Transmission & Distribution: Page 24


  • An electric utility power line crew works to upgrade a transmission line tower.
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    Avangrid, other utilities urge FERC to reject ‘false’ claims of insufficient transmission cost reviews

    But New England ratepayer advocates support a challenge to the utilities’ alleged failure to adequately share information about their “asset condition” projects.

    By Feb. 23, 2024
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    PJM, 3 other RTOs propose steps to improve gas-electric sector coordination, boost reliability

    Market enhancements, operational improvements and regulatory reforms are needed to improve gas-electric coordination, according to grid operators serving much of the U.S.

    By Feb. 22, 2024
  • Silhouette of an electrical worker repairing a power line following Hurricane Beryl. Explore the Trendline
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    Brandon Bell/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    Trendline

    AI in the Power Sector

    Artificial intelligence is uniquely positioned to impact the electricity industry from both ends: as the technology driving large load demand growth and as a tool with the potential to make the power system more efficient. 

    By Utility Dive staff
  • A street sign marks the intersection of Wall and Broad Streets in Manhattan.
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    5 takeaways from the investor-owned utility sector’s day on Wall Street

    Utilities will likely issue equity this year to fund the energy transition’s record capital spending, Edison Electric Institute officials said.

    By Feb. 21, 2024
  • A structure is set on Xcel Energy's Rush Creek transmission project in Colorado.
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    Courtesy of Xcel Energy
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    Colorado cities urge FERC to reject cost allocation for Xcel’s $2B Power Pathway transmission project

    The Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska, which serves four states, along with three of its municipal utility members in Colorado, contend they won’t benefit from the project and shouldn’t pay for any of it.

    By Updated Feb. 23, 2024
  • Power lines next to a tree-lined road.
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    NextGen Highways launches effort to build transmission lines along public right of way in Minnesota

    A first-of-its-kind coalition could speed up transmission infrastructure siting in Minnesota and provide a blueprint for similar state initiatives elsewhere.

    By Brian Martucci • Feb. 20, 2024
  • Massachusetts Old State House in Boston historic city center, located close to landmark Beacon Hill and Freedom Trail
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    Sponsored by Sense

    Good things come to those who wait: Massachusetts set to be national example with AMI 2.0

    Massachusetts can show us all that with patience and smart policy, it’s possible to deliver on an AMI 2.0 smart meter rollout that not just ticks all the boxes but shows us how to build a better box.

    By Colin Gibbs, VP Energy Services, Sense • Feb. 20, 2024
  • Workers installing dynamic line rating equipment on a transmission tower.
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    Courtesy of LineVision
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    GETs could facilitate 6.6 GW of clean energy in five PJM states, saving $1B a year: RMI

    Grid-enhancing technologies can be used to increase the capacity of the existing transmission system, providing a quick, low-cost pathway for bringing new generation online, RMI said in a report Thursday.

    By Feb. 15, 2024
  • Plow trucks work to clear the Interstate 235 John MacVicar Freeway Freeway as winter storm Gerri dumps inches of snow with high winds in Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 12.
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    FERC, NERC to analyze power sector performance during January winter storms

    The assessment will look at improvements to grid reliability made since Winter Storm Uri in 2021 and Winter Storm Elliott in 2022.

    By Feb. 14, 2024
  • Electric transmission lines against a blue and yellow sky.
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    Opinion

    The hidden costs of competition over new transmission infrastructure

    A right of first refusal is not a reward for any utilities or builders at the expense of others. It merely recognizes the need for new infrastructure and provides a first opportunity to those already operating existing infrastructure.

    By Benjamin Dierker • Feb. 14, 2024
  • Transmission tower in a field in Arkansas.
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    State utility regulators urge PJM, MISO to bolster joint interregional transmission planning

    “Expanding transfer capacity between regions can help to improve grid resilience and minimize the negative impacts of extreme weather events,” OMS and OPSI told the grid operators.

    By Feb. 14, 2024
  • Electric pylons in a field.
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    Maryland ratepayer advocate urges FERC to reject PJM’s $5.1B transmission cost allocation plan

    Virginia — not other states — should pay for transmission costs driven by its data center incentive policy, the Maryland Office of People’s Counsel said.

    By Updated Feb. 14, 2024
  • Large electric power transmission lines and modern wind turbines generating electricity in central California.
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    Opinion

    What utility commissioners should know about a flawed Western day-ahead market study

    The study reads like an advertisement for a product that’s missing important context and comparisons — and as individual utility filings appear in dockets around the West, public utility commissioners should approach it as such.

