Transmission & Distribution

Q&A

Taking Charge: FERC Commissioner Christie on his 'across the board' respect for state authority

"The state regulators know much more about their own states than I did as a Virginia regulator and that I will as a FERC commissioner," said Commissioner Mark Christie in a wide-ranging interview with Utility Dive.

By Catherine Morehouse • April 13, 2021

PG&E bid to securitize $7.5B in wildfire costs could hit ratepayers hard, consumer advocates warn

"If there is a shortfall, that means that PG&E’s customers will be forced to pay higher rates to fund PG&E’s wildfire liabilities. Another word for that is bailout,” said Tom Long, legal director at The Utility Reform Network.

By Kavya Balaraman • April 12, 2021

Explore the Trendline➔

Trendline

Grid Resiliency

Utilities and grid operators are facing increasing threats from climate change as well as cyber and physical attacks, and are deploying a variety of responses, with some adjustments in the age of COVID-19.

By Utility Dive staff

Opinion

Plenty of low-hanging fruit: How FERC can catalyze transmission infrastructure

Effective near-term actions the commission can take include subjecting more regional projects to competition, while allowing new entrants at the local level, the authors write.

By Devin Hartman and Beth Garza • April 09, 2021

Utility distribution systems 'increasingly at risk' for cyberattacks, GAO report concludes

Federal security requirements have focused on transmission and generation facilities, but a report from the Government Accountability Office warns of the vulnerability of utility distribution systems.

By Robert Walton • April 08, 2021

California tees up proposals to securitize $7.5B in PG&E wildfire costs

Without the securitization, "ratepayer costs will be higher as it will take PG&E longer to achieve investment grade credit ratings," according to the California Public Utilities Commission. 

By Kavya Balaraman • April 07, 2021

How Biden's $2 trillion infrastructure plan could boost California's energy transition

Transmission investments could help California address reliability challenges and utility wildfire risk, experts say.

By Kavya Balaraman • April 06, 2021

Biden $2 trillion infrastructure proposal includes billions in spending on transmission, clean energy

The plan received wide-ranging support from climate and clean energy groups, but Republican leadership opposes its high price tag.

By Catherine Morehouse • April 01, 2021

State of the Electric Utility 2021

The 8th annual State of the Electric Utility Survey Report provides a pulse on industry trends from nearly 500 utility professionals, many at the VP level and above, along with insight from a broad range of industry experts.

By Nami Sumida • April 01, 2021

NYPA approves transmission line rebuild, targeting $447M in annual savings, 1 GW new capacity

National Grid has been tapped to execute portions of the project, which will enable renewable development in the northern part of New York.

By Robert Walton • March 31, 2021

Large consumers blame renewables for 2020 declines in C&I power reliability

A new survey finds 44% of companies lose power monthly or more frequently, and the problem is getting worse.

By Robert Walton • March 31, 2021

What's the biggest role for hydrogen in a clean energy economy? It depends who you ask

Hydrogen could play multiple roles in the clean energy transition, from decarbonizing heavy industry to expanding energy storage, industry experts agree. But visions diverge around questions of use and distribution.

By Emma Penrod • March 25, 2021

Biden to unveil multi-trillion dollar plan targeting power grids, other infrastructure next week

President Joe Biden will announce his multi-trillion dollar infrastructure package Wednesday in Pittsburgh, the White House announced yesterday.

By Joe Bousquin • UPDATED: March 25, 2021 at 9:30 a.m.

Deep Dive

California's last nuclear plant is poised to shut down. What happens next?

A large amount of carbon-free energy will come offline once the Diablo Canyon power plant retires, raising questions around how the state will replace it.

By Kavya Balaraman • March 23, 2021

Tri-State's clean energy, cost reduction efforts have not quelled member exit interest

At least seven rural electric cooperatives want to know what it would cost to leave the service of Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, and they say the utility is "stonewalling."

By Robert Walton • March 22, 2021

Bipartisan House lawmakers to reintroduce grid security bill after Texas outages, SolarWinds attack

The Grid Security Research and Development Act was passed last year by the House but was later withdrawn due to procedural issues.

By Robert Walton • March 19, 2021

In pair of multi-billion dollar deals, National Grid and PPL rearrange their utility businesses

PPL is selling its U.K.-based utility business for about $11 billion while acquiring National Grid's Rhode Island utility business for $3.8 billion.

By Robert Walton • March 18, 2021

Renewables industry questions whether Duke, Southern SEEM proposal would limit competition

In comments filed with federal regulators, stakeholders said utilities' proposal to create a Southeast Energy Exchange Market has the potential to bring more renewables onto the grid, if implemented correctly.

By Catherine Morehouse • March 17, 2021

Q&A

Taking Charge: Commissioner Clements on FERC's 'make or break' role amid the energy transition

In a comprehensive interview with Utility Dive, Allison Clements laid out her thoughts on FERC's role following the mass outages in Texas, the need for transmission reform and more.

By Catherine Morehouse • March 16, 2021

Analysts point to $500B investment gap in climate resilience for electric utilities

Investor owned utilities in the U.S. are seeing a gap in investment to adequately prepare energy systems for a changing environment, ICF said in a new report.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • March 09, 2021

Deep Dive

'A total mindshift': Utilities replace gas peakers, 'old school' demand response with flexible DERs

Utility-customer cooperation can balance renewables' variability with flexibility without using "blunt" demand response or natural gas.

By Herman K. Trabish • March 08, 2021

Xcel proposes $1.7B transmission investment in Colorado to unlock nearly 5.5 GW new renewables

The proposal would allow the utility to reduce emissions in its Colorado territory by an estimated 85% below 2005 levels by 2030.

By Catherine Morehouse • March 04, 2021

House Democrats introduce bill with pathway to 100% clean energy by 2035

The bill would include major changes to the Federal Power Act and the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act, and require economy-wide net-zero emissions by 2050.

By Catherine Morehouse • March 03, 2021

Deep Dive

Texas must increase ties to the national grid and DER to avoid another power catastrophe, analysts say

Planning for inter-regional transmission and distributed resources could do what ERCOT's competitive, energy-only market didn't – keep the heat and lights on, energy advisors say.

By Herman K. Trabish • March 02, 2021

National Academies call on Congress to address 'persistent under-investment in electric innovation'

NASEM's report recommends that the U.S. double government spending on energy research to keep pace with the need for new grid technologies and other nations.

By Emma Penrod • Feb. 26, 2021

Opinion

To catalyze transmission development, end the utility protection racket

Current policies reinforce an anachronistic approach that fails to spur the regional projects needed to decarbonize the power sector and mitigate extreme weather impacts, writes Harvard Electricity Law Initiative's Ari Peskoe.

By Ari Peskoe • Feb. 25, 2021