Transmission & Distribution: Page 2
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Rep. Casten, ex-FERC chairs eye DERs, more power sector competition to achieve net zero goals
"We're not going to get to where we need to go with a zero-carbon electric grid unless we have distributed demand-side resources supporting what we need to do on the supply side,” said former FERC Chair Jon Wellinghoff.
By Diana DiGangi • April 27, 2023 -
Invenergy Transmission enters deal for up to 12,500 miles of advanced cable for transmission projects
“It's a clear indicator of how we're thinking past the development stage and to actually getting these built,” Invenergy’s Shashank Sane said. “They aren't just ideas anymore.”
By Ethan Howland • April 27, 2023 -
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 to meet the rising challenges.
By Utility Dive staff -
Congress should adopt 30% tax credit, streamlined permitting for regional transmission, clean grid group says
Permitting reform appears possible despite the divided Congress, Brett White, Pine Gate Renewables’ vice president for regulatory affairs, said Tuesday.
By Ethan Howland • April 26, 2023 -
Maine jury clears Avangrid’s 145-mile transmission line, reversing ballot vote that blocked project
Building clean-energy transmission lines won’t be possible with “this much of a fight for all involved,” said Amy Boyd of the Acadia Center.
By Stephen Singer • April 21, 2023 -
FERC approves CAISO, NYISO, utility plans for ambient line ratings to boost transmission capacity
“I’m looking forward to moving forward with opportunities to promote various kinds of grid-enhancing technologies, which are really no-brainers,” FERC Commissioner Allison Clements said.
By Ethan Howland • April 21, 2023 -
Deep Dive
With looming EV load spikes, PG&E, Duke, other utilities adopt new rate design and cost recovery strategies
New dynamic time-varying rates and demand charge adjustments from California to the Carolinas could align customer usage with utility costs to make EVs a system benefit, rate design experts said
By Herman K. Trabish • April 18, 2023 -
FERC rejects Southwest Power Pool plan for utility self-funding of network upgrades
The self-funding proposal would create uncertainty for interconnection customers, possibly leading to canceled generating projects, the federal agency said Friday.
By Ethan Howland • April 17, 2023 -
NYISO: Transmission security margins sufficient for the state, but NYC faces reliability risks
“Potential heatwaves of various degrees pose risks throughout the next 10 years, especially in 2025,” NYISO said.
By Stephen Singer • April 17, 2023 -
Opinion
Chinese supply chains for critical infrastructure threaten the US power grid
State and federal policymakers, utilities and other stakeholders must develop and implement effective strategies to secure supply chains while minimizing the financial impact on ratepayers.
By Brien J. Sheahan • April 14, 2023 -
US grid congestion costs soared to $13.3B in 2021, will likely grow until transmission capacity is built: report
Consumers and states should press for relatively inexpensive grid-enhancing technologies and other transmission investments to address “high and rising” congestion costs, said Grid Strategies President Rob Gramlich.
By Ethan Howland • April 14, 2023 -
Opinion
Grid connections will remain a huge challenge for clean energy if FERC fails to meet this moment
To promote competition, interconnection reforms need standard processes and rules that leave little room for interpretation or discretion.
By Sean Gallagher • April 13, 2023 -
BLM clears way for $3B TransWest Express transmission project to start construction this year
The 732-mile project is designed to deliver 3,000 MW of wind generation from Wyoming to California and the Southwest.
By Ethan Howland • April 12, 2023 -
US grid interconnection backlog jumps 40%, with wait times expected to grow as IRA spurs more renewables
The good news, experts say, is there has been movement on short- and long-term solutions to interconnection backlogs.
By Emma Penrod • April 11, 2023 -
California’s grid operator calls for $9.3B in transmission investments over next decade
The state’s forecasted electricity needs have been rapidly increasing, accelerating the pace at which new transmission infrastructure needs to be developed.
By Kavya Balaraman • April 6, 2023 -
More than 2 dozen utilities, power groups back Southwest Power Pool’s Markets+ initiative
Signing on to the initial development phase, which includes establishing an independent governance structure, does not necessarily mean entities will participate in the market.
By Robert Walton • April 5, 2023 -
Texas regulators should consider a combination of metrics to establish reliability standard, stakeholders urge
Development of a grid reliability standard should “not be confined to a narrow set of traditional standards,” the Electric Reliability Council of Texas said.
By Robert Walton • April 4, 2023 -
Opinion
DOE study highlights America’s transmission needs, but how do we accelerate buildout?
By providing FERC the authority to allocate costs to states according to benefits, Congress can help transmission lines avoid one of the most significant sources of delay.
By Michelle Solomon • March 31, 2023 -
Utilities: Improved transformer efficiency is important, but goal could threaten grid reliability
The Biden administration has proposed stricter energy efficiency standards for distribution transformers, but utilities face shortages of the grid components and say new rules could worsen the situation.
By Robert Walton • March 30, 2023 -
Deep Dive
As California grid interconnection requests triple, analysts assess CAISO’s moves to handle the influx
The state’s current interconnection processes were designed around a cadence that won’t work as it moves towards much larger volumes of clean energy generation, experts say.
By Kavya Balaraman • March 30, 2023 -
PG&E, SCE detail plans to spend more than $23B through 2025 to prevent wildfires in their footprints
The utilities plan to focus on installing more resilient infrastructure and transferring power lines underground, among other measures.
By Kavya Balaraman • March 28, 2023 -
Iowa high court sides with LS Power, freezes transmission right-of-first-refusal law for incumbent utilities
The court decision on Friday affects $2.6 billion in pending transmission projects slated to be built by ITC Midwest, MidAmerican Energy and Cedar Falls Utilities.
By Ethan Howland • March 27, 2023 -
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Sponsored by Questline DigitalStrategies to improve business customer satisfaction for utilities
Utilities ranked highest in business customer satisfaction share formulas for meeting C&I and SMB customer needs.
March 27, 2023 -
Sponsored by ScottMadden
Keeping the lights on down under: Energy lessons from Australia
In November 2022, a group of U.S. utility executives joined the Smart Electric Power Alliance on a fact-finding mission to understand the impact of the clean energy transition on Australia’s electricity markets.
By Cristin Lyons, Partner and Energy Practice Leader and Kevin Hernandez, Partner, ScottMadden • March 27, 2023 -
DOE cyber chief gets bipartisan grilling as senators question US reliance on China for grid equipment
U.S. lawmakers on Thursday pressed the head of DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response Preparedness for details about foreign-manufactured components but got few answers.
By Robert Walton • March 24, 2023 -
Opinion
Not ‘sick or dying or dead’: The great benefit of RTOs
To argue that some regional transmission organizations have imperfections is somewhat akin to saying, “nobody is perfect.”
By Scott Miller • March 23, 2023