Regulation & Policy: Page 67


  • Transmission developer files complaint with FERC against PJM's 'Catch-22' on merchant-owned transmission

    Under PJM's market rules, merchant-developed transmission projects have to be evaluated in the generation interconnection queue, causing years of delay for the SOO Green HVDC Link.

    By Catherine Morehouse • July 1, 2021
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    Oregon leaps past California and Washington as legislators pass bill to decarbonize power grid by 2040

    Lawmakers passed a bill that could lead to the development of 2,765 MW of new renewables by 2030 by Portland General Electric and PacifiCorp, according to one analysis.   

    By Kavya Balaraman • June 30, 2021
  • High voltage power lines seen from below Explore the Trendline
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    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
  • Biden administration, House Dems talk up need for interconnection reform

    As extreme heat strains electricity grids, the Department of Energy calls for robust reform to boost reliability and clean energy development. 

    By Jason Plautz • June 30, 2021
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    Brian Tucker, Industry Dive
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    FERC's Glick names former ratepayer advocate to lead Office of Public Participation

    Glick selected Elin Katz, former head of the Connecticut Office of Consumer Counsel, to run FERC’s new division, which aims to increase public involvement in the agency’s decision-making.

    By Catherine Morehouse • Updated Oct. 13, 2021
  • President Joe Biden participates in a conference phone call with governors affected by a snowstorm in the Midwest and southwest Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021, in the Oval Office of the White House.
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    Retrieved from The White House.
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    Opinion

    Building a US clean manufacturing strategy to counter China and tackle climate change

    The authors highlight four industries, including hydrogen production, that promise to become major export businesses as global markets for clean products grow.

    By David Hart and Stefan Koester • June 29, 2021
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    South Carolina regulators OK a dramatically revamped Dominion IRP

    The modified integrated resource plan calls for shuttering the company's coal-fired plants in the state within the decade while also relying more on renewable sources of power.

    By Scott Van Voorhis • June 28, 2021
  • New York passes flurry of legislation in wake of frustrations over PSEG Long Island storm performance

    Lawmakers in New York have passed a series of bills taking aim at PSEG Long Island over its performance during tropical storm Isaias, which left hundreds of thousands of the utility's customers without power for days last August.

    By Scott Van Voorhis • June 25, 2021
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    California approves 11.5 GW of new clean resources in largest-ever single procurement order

    "This is a landmark decision. I don’t think it's hyperbole to describe it as such," CPUC Commissioner Clifford Rechtschaffen said at the Thursday meeting.

    By Kavya Balaraman • June 25, 2021
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    House passes broad bipartisan measure to help states fund energy cybersecurity efforts

    The House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced eight bipartisan bills to the full House, aimed at bolstering national cybersecurity and protecting critical infrastructure.

    By Updated July 22, 2021
  • A picture of wind turbines in front of solar panels in Palm Springs, California.
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    CPUC ditches natural gas in 11.5 GW proposal but leaves door open for future fossil fuel procurement

    Regulators want further analysis of the potential reliability impacts before asking for additional fossil fuel procurement, they said in a new version of the proposed decision. 

    By Kavya Balaraman • June 24, 2021
  • 'An unprecedented mess': DC Circuit rejects FERC approval of existing Spire gas pipeline

    "FERC's ostrich-like approach flies in the face of the guidelines set forth in the Certificate Policy Statement" on natural gas pipelines, the court said.

    By Catherine Morehouse • June 23, 2021
  • US grid needs overhaul to keep up with renewable revolution, says GE exec, Sen. Heinrich

    The infrastructure package Congress is debating must include tens of billions of dollars to modernize the aging U.S. electric grid, a U.S. senator and industry experts said last week.

    By Scott Van Voorhis • June 22, 2021
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    North Carolina legislature retools Duke-backed bill after Dems, governor protest weakened oversight

    The legislation is a high priority for Duke Energy, one of few stakeholders allowed in closed-door negotiations on the initial text.

    By Catherine Morehouse • June 22, 2021
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    Opinion

    Ending the snipe hunt for buyer-side power in PJM and other capacity markets

    Going forward, FERC should be judicious when applying mitigation measures to state policies and should consider tools beyond the MOPR, the authors write.

    By Burçin Ünel and Sarah Ladin • June 21, 2021
  • Bipartisan $973B infrastructure proposal alarms EV advocates with annual surcharge on vehicles

    A group of 10 Democratic and 11 Republican senators supports an annual surcharge on electric vehicles, but industry advocates warn it could dampen enthusiasm for the transition away from gasoline-powered cars and trucks.

    By June 21, 2021
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    Republic Services
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    South Carolina regulators reject Duke's long-term power plant construction plans, call for changes

    South Carolina utility regulators are calling upon Duke to rethink its long-term power plant construction plans and are urging the company to look more closely at solar, storage and other resources.

    By Scott Van Voorhis • June 21, 2021
  • Image shows natural gas being flared at Apache Corporations operations at the Deadwood natural gas plant in the Permian Basin in Texas.
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    Critical infrastructure sites face greater cyberthreat amid remote connectivity: Moody's

    The company warns that oil, electric and other critical infrastructure providers are increasingly attractive targets for ransomware.

    By David Jones • June 21, 2021
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    California groups clash over gas in 11.5 GW procurement proposal as CAISO calls for conservation

    “We can’t overemphasize enough the need for procurement to be authorized and get underway,” a CAISO representative said.

    By Kavya Balaraman • June 18, 2021
  • AEP seeks up to $317M for 3 West Virginia coal plant upgrades

    American Electric Power is facing opposition from environmentalists on upgrades to a trio of coal-fired plants as the utility seeks to extend their lives until 2040.

    By Scott Van Voorhis • June 18, 2021
  • A high-voltage transmission line runs through barren woods.
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    Permission granted by Minnesota Power
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    Tri-State asks FERC to approve 'transparent and simpler' contract termination approach for members

    The commission determined that Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association's tariff is unjust and unreasonable, based on the hurdles members face in considering whether to exit the G&T provider.

    By Catherine Morehouse • Updated Sept. 3, 2021
  • FERC pauses ruling that would prevent states from blocking demand response under Order 2222

    FERC also on Thursday established a joint federal-state task force on transmission development that will address planning and cost allocation issues.

    By Catherine Morehouse • June 18, 2021
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    Deep Dive

    As US aims to boost clean energy supply chain, critical minerals gap largely human-caused, analysts say

    There's no shortage of rare earth minerals needed to transition to a clean energy economy, experts say. The problem is getting them out of the ground — and out of China.

    By Emma Penrod • June 17, 2021
  • Duke-backed North Carolina bill would reduce carbon emissions 61% by 2030, retire some coal early

    The legislation calls for Duke to own 55% of renewable energy generation and independent power producers to own 45%. It also establishes a multiyear rate plan — something the utility has long pushed for.

    By Catherine Morehouse • June 17, 2021
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    Opinion

    As 9 Ex-FERC commissioners tout organized markets, we need facts, not propaganda on the benefits

    25 years into this RTO experiment we still have no ability to say dispositively that it has either worked or failed with respect to costs. Someone – maybe a federal regulator – should do an independent study, the author writes.

    By Michael McKenna • June 16, 2021
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    Opinion

    FERC points PJM toward a 21st-century reliability approach

    Reliability mechanisms that seemed appropriate two decades ago, including the original capacity market designs, no longer fit the bill, the authors write.

    By David Littell and Michael Hogan • June 15, 2021