac Edison; Baltimore Gas and Electric; Delmarva Power and Light; and Potomac Electric Power.
By HJ Mai • April 2, 2019 -
Deep Dive
As 100% renewables goals proliferate, what role for utilities?
The momentum behind demand for renewables is growing; utilities lose if they ignore it and there is much to gain in planning ahead.
By Herman K. Trabish • April 2, 2019 -
Controversial $1B Canada-US transmission line gets Maine PUC approval
The key certificate, unanimously granted by the state's three commissioners, advances the 145-mile transmission corridor that would deliver hydropower from Quebec to Massachusetts.
By Iulia Gheorghiu • Updated April 11, 2019 -
Permission granted by PJM Interconnection
PJM files update to energy market price formation rules with FERC
The proposed tariff changes from the grid operator seek to resolve the "unjust and unreasonable" design of its reserve market rules.
By Iulia Gheorghiu • Updated April 1, 2019 -
Exclusive: PG&E's future rests on board picks, CPUC president says
California regulators could reorganize the company or revoke its license to operate if they do not like new selections for its board of directors, California Public Utilities Commission President Michael Picker said in a wide-ranging interview.
By Gavin Bade • March 29, 2019 -
House Democrats introduce legislation to keep U.S. in Paris Climate Agreement
The plan calls on President Trump to keep the country on track with its original commitments and comes a day after the Senate held a symbolic Green New Deal vote.
By Jason Plautz • March 28, 2019 -
Bipartisan nuclear bill extends federal PPAs to 40 years to push advanced reactors
Reintroduced from the last Congress, the bill has four new co-sponsors, including Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., who chairs the Senate appropriations subcommittee on energy and water spending.
By Iulia Gheorghiu • March 28, 2019 -
ISO-NE files short-term fuel security plan to relieve gas constraints
The ISO's proposed Inventoried Energy Program would provide higher payments for resources that can store fuel onsite in the winters of 2023/2024 and 2024/2025.
By Gavin Bade • March 27, 2019 -
Oregon lawmakers make extensive amendments to cap-and-trade bill
The bill aims to drastically reduce Oregon's carbon emissions by 2050 and a 130-page amendment revises or eliminates many provisions — including an exemption granted to a Covanta-operated incinerator.
By Rina Li • March 27, 2019
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