    By Bob Jenks • Feb. 9, 2024
  • High voltage electricity transmission tower back lit by sun with lens flare.
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    Interregional transmission would grow 126%, to 191 GW, by 2035 under BIG WIRES bill: report

    The biggest percentage growth in interregional transmission expansion would occur in the Southeast, according to analysis by the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University.

    By Feb. 8, 2024
  • Transmission line workers.
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    DOE launches solicitation for up to $1.2B in transmission capacity contracts

    The Tuesday request for proposals marks the second round of potential funding from the DOE’s Transmission Facilitation Program.

    By Feb. 7, 2024
  • Power lines running through the woods in North Carolina.
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    Clean energy groups back Duke Energy multi-value local transmission planning proposal

    If approved, Duke could have the only local planning process that uses proactive, multi-value scenario planning, according to North Carolina clean energy groups.

    By Feb. 5, 2024
  • An Eversource Energy power line in the woods in New Hampshire.
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    The image by Eversource NH is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0
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    Eversource, others may be capitalizing on lax reviews for some transmission projects: Maine officials

    “Asset condition” projects receive almost no regulatory scrutiny by states or ISO New England, possibly to the benefit of utility shareholders, Maine’s ratepayer office told the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

    By Feb. 2, 2024
  • Electricity from solar panels, dams, and wind turbines. Environmentally-friendly renewable energy concept.
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    2024 US power sector outlook

    The U.S. clean energy transition is expected to accelerate in 2024 but faces question around transmission, financing, federal elections and other issues.

    By Utility Dive staff • Jan. 31, 2024
  • Transmission lines in the winter with wind turbines in the background.
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    Entergy wins, wind developers lose with MISO, SPP transmission constraints: NBER paper

    Without the constraints, two Entergy utilities would have had $930 million less in operating profits in 2022, a possible incentive to oppose new transmission, the paper said.

    By Jan. 31, 2024
  • A forest fire burns under a high voltage transmission line in California.
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    Deep Dive

    As wildfires losses mount, will commercial insurers decline to cover utilities?

    As Xcel Energy, PG&E, Hawaiian Electric and others confront catastrophic wildfires, industry observers believe the growing risk could spur innovation in commercial insurance that ultimately benefits utilities.

    By Emma Penrod • Jan. 31, 2024
  • Transmission lines next to a highway in California.
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    EEI, utilities urge FERC to reverse decision cutting PG&E equity adder for CAISO participation

    The commission’s decision to deny Pacific Gas & Electric extra return on equity marks an “unfortunate shift” in the agency’s approach to infrastructure investment, the Edison Electric Institute said Monday.

    By Jan. 30, 2024
  • FERC headquarters
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    Permission granted by Esme Howland
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    FERC Outlook: Danly exit could boost transmission reform, but smaller commission poses risks

    Other top priorities for FERC this year include continued efforts to improve the interconnection process, consideration of expanded transmission ties between regions and possible power market reforms, according to agency experts.

    By Jan. 29, 2024
  • Solar panels and wind turbines in a field
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    Deep Dive

    New solutions emerge to better integrate renewables into the grid, Xcel, Eversource and others say

    Requiring the 400+ GW of battery capacity in U.S. interconnection queues to have grid-forming capabilities could enable variable renewables growth “cheaper and faster than adding new transmission,” one expert said.

    By Jan. 25, 2024
  • Silhouette of young engineer holding laptop computer planning and working for the energy industry and standing beside a wind turbines farm power station at sunset time
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    Deep Dive

    Utility Business Outlook: Power prices stay elevated as elections sow uncertainty for clean energy plans

    For utilities and the clean energy sector, 2024 could bring “an exceptional level of volatility and opportunity,” according to Bank of America Global Research analysts.

    By Jan. 23, 2024
  • Pole in a flat desert area.
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    Permission granted by RS Technologies
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    Sponsored by RS Technologies

    Composite poles vs. alternatives in the face of natural disasters

    Composite utility poles have been shown to be highly resilient in ice storms, freezing rain, hurricanes and wildfires.

    Jan. 22, 2024
  • High voltage power lines in the winter.
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    Extreme weather shows need for dispatchable resources, new transmission: FERC commissioners

    FERC Acting Chairman Willie Phillips expects the agency will issue new transmission planning and cost allocation rules in the “coming months.”

    By Jan. 19, 2024