Bipartisan senators ask Mnuchin to extend safe harbor deadlines for renewables projects

Extending these deadlines is essential to ensure projects already in the pipeline are able to cross the finish line, say sector leaders.

By Catherine Morehouse • April 24, 2020

Duke, IPL face Indiana scrutiny as NGOs detail coal plant practices costing ratepayers millions

Duke is estimated to have lost $6.9 million in operational costs over three months last year through self-scheduling, while Indianapolis Power and Light is estimated to have lost $1.55 million from November to December.

By Catherine Morehouse • April 24, 2020

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

84 GW US renewables+storage pipeline has developers anxious for market integration rules

Utilities and developers are adding renewables plus storage hybrids so fast and cost-effectively that regulators had to schedule a conference on paired technologies. 

By Herman K. Trabish • April 23, 2020

Broad array of groups sue FERC over PJM MOPR decision as Chatterjee rejects cost, renewable concerns

New Jersey, Maryland and Illinois, along with other stakeholders, have filed against federal regulators, following outrage at the commission's April 16 decision to uphold its December order.

By Catherine Morehouse • Updated April 27, 2020

Secretive group's petition to FERC could 'end net metering as we know it,' lawyers say

The filing makes the case that any behind-the-meter, or customer-sited, energy generation is a wholesale sale, subject to FERC jurisdiction.

By Catherine Morehouse • April 21, 2020

CPUC proposes approving PG&E's bankruptcy plan, with a vote scheduled for May

If the decision is approved, PG&E would be barred from passing on costs associated with pre-2019 fires to ratepayers.

By Kavya Balaraman • April 21, 2020

For hard-hit renewable sector, conversations in Congress show an encouraging trend

Plans like Sen. John Barrasso's infrastructure recovery bill can help businesses turn the lights back on and get the country back to work on its energy future, according to the Conservative Energy Network.

By Mark Pischea • April 20, 2020

Diminishing returns: Why an upcoming Utah rate case may signal the end of net metering

A move to end the compensation approach for rooftop solar owners has sent sales plummeting. Many other states are also looking at successor tariffs.

By Emma Penrod • April 20, 2020

The effects of coronavirus measures on electricity markets

Economic outcomes and investment decisions in the next 18 to 24 months could reshape electricity markets for decades, the authors write.

By Alex Gilbert and Morgan Bazilian • April 20, 2020

14 states press EPA to rescind coronavirus-driven enforcement policy as NGOs file lawsuit

Critics say EPA's decision to ease compliance requirements for pollution sources during the pandemic is ripe for abuse while power plant operators say they'll only need such flexibility in extreme scenarios.

By Larry Pearl • April 17, 2020

EPA rejects legal basis for MATS, drawing widespread objections, concerns over future air rule impacts

The electric power industry has already spent over $18 billion to comply with the agency's rules, and would prefer to have regulatory certainty, says a utility trade group.

By Catherine Morehouse • April 17, 2020

Southern cuts 20% of Vogtle expansion staff for labor efficiency, worker safety as coronavirus spreads

Georgia regulatory staff previously noted that the large amount of construction workers on the site could be counterproductive, but the company predicts the projects will be in-service on time.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • April 17, 2020

'Just plain garbage,' FERC's Glick says as commission largely upholds its PJM MOPR decision

FERC denied requests for rehearing on its December order, while clarifying two exceptions. It also rejected requests to review its 2019 order approving PJM’s capacity demand curve, which critics say is too high.

By Catherine Morehouse • April 16, 2020

NextEra, Vistra join array of stakeholders in asking FERC to look at carbon pricing

Industry leaders say carbon pricing could provide a more consistent federal policy across territories than the varying carbon reduction goals set by states.

By Catherine Morehouse • April 16, 2020

Power shutoff bans amid pandemic may require cost recovery for utilities

A new lobbying effort is encouraging federal lawmakers to add language prohibiting utility disconnections to the next COVID-19 funding package.

By John Funk • April 16, 2020

Groups sue DOE over 'arbitrary' threshold they say will avoid tougher efficiency standards for appliances

The lawsuit is the third one related to the national appliance standards program that the Natural Resources Defense Council has filed in the last five months.

By Robert Walton • April 15, 2020

7 ways to refine the energy sector's COVID-19 response

The energy industry needs to proactively position itself to weather the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the energy director of the R Street Institute writes.

By Devin Hartman • April 15, 2020

Legal experts, NGOs blast EPA move on air quality standards after higher pollution linked to COVID-19 deaths

The agency finalized rules Monday keeping particulate matter standards the same. "To whom does Wheeler answer when he makes life or death determinations?" one legal expert asked when the rule was proposed.

By Catherine Morehouse • Updated Dec. 8, 2020

Increasing renewables and DER demand new reliability approach, but California is falling short, groups say

Resource adequacy's planning reserve margin worked when supply and load were stable, but new system realities demand a more dynamic approach to protect reliability, emerging power providers and DER advocacy groups say.

By Herman K. Trabish • April 15, 2020

EPA rule change to save 4 coal plants across Pennsylvania, West Virginia

"This seems like a relatively low stakes act, in terms of the actual effect it will have on the environment," one professor noted, adding the move was likely made "to score some political points in Pennsylvania."

By Catherine Morehouse • April 14, 2020

Post-coronavirus economic recovery requires EV adoption

The next federal stimulus bill should include three objectives to create a healthier economy: more access to EV charging stations, electrification incentives and support of grid-level demand.

By Christopher George & Jan Maceczek • April 13, 2020

Kansas ruling against Evergy's rooftop solar demand charges could have wider impacts, advocates say

The decision could counter the assertions of other utilities that owners of large arrays become "free riders" whose monthly bills do not pay for the cost of the distribution lines, according to renewables advocates.

By John Funk • April 13, 2020

Southwest Generation purchase of Xcel gas plant to raise JPMorgan affiliation question again at FERC

JPMorgan's legal relationship with the $12 billion Infrastructure Investments Fund was first raised during the sale of El Paso Electric.

By Catherine Morehouse • April 9, 2020

DOE eyes storage technologies to improve the performance of fossil fuel plants

Energy storage resources could help fossil-fueled facilities provide more reliable and affordable energy, according to the department's Office of Fossil Energy.

By Kavya Balaraman • April 9, 2020

Heightened focus on decarbonization likely post COVID-19 crisis

"As we move forward to remobilize our economy, we expect to see calls for direct investment in energy infrastructure," including energy storage, distributed energy resources, EV infrastructure and renewables, the authors write.

By Geoff Burmeister, David Cherney, Matt Mooren and Zach Pollock • April 8, 2020