FERC proposes transmission rating reform, upholds PURPA, ISO-NE orders

Line ratings are considered a "tool stuck in limbo" by transmission experts that could help renewables waiting in long interconnection queues connect to the grid, while improving the overall efficiency of transmission lines.

By Catherine Morehouse • Nov. 20, 2020

EV industry optimistic for expanded tax credits, other policy wins under 'car guy' Biden

Electric vehicle advocates are tracking several pieces of legislation they say could be passed under a Joe Biden administration to boost transportation electrification efforts.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 20, 2020

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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

Chatterjee congratulates Biden, Harris on election win in latest move toward FERC ideological center

Chatterjee has previously said that a Biden presidency would place him "squarely at the epicenter of the debate on the energy transition and climate change."

By Catherine Morehouse • Nov. 19, 2020

New Jersey regulators partner with PJM in offshore wind transmission planning

The grid operator will initiate a new type of solicitation to attract developers to address New Jersey's need to add 7.5 GW of offshore wind by 2035.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • Nov. 19, 2020

States urge FERC to avoid further intrusions on authority in any future carbon pricing policy

Competitive power suppliers and natural gas interests, meanwhile, argued carbon pricing is the best mechanism for reducing emissions economically.

By Catherine Morehouse • Nov. 19, 2020

Climate risks are accelerating. Here's what Duke, PG&E and 16 other utilities expect to pay.

Utility Dive took a closer look at how climate risks are threatening utilities — and how much it's going to cost to mitigate them.

By Utility Dive Editors • Nov. 18, 2020

New FERC Chair Danly cancels Chatterjee electric vehicle roundtable, nixes media briefings

The move to shut out press is a significant departure from previous commission chairs, according to former FERC staff, though some former and current FERC leaders defended his decision.

By Catherine Morehouse • Nov. 18, 2020

Glick vows to prioritize transmission, reassess capacity markets if named FERC Chair

Commissioner Richard Glick, a frontrunner for FERC chair under Biden, has opposed many of the commission's actions in recent years, particularly those he believes directly impeding state resource decisions.

By Catherine Morehouse • Nov. 18, 2020

Everything old is new again: Why Big Tech is wrong about utility restructuring

Large electricity buyers push for restructuring to gain direct access to real-time wholesale prices through their buying power, not due to altruism or constructive climate policy, former FERC Commissioner Tony Clark writes.

By Tony Clark • Nov. 17, 2020

California begins to shape vehicle-grid integration strategy, considers using EVs during power shut-offs

A proposed decision to create a framework is the biggest tangible action that regulators have taken on vehicle-grid integration, an attorney said ahead of CPUC approval.  

By Kavya Balaraman • Updated Dec. 21, 2020

25 US cities land on CDP's 2020 'A List'

Despite the unprecedented obstacles of COVID-19, CDP identified 88 global cities that have continued to make progress on climate action, with 34% of those cities new to the list this year.

By Kristin Musulin • Nov. 16, 2020

Mayors unveil $60B plan to support Midwest energy transition

The 'Marshall Plan for Middle America' aims to address the Ohio Valley region's projected 100,000 job losses triggered by a shift away from fossil fuels.

By Chris Teale • Nov. 16, 2020

California regulators race to implement demand response, other measures to avert 2021 blackouts

The California Public Utilities Commission will vote this week on launching a rulemaking to address future reliability issues, but could face a tight timeline. 

By Kavya Balaraman • Updated Nov. 20, 2020

Trump administration issues strategic framework to direct federal hydrogen research

The timing of the Department of Energy's release of the framework during the last hours of the Trump administration suggests broad bipartisan support for hydrogen, an energy attorney said.

By Emma Penrod • Nov. 16, 2020

Manchin 'optimistic' on prospects for passing major clean energy bill in lame duck Congress

Policy experts say there is enough common ground between Democrats and Republicans to potentially pass clean energy legislation in a lame duck session.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 16, 2020

Environmental policy and regulation: Potential consequences of the 2020 election

Joe Biden plans to end subsidies on fossil fuels, strengthen oil and gas regulations, increase investment in clean energy, and recommit the U.S. to the Paris Climate Accord — the questions are how and when, the authors write.

By Boyd Bryan and Alex Prochaska • Nov. 16, 2020

MOPR reconsidered: Competitive generators move away from FERC's PJM order, toward carbon pricing

Though competitive suppliers initiated the complaint that led to the Minimum Offer Price Rule expansion, they are now pivoting toward more markets-based mechanisms, largely in response to state threats to exit the markets altogether.

By Catherine Morehouse • Nov. 13, 2020

Republican Senate may create limits, but Biden will have multiple avenues to act on clean energy, analysts say

Some analysts believe Biden will follow in President Barack Obama's footsteps, persuading Congress where he can and pursuing a regulatory path where he cannot. Others suspect energy policy may fall by the wayside.

By Emma Penrod • Nov. 13, 2020

San Francisco's gas ban on new buildings could prompt statewide action

The vote adds San Francisco to the growing list of nearly 40 California cities to pass such ordinances since Berkeley's historic ban in July 2019. 

By Kristin Musulin • Nov. 12, 2020

Transmission troubles? A solution could be lying along rail lines and next generation highways

Multiple studies show the need for interregional transmission is growing and proposals to streamline siting will help, but cost allocation remains a barrier.

By Herman K. Trabish • Nov. 12, 2020

Chatterjee says exclusion of state regulators from carbon pricing conference was a 'mistake'

His comments come less than two months after the FERC meeting where the commission was criticized for not including state regulators on any of its panels, as well as for lacking gender and racial diversity.

By Catherine Morehouse • Nov. 12, 2020

The clean energy benefits slipping through states' fingers

Transmission projects take many years to complete, so the window is about to close on our ability to set states up for success even on 2025 and 2030 clean energy goals, the author writes.

By John Moore • Nov. 11, 2020

California has the technology and know-how to meet its energy needs; it needs the right regulations

California energy agencies should make common-sense changes to maximize the value and market opportunity for energy storage and demand response, the authors write.

By Nick Chaset and Cisco DeVries • Nov. 10, 2020

14 states, advocacy groups sue DOE over failure to update 25 appliance efficiency standards

Washington, D.C., and New York City join a slew of plaintiffs that claim consumers missed out on $580 billion in savings while the U.S. Department of Energy does not review and update energy efficiency appliance standards.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 10, 2020

'The days of FERC being referred to as an obscure agency are over': Chatterjee reflects on chairmanship

In interviews with Utility Dive before and after his chairmanship was cut short, Neil Chatterjee reflects on his time as chair — his proudest moments and regrets.

By Catherine Morehouse • Nov. 9, 2020