Regulation & Policy: Page 2

FERC Chair Glick calls for tougher reviews of natural gas projects as commission staff reject EPA advice

Extended reviews of how proposed gas projects could affect the climate and environmental justice communities have led to delayed decisions but will help FERC orders survive court reviews, Richard Glick says.

By Ethan Howland • Sept. 30, 2021

PJM's 'focused' MOPR takes effect, boosting renewables and nuclear as FERC commissioners deadlock

The action is a victory for state clean energy policies, but power generators are eyeing avenues to fight PJM’s plan to lift bidding limits on subsidized resources.

By Ethan Howland • Sept. 30, 2021

Explore the Trendline➔

Utility Business Model Reform

Utilities and regulators around the country are exploring new business models, from updated rate structures to performance-based regulation, in order to meet evolving policy and business priorities.

By Utility Dive staff

SoCal residents blast SoCalGas plan to settle Aliso Canyon lawsuits for up to $1.8B, continue push for shutdown

The agreements will not cover a separate investigation by the California Public Utilities Commission to determine whether the utility should face fines related to the leak at the natural gas storage facility.

By Kavya Balaraman • Sept. 29, 2021

California utility energy savings goals now account for fuel-switching potential

State regulators want efficiency program administrators to "start developing infrastructure to roll out electrification programs now," said Mohit Chhabra, a senior scientist with NRDC's climate and clean energy program.

By Robert Walton • Sept. 29, 2021

FERC's Danly: Democrats' clean electricity plan an 'H-bomb' that would 'end the markets'

Republican senators also blasted the proposed Clean Electricity Performance Program during a hearing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's four members.

By Robert Walton • Sept. 29, 2021

State, federal actions show growing push for a nuclear role in reaching net zero emissions

Former critics of nuclear power agree, financial support may be justified for firm power options to tackle climate change and get over the net zero emissions finish line.

By Herman K. Trabish • Sept. 28, 2021

Landmark infrastructure spending must address climate change crisis to prevent further damage

Local policymakers and project developers must be educated on the global nature of the climate challenge and will increasingly require the right tools to guide project selection and development, the authors write.

By Tim Lieuwen, Adam Cohen and Rich Simmons • Sept. 27, 2021

​​PJM cities to FERC: It's time for the MOPR to go

For our climate efforts to succeed, FERC must approve grid operator PJM Interconnection's plan to mostly undo MOPR's threat to state and local clean energy goals, a coalition of 10 cities and communities asserts.

By The PJM Cities and Communities Coalition • Sept. 23, 2021

Advancing the energy transition requires an honest discussion of costs, outages and land, analysts say

Customers will tolerate the power system transformation's problems and challenges if they understand stakeholders will be "careful about the transition," one analyst said.

By Herman K. Trabish • Sept. 20, 2021

New Orleans council chief calls for investigation into Entergy's Hurricane Ida response

Councilmember Helena Moreno plans to introduce a resolution calling for an investigation into Entergy’s storm response and related issues at the City Council’s Sept. 22 meeting.

By Scott Van Voorhis • Sept. 17, 2021

What's a reasonable investor to expect? MOPR instability and state policy certainty

Regulatory certainty is a worthy goal. But, in a competitive market, generators aren't entitled to protection or guaranteed to recover their investment, the author writes.

By Sarah Ladin • Sept. 17, 2021

'We're obviously in the middle of a dramatic transformation,' FERC's Glick says amid market reform talks

A series of technical conferences is examining how the changing electricity resource mix requires wholesale market operators to reconsider the products and services being offered, and how they are valued.

By Robert Walton • Sept. 16, 2021

To build back better, make FERC boring again

The more FERC presses against or exceeds the bounds of the statutes Congress has written, the more it will see its decisions litigated, costing time and money when we cannot afford to waste either, the author writes.

By Kevin Sunday • Sept. 15, 2021

Landmark Illinois climate bill resolves standoff over Exelon nuclear plants

The legislation also provides a road map for sunsetting the state’s coal-fired plants while setting a target of 40% renewable power for the state’s power sector by 2030.

By Scott Van Voorhis • Sept. 15, 2021

A national Clean Electricity Performance Program needs to support clean-tech innovation

A Clean Electricity Performance Program with a well-designed innovation multiplier could go a long way toward developing and deploying at scale the technology necessary to decarbonize the U.S. grid, the author writes.

By Stefan Koester • Sept. 15, 2021

House committee to vote on expanded EV and clean energy tax credits, including storage, hydrogen

The funding plan for Democrats' $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation would extend clean energy tax credits and create new incentives for domestic production and union labor.  

By Jason Plautz • Sept. 14, 2021

FERC wants state help on transmission policy. It should also ask about wholesale market reforms.

States will struggle to reach meaningful levels of decarbonization — let alone a net-zero outcome — without regional scale that really is only possible through the FERC wholesale markets, the author writes.

By David Boyd • Sept. 14, 2021

Connecticut falls behind state's GHG goals: 'We told you so,' says Acadia Center

Despite the rise in emissions, the electric sector "shows encouraging results," the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said. Proposed new gas projects are a step in the wrong direction, though, advocates warn.

By Robert Walton • Sept. 13, 2021

New York directs utilities to submit transmission proposals as decarbonization deadline looms

State utility regulators are looking for more transmission projects to handle a planned increase in renewable power as the state pushes to decarbonize its grid.

By Scott Van Voorhis • Sept. 13, 2021

Biden taps DC regulator Phillips to fill FERC's 5th seat; 'a gift to corporate utilities,' says critic

Consumer advocates say President Biden's pick for the vacant FERC seat, Willie Phillips Jr., has too often sided with corporate interests and Washington, D.C.'s electric utility in his role as D.C. Public Service Commission chairman.

By Robert Walton • Sept. 10, 2021

Utility shutoff moratoriums protected many consumers earlier in the pandemic. What happens now?

Cities and states are looking at how to help residents likely to lose power once utility shutoff moratoriums end. 

By Jason Plautz • Sept. 09, 2021

5 things I learned from exiting my G&T power provider, and the 300 things I've gained

Kit Carson Electric Cooperative CEO Luis A. Reyes Jr. offers lessons and advice based on KCEC's G&T cooperative exit, one of the first in the country.

By Luis A. Reyes Jr. • Sept. 09, 2021

Key regulatory decision leaves California reliability issues unresolved, aggravates tensions

In the long process to figure out how to share "attributes" of IOU legacy resources needed to meet state renewables mandates, a major decision could weaken collaboration between traditional and new load-serving entities.

By Herman K. Trabish • Sept. 08, 2021

Energy equity: Reforming utilities' business plans by rebalancing ratepayers' financial risks

Decentralized clean energy systems, with utility-scale renewables in support, offer lower costs, greater resiliency and more equitable risk sharing between utilities and ratepayers, the author writes. 

By Grant Smith • Sept. 07, 2021

With FERC now split 2-2, clean energy advocates call for caution and urgency to fill vacant seat

It is "critical" that President Joe Biden nominates the right person to break ties at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, according to Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill.

By Robert Walton • Sept. 03, 2021