Transmission & Distribution
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PG&E reaches $11B insurance settlement over wildfire claims
Pacific Gas & Electric announced it reached a settlement with insurers related to the 2017 Northern California wildfires and 2018 Camp Fire. The $11 billion settlement is significantly lower than the $20 billion insurers say they were owed.
By Robert Walton • Sept. 13, 2019 -
New England grid operator sees potential for year-round power constraints
Despite a tight supply-demand balance, ISO-NE said it expects to operate a reliable and affordable electric grid through transmission investments and a reliance on energy efficiency.
By Robert Walton • Sept. 13, 2019 -
Michigan urges MISO, PJM to improve regional reliability after Consumers compressor station fire
In a letter to the grid operators, the state's governor and head regulator called for quicker interconnection processes to improve regional resource diversity and a reexamination of demand response capabilities.
By Catherine Morehouse • Sept. 12, 2019 -
Santee Cooper forecasts coal phaseout, 1 GW new solar as base case for potential sale
The state-owned utility prepared the forecast at the direction of South Carolina legislators who are considering selling the company to pay off debt from the failed V.C. Summer nuclear project.
By Robert Walton • Sept. 11, 2019 -
Tri-State joins suite of new participants in Southwest, California energy imbalance markets
The California ISO and Southwest Power Pool each recently announced new members. SPP's Western Energy Imbalance Service market is expected to begin operations in 2021.
By Robert Walton • Sept. 11, 2019 -
Deep DiveAs utilities scramble to manage explosive DER growth, is power grid autonomy a solution?
The U.S. electric grid could face hundreds of millions of distributed resource deployments in the near future. But optimizing these data points may exceed human ability.
By Herman K. Trabish • Sept. 11, 2019 -
OpinionPJM policy to add $5.7B cost to capacity market? We don't think so
The consulting firm Grid Strategies recently found significant cost impacts from PJM's proposed minimum offer price rule. The heads of PJM Power Providers Group and the Electric Power Supply Association dispute that.
By Glen Thomas and Todd A. Snitchler • Sept. 09, 2019 -
San Francisco offers PG&E $2.5B for city's grid
The city's offer is part of a plan to develop a municipal provider and came three days before the bankrupt utility is expected to propose a path to solvency.
By Robert Walton • Sept. 09, 2019 -
SDG&E looks to raise minimum bill 400%, citing solar-driven cost shift
The utility says more than $400 million in costs to maintain the grid are annually shifted from solar to non-solar residential households in its territory.
By Robert Walton • Sept. 09, 2019 -
PG&E bankruptcy plan includes $14B equity commitments, no liability estimates: Bloomberg
Pacific Gas & Electric plans to file its restructuring plan with the bankruptcy court by Monday, though the amount of its liability — estimated at $30 billion — will be tallied by another court.
By Robert Walton • Sept. 06, 2019 -
Boulder's plan to condemn Xcel assets, form municipal utility faces new setback
The court granted Xcel Energy’s motion to dismiss the city's condemnation filing. Boulder officials say they knew this was a possibility, and see a way forward.
By Robert Walton • Sept. 06, 2019 -
FERC chairman to Congress: 'Make energy policy boring again'
Neil Chatterjee says Congress, not regulatory agencies, should be making major energy policy decision and wants to see broad legislation, including an overhaul of PURPA.
By Iulia Gheorghiu • Sept. 05, 2019 -
Outages begin to mount as Dorian slams into US
South Carolina Electric & Gas reported more than 128,000 customers without power Thursday morning, with Hurricane Dorian now a Category 3 storm located 70 miles south-southeast of Charleston.
By Robert Walton • UPDATED: Sept. 5, 2019 at 11 a.m. -
Tri-State subject to FERC regulation as it adds non co-op member
Tri-State has expressed concerns over growing calls for increased state oversight of its facilities and rates, noting there is political pressure for such a move in New Mexico and Colorado.
By Robert Walton • UPDATED: Sept. 6, 2019 at 8:52 a.m. -
Dominion to invest $277M in unauthorized revenue from 2018 in offshore wind, smart meters
The utility says state lawmakers have approved investments where it intends to spend the over-collection. A ratepayer advocate says the utility is "cheating Virginia customers."
By Robert Walton • Sept. 03, 2019 -
Dominion launches electric school bus initiative, aims for 100% electric fleet in Virginia territory by 2030
The utility wants 1,000 electric buses by 2025, at no additional cost to school districts.
By Robert Walton • Aug. 30, 2019 -
EPA proposes to roll back methane rules for oil, gas industry
The move is expected to save the multi-billion dollar industry up to $19 million annually.
By Robert Walton • Aug. 30, 2019 -
Is PREPA ready for hurricane season?
The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority has "a fragile system," according to the utility's director of project management, and "it still hasn't been elevated to the codes and standards for a Category 4" storm.
By Catherine Morehouse • Aug. 29, 2019 -
Lawsuit advances alleging TVA grid access charge discourages renewables adoption
A district court judge denied the utility's motion to dismiss the case, giving five environmental groups legs to stand on in their complaint.
By Robert Walton • Aug. 28, 2019 -
Wildfires in Alaska? A historic drought has local utility scrambling
Fires burning to the north and south of Chugach Electric Association's territory prompted the utility to make operational changes and step up vegetation maintenance.
By Robert Walton • Aug. 28, 2019 -
Clean energy groups urge FERC to support transmission investment incentives
While there is worry about rising costs, there is also agreement that increased transmission investment will benefit the broader electric grid.
By Robert Walton • Aug. 27, 2019 -
'Nearly all' high voltage EV charging stations lose money: Report
Lower-wattage electric vehicle charging stations are less likely to lose money in the current market, as some regions struggle to launch large-scale EV deployment.
By Robert Walton • Aug. 22, 2019 -
Vistra's spending spree continues with $475M acquisition of Ambit
The deal, which remains subject to regulatory approval, would boost Vistra's residential ERCOT market from 25% to 32%.
By HJ Mai • Aug. 22, 2019 -
Wisconsin regulators grant wind transmission project preliminary approval
The controversial project would allow the state to add 25 GW of renewable energy capacity to the Great Plains market and ensure reliability. Opponents argue for transmission updates to existing infrastructure.
By Max Witynski • Aug. 21, 2019 -
Deep DiveWhat will electricity pricing look like in 2040?
Experts weigh in on their rate design predictions, ranging from complex rates and set-it, forget-it technologies to Netflix-like subscription plans.
By Herman K. Trabish • Aug. 21, 2019
