Massachusetts lawmakers consider ending retail electric choice for residential customers

Retail energy providers argue that an investigation of market competition by state regulators would be a better approach than rolling back customer choice through a broad clean energy bill.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • Updated June 13, 2022

State utility regulators urge FERC to move up MISO's proposed 2030 start date for aggregated DERs

MISO may miss out on reliability and cost benefits by waiting to integrate groups of distributed resources, according to the Organization of MISO States.

By Ethan Howland • June 8, 2022

Explore the Trendline➔

Sustainability

Companies are pursuing increasingly ambitous sustainability goals around clean energy, but integrating rising amounts of renewables, minimizing environmental impacts, and achieving carbon reduction targets can be challenging.

By Utility Dive staff

Biden invokes Defense Production Act to boost domestic manufacturing in clean energy, grid sectors

The White House also aims to spur up to 100 GW in solar purchases via federal, state and local joint procurement.

By Ethan Howland • June 7, 2022

Rethinking California distribution system operations and grid services markets for a high-DER future

California wants a cost-effective, reliable and equitable power system with well-compensated distributed resources to balance the bulk power system and meet local needs.

By Herman K. Trabish • June 7, 2022

Biden to pause solar tariffs for 2 years amid supply chain disruption from Commerce investigation

The legal standing of the recent executive order will depend on the administration establishing that the solar market was in an “emergency” situation, analysts said.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • Updated June 29, 2022

FERC's acceptance of 2 capacity accreditation methods will complicate renewables development

The stakes are high: As more intermittent resources enter markets, the quantity procured and capacity payments will depend on each market’s specific capacity accreditation rules, the authors write.

By Joseph Cavicchi and Charles Wu • June 6, 2022

FERC expands environmental justice, equity considerations in agency decision-making, EJ counsel says

In addition to those facing natural gas infrastructure, environmental justice issues may arise in transmission siting and electricity rate cases, according to a top Federal Energy Regulatory Commission official.

By Ethan Howland • June 3, 2022

Minnesota, Iowa agencies support Alliant Energy-led complaint seeking lower ITC Midwest equity ratio

Lowering the transmission company’s equity ratio would save ratepayers $114 million over four years, according to the complaint.

By Ethan Howland • June 1, 2022

Financial Accounting Standards Board takes up environmental credits, carbon offsets

The U.S. standard setter's move to upgrade environmental credits to its technical agenda signals another new priority for FASB.

By Maura Webber Sadovi • May 31, 2022

'Dramatic shift' in utility regulations, better pilot designs needed to propel energy transition, DOE report finds

Electric industry players call for innovations in the way regulators handle pilots of new utility and private sector technologies and system operations in a new Department of Energy paper.

By Herman K. Trabish • May 31, 2022

MISO industrial customers petition FERC to avoid sky-high capacity charges if they cut electricity use

The proposal would help the Midcontinent Independent System Operator address a projected power supply shortfall this summer, according to a May 26 complaint filed with federal regulators.

By Ethan Howland • May 27, 2022

Biden taps FERC Chairman Glick for a second term, potentially providing consistency amid energy transition

FERC's natural gas review policies will likely be an issue during Chairman Richard Glick's confirmation process, former agency head Neil Chatterjee said.

By Ethan Howland • May 23, 2022

FERC commissioners respond to elevated power outage risks across two-thirds of US

Two commissioners pointed to the renewable energy shift as a key culprit in the "reliability crisis," while others called out extreme weather and drought.

By Ethan Howland • May 20, 2022

FERC to monitor gas, power markets for manipulation as forward summer electricity prices jump up to 233%

Summertime forward power prices are up between 77% and 223% from a year ago, driven by higher gas prices, FERC staff said Thursday.

By Ethan Howland • May 20, 2022

California's 'affordability crisis' attracts innovative ratemaking and regulatory proposals

Double-digit year-on-year spikes in electricity rates are leading California regulators and stakeholders to search for ways to protect climate goals and rate affordability.

By Herman K. Trabish • May 19, 2022

Calls for increased natural gas production ignore US infrastructure needs

While the President has recently shifted his narrative to support American natural gas, his administration continues to introduce and implement policies that impact our industry through added delays and costs, the author writes.

By Amy Andryszak • May 16, 2022

As California confronts the future of its natural gas system, who could get left behind?

Without a proper transition strategy, experts worry that potential declines in natural gas demand will lead to large increases in energy bills likely to fall on the state's most vulnerable customers.

By Kavya Balaraman • May 16, 2022

Congress, stakeholders find consensus around hydropower license reform

Despite some disagreement on how to handle environmental aspects of hydropower license review, a broad group of lawmakers and stakeholders has found common ground on a package of proposed reforms.

By Emma Penrod • May 13, 2022

PJM releases road map for creating 'grid of the future' to handle coming renewables, storage wave

The grid operator said it intends to use scenario-based planning and conduct reliability studies to handle the changing resource mix.

By Ethan Howland • May 12, 2022

White House vows to speed up environmental review for federal projects

The new action plan will help streamline permitting and accelerate projects, Biden administration officials said Wednesday.

By Julie Strupp • May 12, 2022

Even studying public power makes little sense

Switching to public power, or even studying it, would miserably fail a cost-benefit test and would be the wrong solution to whatever problem advocates of public power claim to solve, the author writes.

By Kenneth W. Costello • May 12, 2022

The public power option should be a community decision

Whether municipalization efforts are driven by a desire for lower rates, better reliability, or environmental goals, this option should be explored as deeply as the community wants to go, the author writes.

By Joy Ditto • May 12, 2022

'Made in America' – An analog policy that needs to go digital

To get smart grid projects off the drawing board, we need to include software as part of domestic content calculations — especially firmware for high-priority, planet-friendly projects like advanced metering infrastructure, the author writes.

By Tom Deitrich • May 11, 2022

FERC, state regulators eye options for clearing up interconnection 'quagmire,' allocating upgrade costs

Federal and state officials generally agreed studying interconnection requests in clusters could speed the process, but there was no consensus on who should pay for upgrades.

By Ethan Howland • May 9, 2022

Investigation into solar tariffs could threaten the 2035 US clean energy goal, says DOE's Granholm

Rising energy prices were also a topic of discussion during a Senate committee hearing on the Biden administration's budget request for the agency.

By Robert Walton • May 6, 2022