Regulation & Policy: Page 9
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"One Nevada transmission line" by Reliathon is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Nevada regulators set to approve NV Energy’s $2B IRP amendment, including new gas resources
Critics say the utility has used the integrated resource plan amendment process to advance projects with insufficient scrutiny.
By Robert Walton • March 1, 2024 -
Biden nominates 3 FERC commissioners
"A fully-seated, bipartisan FERC provides more opportunity for advancing long-lasting, sensible energy infrastructure policy,” Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., said.
By Ethan Howland • Feb. 29, 2024 -
Explore the Trendlineâž”
adamkaz via Getty ImagesTrendlineThe Energy Transition to Renewables
New policy and business actions are giving a significant boost to renewable energy in the U.S., but opposition is growing and grid interconnection, permitting, labor and other challenges remain.
By Utility Dive staff -
Deep Dive
2024 PJM Outlook: Tough choices loom on capacity market, plant retirements, transmission planning
Ensuring that enough new generation comes online to replace retiring power plants is a key issue that threads through PJM’s expected focus this year, stakeholders and observers said.
By Ethan Howland • Feb. 29, 2024 -
SEC to scrap scope 3 reporting from climate disclosure rule: Reuters
The omission could create a compliance conundrum for companies that still need to report scope 3 under European Union and California climate rules.
By Zoya Mirza • Feb. 27, 2024 -
SPP proposes renewable, thermal resource accreditation reforms aimed at bolstering reliability
The Southwest Power Pool’s current accreditation for wind, solar and storage fails to account for their reliability value decreasing as more are added to the grid, according to the grid operator.
By Ethan Howland • Feb. 27, 2024 -
Deep Dive
Congressional action on energy permitting remains stuck, but states, developers are finding solutions
States are resolving local objections to projects through community engagement while transmission developers are making innovative use of existing rights-of-way to bypass permitting logjams.
By Herman K. Trabish • Feb. 27, 2024 -
Opinion
Advancing energy justice: A new paradigm in grid equity and reliability analysis
The Michigan Public Service Commission’s decision ordering DTE Electric to run regression analyses and understand energy reliability in diverse communities sets a valuable precedent for other Midwestern states.
By Will Kenworthy and Boratha Tan • Feb. 26, 2024 -
ERCOT, CAISO offer best grid interconnection processes; PJM, ISO-NE the worst, report finds
The scorecard, which ranked PJM Interconnection last with a D-minus, can be used a baseline to measure interconnection reform efforts across the U.S., Advanced Energy United said.
By Ethan Howland • Updated Feb. 26, 2024 -
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 Ethan Howland • Feb. 23, 2024 -
FERC enforcement office seeks $27M from Ketchup Caddy for MISO demand response fraud
The CEO of the company, which had “no legitimate market activity,” according to FERC staff, said he planned to “[d]o this for just a couple of years, make a bunch of money to put kids through school .... and no one’s hurt.”
By Ethan Howland • Feb. 22, 2024 -
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 Robert Walton • Feb. 21, 2024 -
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 Ethan Howland • Updated Feb. 23, 2024 -
California PUC approves plan to add 56 GW of clean energy resources by 2035
The resources are needed to meet the California Public Utilities Commission’s new 25 MMT annual electric sector carbon emissions target for 2035, a nearly 60% drop from the 2020 level.
By Kavya Balaraman • Feb. 20, 2024 -
Retrieved from Centrus Energy Corp..
Domestic uranium enrichment gets $2.7B boost from US Senate
The Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2024 funds conventional and advanced U.S. uranium enrichment capabilities, but the bill faces an uncertain future in the U.S. House of Representatives.
By Brian Martucci • Feb. 16, 2024 -
FERC OKs cold weather reliability standards, and 5 other takeaways from Thursday’s open meeting
The agency intends to move forward in the “very near future” on its pending regional transmission planning and cost allocation rule, per Chairman Willie Phillips.
By Ethan Howland • Feb. 16, 2024 -
Retrieved from House of Representatives.
State officials blame federal regulation for higher energy prices: ‘Customers are getting hurt.’
Proposed federal limits on fossil fuel power plants will further raise costs and weaken reliability, three state energy officials told a U.S. House subcommittee on Wednesday.
By Robert Walton • Feb. 15, 2024 -
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 Ethan Howland • Feb. 14, 2024 -
Arizona Corporation Commission moves to eliminate energy efficiency rules, renewables targets
The move is “a big step backwards” for Arizona, said Mark Kresowik, senior policy director for the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
By Robert Walton • Feb. 13, 2024 -
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 Ethan Howland • Updated Feb. 14, 2024 -
EU passes domestic clean energy act, trailing US supply chain and climate bills
The European Commission agreed to the Net-Zero Industry Act to increase domestic manufacturing, following similar domestic production acts passed by the U.S.
By Lamar Johnson • Feb. 12, 2024 -
Phillips named FERC chair as Clements decides against second term
Clements’ announcement that she will not serve another term at FERC opens up the possibility that the agency will lose its quorum, delaying commission votes, WIRES Executive Director Larry Gasteiger said.
By Ethan Howland • Feb. 12, 2024 -
Sponsored by Kraken Technologies
Enabling a fair and just transition: Digitalization of the grid is holding us back
The energy transition is in full swing, and we have the tech to make it happen — here’s why we need to make sure our journey to net zero is as equitable and just as possible.
By Charlotte Johnson – Global Head of Markets, Kraken – Asset & Optimization • Feb. 12, 2024 -
CAISO seeks FERC approval to cancel 2024 interconnection study process
As it deals with an interconnection backlog, the California Independent System Operator hasn’t started studying last year’s interconnection requests, which totaled 350 GW, the grid operator told FERC on Thursday.
By Ethan Howland • Feb. 9, 2024 -
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 -
PJM set to hold capacity auction in June after receiving mixed FERC decisions
FERC-approved changes to PJM’s capacity auction will likely boost capacity prices and help the grid operator acquire capacity during the energy transition, according to an ESAI Power analyst.
By Ethan Howland • Feb. 9, 2024