Regulation & Policy: Page 86
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Rare FERC move sparks heated debate over commission's role assessing pipeline climate impacts
FERC voted 3-2 to approve two pipeline projects after Commissioner James Danly proposed a last-minute amendment to avoid setting a precedent on examining climate impacts — and to secure his own vote.
By Catherine Morehouse • May 21, 2021 -
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White House to take proactive role in ransomware fight following Colonial, other cyberattacks
The administration can no longer passively wait for the next cyber crisis to take hold before it decides to engage, said Anne Neuberger, a Biden administration cybersecurity official.
By David Jones • May 20, 2021 -
Explore the Trendline➔
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TrendlineTop 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 -
Kena Betancur via Getty Images
Deep DiveElliott's proposed Duke split untimely, analysts say, as advocates warn of 'dangerous can of worms'
Analysts question why the proposal to split Duke Energy into three companies comes now, when the utility is on an upswing, while ratepayer advocates warn against Elliott Management's outsized role in the power sector.
By Catherine Morehouse • May 20, 2021 -
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Biden decarbonization focus shifts to buildings, with goal to triple efficiency, see up to $200B in savings
The White House announced workforce development funding, new performance standards and expanded partnerships in the private sector in an effort to address carbon emissions from the nation's building stock.
By Robert Walton • May 19, 2021 -
SC National Guard. (2018). "180925-Z-XH297-1108" [Photograph]. Retrieved from Flickr.
Funding is a key barrier to cities' climate plan progress: report
About 43% of cities worldwide lack a climate adaptation plan, with 25% noting budget constraints as an obstacle, nonprofit CDP reports. But neglecting to address climate change comes with a financial cost, too, experts warn.
By Katie Pyzyk • May 18, 2021 -
The image by Dora646566 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Bipartisan Maine lawmakers push to create first statewide, publicly owned utility in US
Proponents say a key goal of creating such a publicly owned utility would be to make Maine the first state to reach its goal of 100% renewable energy.
By Scott Van Voorhis • Updated June 18, 2021 -
Deep Dive
'A terrible idea': Texas legislators fight over renewables' role in power crisis, aiming to avert a repeat
Texans may face future freezes if lawmakers blame renewables and fail to set winterization standards and create market-based reliability protections, analysts say.
By Herman K. Trabish • May 17, 2021 -
Retrieved from The White House.
White House cybersecurity order lands with a plea for private sector help
Federal action alone is not enough, the White House said, though higher government standards could improve private sector security.
By Samantha Schwartz • May 14, 2021 -
With solar sale, PSEG doubles down on offshore wind and nuclear
The sale of the fossil fuel plants, along with its solar facilities, is part of PSEG's larger plan to exit the business of operating merchant plants.
By Scott Van Voorhis • May 14, 2021 -
Transmission tax credit could unlock 30 GW of renewables, spur over $15B in private capital, report finds
The report also found the tax credit would create 650,000 "good paying jobs," in the near term, receiving support from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
By Catherine Morehouse • May 14, 2021 -
Stefani Reynolds / Stringer via Getty Images
As Colonial pipeline returns to service, Congress looks to bolster utility-government security efforts
Several bills aim to boost public-private partnerships in securing the nations grid, which experts say are critical to keeping attackers at bay.
By Robert Walton • May 14, 2021 -
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FERC denies MISO request to extend Order 841 compliance deadline to 2025
FERC said MISO had "not shown good cause" for granting its request, which cited potential conflicts with its members' decarbonization goals under the current deadline.
By Jason Plautz • Updated May 18, 2021 -
Kendall Davis/Utility Dive
Vineyard Wind Project PermittingVineyard 800 MW offshore wind farm first US utility-scale facility to get federal construction approval
A federal agency cleared Vineyard Wind to install up to 84 wind turbines 15 miles off the coast of Martha's Vineyard in a move the Interior Department says will open the door to 80,000 clean energy jobs in the country.
By Emma Penrod • May 12, 2021 -
FERC deems Duke, Southern SEEM proposal 'deficient', sends utilities back to the drawing board
Federal regulators asked utilities to clarify how exactly the proposal will improve existing energy transactions in the Southeast, and for greater transparency in how the market changes will work.
By Catherine Morehouse • May 12, 2021 -
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Federal cybersecurity agency left in the dark during Colonial Pipeline's initial response
With an agency mandate to share threat information with critical infrastructure, notification delays can stall industry response.
By Samantha Schwartz • May 12, 2021 -
Szekely, Pedro. (2017). "Chicago Skyline" [Photograph]. Retrieved from Flickr.
Chicago explores alternatives to ComEd for electricity in support of equitable climate goals
The city is assessing options for its electric utility agreement for the first time in 30 years, aiming to support its new clean electricity and carbon reduction goals, Chicago's chief sustainability officer said.
By Katie Pyzyk • May 11, 2021 -
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Duke 'optimistic' on seeing broad North Carolina energy bill in 2021 amid Democratic, NGO exclusions
The utility's optimism is based on months of closed-door stakeholder negotiations with Republican leadership, industry groups and others, but ratepayer advocates and environmentalists have been excluded.
By Catherine Morehouse • May 11, 2021 -
Xcel Energy issues broad performance metrics report, setting markers for future progress
The Minnesota-based utility graded itself on everything from customer relations to load shifting, after years of discussions with state regulators and stakeholder groups.
By Scott Van Voorhis • May 10, 2021 -
Getty Images
NRG discloses nearly $1B hit from Texas grid collapse
The power producer is working to recover some of is losses from the devastating winter storm that wreaked havoc with the Lone Star State's electric grid and gas pipelines.
By Scott Van Voorhis • May 7, 2021 -
Arizona regulators toss 3-year effort for 100% clean energy mandate
A proposal to create an energy storage target, a 100% clean energy by 2050 mandate and a slew of other decarbonization priorities was rejected 3-2 by the Arizona Corporation Commission, despite support from utilities and others.
By Iulia Gheorghiu • May 7, 2021 -
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PG&E gets greenlight for $7.5B wildfire securitization, but consumer advocates raise challenges
Utility securitizations generally involve costs that ratepayers would be paying for anyway, but "that is not the situation here," said April Rose Maurath Sommer, executive and legal director of the Wild Tree Foundation.
By Kavya Balaraman • May 7, 2021 -
Exelon CEO: Replacing nuclear with renewables, storage to meet carbon goals could cost Illinois $80B
The company plans to shut down its Byron and Dresden nuclear plants in Illinois later this year and sees a state solution to avert the closures as more likely in the near term than a federal solution.
By Larry Pearl • May 6, 2021 -
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States want federal cash, not rules, to propel clean energy, Colorado, other officials say
Four Western state officials say the Biden administration's infrastructure plan can offer much-needed funds for the energy transition.
By Jason Plautz • May 5, 2021 -
Opinion
A grand bargain for decarbonizing the US electricity sector
The fundamental political challenge for a zero carbon power sector likely boils down to the need for compromise between states that have long-term greenhouse gas emission reductions goals and those that do not.
By Fredrich Kahrl and Jim Williams • May 4, 2021 -
Deep Dive
As utilities match CCAs on price, aggregators increase climate action, grow economies of scale to compete
With stranded costs and other charges keeping CCA bills and utility bills comparable, municipal and community aggregations are challenging utilities on renewables and climate targets to grow their customer base.
By Herman K. Trabish • May 4, 2021
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