Exposing the utility playbook: Ratepayers are stuck paying the bill for utility corruption

Legislators and regulators need to be insulated from undue influence from utilities by limiting political spending and instituting strict anti-revolving door policies, the authors write.

By Landon Stevens and Mark Pischea • May 27, 2021

Senate Finance Committee advances energy tax credit overhaul bill amid partisan deadlock

A committee vote on the Clean Energy for America Act, a bill to create resource-agnostic tax credits based on carbon reductions, ended in a 14-14 tie along party lines on Wednesday.

By Emma Penrod • May 27, 2021

Explore the Trendline➔

Sustainability

Companies are pursuing increasingly ambitous sustainability goals around clean energy, but integrating rising amounts of renewables, minimizing environmental impacts, and achieving carbon reduction targets can be challenging.

By Utility Dive staff

Record wildfire threats mean California must pick when and where to fight, utilities, analysts, CalFire agree

Utilities, public agencies and firefighters are preparing for the worst as the climate crisis-driven threat of deadly, destructive wildfires in California grows, but the biggest question remains unanswered.

By Herman K. Trabish • May 27, 2021

Tenaska files complaint with FERC against SPP, alleging $66M overcharge on wind interconnection

The developer says the additional charges highlight the need to reform transmission planning and cost allocation to provide renewable energy developers with transparency and certainty in developing new projects.

By Catherine Morehouse • May 26, 2021

Averting economic devastation from New York's billion-dollar consumer energy debt

Federal funds will eliminate a lot of New Yorkers' energy and water utility debt, but utility shareholders must share the burden of what remains, the authors write.

By Kevin Parker and Richard Berkley • May 26, 2021

NRG push for sweeping retail market changes in Northeast meets Texas-sized obstacles

The reliability crisis in Texas, the state with one of the most competitive retail electricity markets, has created hurdles for a campaign to reinvent retail competition in Northeastern restructured states.

By Matthew Bandyk • May 26, 2021

California mulls 11.5 GW procurement package to bolster grid after Diablo Canyon, natural gas plants retire

Regulators are considering two proposed decisions, one with up to 1,500 MW of fossil fuel capacity and the other with only 500 MW.

By Kavya Balaraman • May 25, 2021

Duke-supported group launches campaign against North Carolina bill to examine wholesale market reform

The campaign claims to reveal "the ugly truth" about regional transmission organizations, which it calls "a Really Terrible Option," and is the product of a group that received $500,000 from Duke during the state's primary elections.

By Catherine Morehouse • May 24, 2021

Biden orders Yellen to outline climate risks to financial stability

The assessment, due in 180 days, will incorporate financial regulators' plans to boost climate-risk disclosures. The order also asks officials to disclose, within 120 days, government programs' and assets' exposure to climate risks.

By Dan Ennis • May 24, 2021

National Grid, RWE join scramble to develop wind projects off New York, New Jersey coasts

National Grid Ventures, the non-regulated part of the utility, and the German energy giant are the latest bidders to build offshore wind projects in the new area opened for development by the Biden administration.

By Scott Van Voorhis • May 21, 2021

South Carolina to implement net metering settlement with time-of-use pricing

The new time-variable tariff, developed in collaboration with Duke Energy, solar industry representatives and environmental NGOs, is expected to more closely align utility costs with customer incentives.

By Emma Penrod • May 21, 2021

Rare FERC move sparks heated debate over commission's role assessing pipeline climate impacts

FERC voted 3-2 to approve two pipeline projects after Commissioner James Danly proposed a last-minute amendment to avoid setting a precedent on examining climate impacts — and to secure his own vote.

By Catherine Morehouse • May 21, 2021

White House to take proactive role in ransomware fight following Colonial, other cyberattacks

The administration can no longer passively wait for the next cyber crisis to take hold before it decides to engage, said Anne Neuberger, a Biden administration cybersecurity official.

By David Jones • May 20, 2021

Elliott's proposed Duke split untimely, analysts say, as advocates warn of 'dangerous can of worms'

Analysts question why the proposal to split Duke Energy into three companies comes now, when the utility is on an upswing, while ratepayer advocates warn against Elliott Management's outsized role in the power sector.

By Catherine Morehouse • May 20, 2021

Biden decarbonization focus shifts to buildings, with goal to triple efficiency, see up to $200B in savings

The White House announced workforce development funding, new performance standards and expanded partnerships in the private sector in an effort to address carbon emissions from the nation's building stock.

By Robert Walton • May 19, 2021

Funding is a key barrier to cities' climate plan progress: report

About 43% of cities worldwide lack a climate adaptation plan, with 25% noting budget constraints as an obstacle, nonprofit CDP reports. But neglecting to address climate change comes with a financial cost, too, experts warn.

By Katie Pyzyk • May 18, 2021

Bipartisan Maine lawmakers push to create first statewide, publicly owned utility in US

Proponents say a key goal of creating such a publicly owned utility would be to make Maine the first state to reach its goal of 100% renewable energy.

By Scott Van Voorhis • Updated June 18, 2021

'A terrible idea': Texas legislators fight over renewables' role in power crisis, aiming to avert a repeat

Texans may face future freezes if lawmakers blame renewables and fail to set winterization standards and create market-based reliability protections, analysts say.

By Herman K. Trabish • May 17, 2021

White House cybersecurity order lands with a plea for private sector help

Federal action alone is not enough, the White House said, though higher government standards could improve private sector security. 

By Samantha Schwartz • May 14, 2021

With solar sale, PSEG doubles down on offshore wind and nuclear

The sale of the fossil fuel plants, along with its solar facilities, is part of PSEG's larger plan to exit the business of operating merchant plants.

By Scott Van Voorhis • May 14, 2021

Transmission tax credit could unlock 30 GW of renewables, spur over $15B in private capital, report finds

The report also found the tax credit would create 650,000 "good paying jobs," in the near term, receiving support from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

By Catherine Morehouse • May 14, 2021

As Colonial pipeline returns to service, Congress looks to bolster utility-government security efforts

Several bills aim to boost public-private partnerships in securing the nations grid, which experts say are critical to keeping attackers at bay.

By Robert Walton • May 14, 2021

FERC denies MISO request to extend Order 841 compliance deadline to 2025

FERC said MISO had "not shown good cause" for granting its request, which cited potential conflicts with its members' decarbonization goals under the current deadline.

By Jason Plautz • Updated May 18, 2021

Vineyard 800 MW offshore wind farm first US utility-scale facility to get federal construction approval

A federal agency cleared Vineyard Wind to install up to 84 wind turbines 15 miles off the coast of Martha's Vineyard in a move the Interior Department says will open the door to 80,000 clean energy jobs in the country.

By Emma Penrod • May 12, 2021

FERC deems Duke, Southern SEEM proposal 'deficient', sends utilities back to the drawing board

Federal regulators asked utilities to clarify how exactly the proposal will improve existing energy transactions in the Southeast, and for greater transparency in how the market changes will work.

By Catherine Morehouse • May 12, 2021