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

Explore the 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

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. 9, 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. 9, 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. 8, 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. 7, 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. 3, 2021

Time running out for Exelon's Byron and Dresden nuclear plants as Illinois Senate passes major energy bill

The state Senate's clean energy package, which still needs to pass the House of Representatives, would provide nearly $700 million over five years for the nuclear power sector.

By Scott Van Voorhis • Sept. 2, 2021

LA approves 100% clean energy by 2035 target, a decade ahead of prior goal

The goal puts the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power on track for an aggressive transition that backers said would present a model for the nation.

By Jason Plautz • Sept. 2, 2021

Wind energy's record 2020 growth to continue this year, but deployment could slow in 2022, DOE finds

Wind industry growth is likely to continue through 2021, according to a Department of Energy report released Monday, but market conditions point to rising prices, and deployment may slow absent policy support, experts say.

By Emma Penrod • Sept. 1, 2021

Duke explores shutting coal-fired plants by 2030 in South Carolina plans

The revised plans come after South Carolina regulators voted in late June to reject the utility's previous proposals and send the company back to the drawing board.

By Scott Van Voorhis • Sept. 1, 2021

Transmission tower destroyed by Ida likely to complicate power restoration in New Orleans, experts say

As Entergy scrambles to restore power in the Gulf region, the collapse of a major transmission tower could complicate matters, experts say.

By Scott Van Voorhis • Aug. 31, 2021

Nuclear reactors of the future have a fuel problem

Higher levels of uranium enrichment can unlock value from smaller and simpler reactors, but they come with new hurdles that the nuclear industry says only the federal government can address.

By Matthew Bandyk • Aug. 30, 2021

New Jersey turns to property assessed financing to boost commercial clean energy investments

Lawmakers and environmental advocates say the new law creates a pathway for commercial projects ranging from renewable energy development to energy efficiency upgrades.

By Emma Penrod • Aug. 30, 2021

Campaign to shut down New York City's peaker plants gains congressional ally

The Peak Coalition wants to close 19 gas peaker plants in New York City, and on Thursday Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., took up that cause.

By Scott Van Voorhis • Aug. 27, 2021

EPA urges FERC to use social cost of carbon in gas project reviews

Columbia Gulf Transmission has proposed new facilities in Louisiana that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says would lead to more than $205 million dollars in climate damages annually.

By Robert Walton • Aug. 27, 2021

Historic drought slashes hydropower generation in California, other Western states

The decline in hydropower, and the scramble to replace it with other sources, is putting financial pressure on local utilities in Western states.

By Scott Van Voorhis • Aug. 24, 2021

Making FERC hot can keep the climate cool

Although clean energy subsidies dominate headlines, policymakers are beginning to appreciate the foremost imperative in the clean energy transition: overhauling archaic regulation, the author writes.

By Devin Hartman • Aug. 24, 2021

Solar could be 40% of US generation by 2035, but it needs more investment, White House report finds

Groups such as SEIA and ACORE greeted the recent Biden administration report on the potential growth of the solar industry with enthusiasm, saying they hope additional work on tax reform is in progress.

By Emma Penrod • Aug. 20, 2021

California regulatory judge recommends more aggressive 2030 emissions target for power sector

The ruling also touches on broader reliability issues in the state, including Gov. Gavin Newsom's recent emergency proclamation and the potential for offshore wind development.

By Kavya Balaraman • Aug. 18, 2021

FERC's Chatterjee questions clean energy standard, says carbon pricing could unify US energy policy

U.S. utilities need the stability that could be provided by stronger federal energy policy, but the current political climate could undermine efforts in the works, FERC Commissioner Neil Chatterjee said Tuesday.

By Emma Penrod • Aug. 18, 2021

While bulk power system remains reliable, key metric suggests worrying trend, NERC finds

Operator-initiated load shedding in 2020 reached its highest point in the last five years, driven by extreme weather. NERC officials say that could turn into a trend, as the metric has already worsened this year.

By Robert Walton • Aug. 18, 2021

Hydrogen could fill multiple gaps in the US energy system, but will energy regulations allow it to?

Experts say green hydrogen will require a regulatory framework unlike any other in the energy industry. And developing that regime, they assert, could benefit the entire grid.

By Emma Penrod • Aug. 17, 2021