Transmission & Distribution: Page 108
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Marijuana grow houses may cause 3% demand spike for Seattle utility
The city of Seattle has more than 100 applications pending for new marijuana grow operations in its municpal utility's territory, and some are worried about the increased strain on the distribution system.
By Robert Walton • Nov. 11, 2015 -
AEP's $13B investment plan focuses on wires business
American Electric Power has announced a $13 billion capital program, with the bulk aimed at rebuilding and enhancing aging infrastructure
By Robert Walton • Nov. 11, 2015 -
Trendline
Top 5 Stories from Utility Dive
The U.S. energy transition is facing challenges around grid interconnections, project permitting and power system reliability, but state, federal and other solutions are emerging.
By Utility Dive staff -
Boulder may build distribution assets to push through municipalization
After Colorado regulators tossed out a part of Boulder's plan to take over Xcel Energy's distribution system, the city is mulling options and potentially facing higher costs in its bid to form a municipal utility.
By Robert Walton • Nov. 11, 2015 -
DOE approves $1.2B transmission line for Canadian wind and hydro
The transmission line expected to import 1,000 MW of Canadian wind and hydro power to New England nears regulatory completion.
By Herman K. Trabish • Nov. 10, 2015 -
NYISO: Closing NRG Huntly and Dunkirk coal plants won't threaten reliability
Lawmakers have already put a $19 million relief package together for communities, and both plants are scheduled to come offline in early 2016.
By Herman K. Trabish • Nov. 6, 2015 -
Regulators reject part of Boulder muni bid, but case moves forward
The Colorado Public Utilities Commission determined some portion of the city of Boulder's plan to form a municipal utility ran afoul of the doctine of regulated monopolies, but the city will have a chance to amend its application.
By Robert Walton • Nov. 6, 2015 -
Puerto Rico Gov. Padilla floats bill to restructure debt-strapped PREPA
The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority needs to restructure more than $8 billion in debt while modernizing its generation fleet and grid.
By Robert Walton • Nov. 6, 2015 -
Marijuana grow houses trigger 7 summer outages for Pacific Power
Marijuana became legal for recreational use in Oregon this summer, and since then Pacific Power has faced seven blackouts it attributes to indoor grow operations.
By Robert Walton • Nov. 6, 2015 -
Wind's huge October: Generation records set in 4 of 7 organized markets
Better turbines and new installed capacity from the recent ‘wind rush’ make the resource a significant part of the energy supply on grids across the nation.
By Herman K. Trabish • Nov. 5, 2015 -
After public rebuke, Duke axes Carolina power line, downsizes gas plant proposal
The utility will construct two smaller gas-fired plants instead of one, and scrapped plans for a new line and substation, opting to lean on efficiency and demand management instead.
By Robert Walton • Nov. 5, 2015 -
Duke's Piedmont deal forces restructuring ownership of Atlantic Coast Pipeline
Dominion Resources will remain the lead owner of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, but how the shares will be restructered remains to be seen.
By Robert Walton • Nov. 2, 2015 -
Michigan utilities face growing lineman shortage
A rise in retirements and sluggish hiring has left Michigan struggling to find enough workers to maintain its electric power distribution grid.
By Robert Walton • Nov. 2, 2015 -
Jury finds New Mexico utilities responsible for fire caused by downed power line
About 156,000 acres were consumed by the 2011 fire when an aspen tree downed a Jemez Mountains Electric Cooperative power line.
By Robert Walton • Oct. 30, 2015 -
Runaway blimp knocks out power to thousands in Pennsylvania
A 242-foot U.S. military blimp escaped its shackles and floated over Maryland and Pennsylvania yesterday, causing power outages to thousands in Pennsylvania and spawning a social media sensation.
By Krysti Shallenberger • Oct. 29, 2015 -
NV Energy remains on track to join Western energy imbalance market
FERC approved a California ISO tariff change aimed at allowing the utility to participate in the Energy Imbalance Market, but a few other details will need to be worked out first.
By Robert Walton • Oct. 29, 2015 -
Deep Dive
How utilities are getting in on the transmission building boom
New renewables generation under the Clean Power Plan will require thousands of miles of new transmission, and increasingly utilities are getting in on the race to build it.
By Herman K. Trabish • Oct. 29, 2015 -
Duke CEO: Piedmont deal heralds new focus on natural gas industry
In the future, gas infrastructure investments will be a growing focus for Duke Energy, according to CEO Lynn Good.
By Robert Walton • Oct. 28, 2015 -
Study: 3 years after Sandy, East Coast and Gulf power grids still vulnerable to storms
A new report shows millions of consumers, hundreds of substations and dozens of power plants are susceptible to a strong hurricane battering the United States' Atlantic and Gulf coasts.
By Robert Walton • Oct. 28, 2015 -
Deep Dive
From theory to practice: The challenges in moving to 'Utility 2.0'
Executives from four major utilities spoke at ESNA 2015 about the trials and tribulations of putting more new technology on their grids.
By Herman K. Trabish • Oct. 27, 2015 -
Comments on NY REV's Track 2 are in — and the utility sector has mixed feelings
As New York revamps the state's utility industry, there lies a simple question at the heart of the process: How will utilities make money in the future?
By Robert Walton and Gavin Bade • Oct. 27, 2015 -
Deep Dive
Are utility investments in natural gas a good bet?
Storage, solar and nuclear have all been talked about as potentially leapfrogging natural gas, long known as the “bridge fuel.” So why are utilities doubling down?
By Robert Walton • Oct. 27, 2015 -
Florida Power & Light tapped as nation's most reliable utility
PA Consulting Group called the Florida utility "an incredibly focused organization that is embracing technology and innovation."
By Robert Walton • Oct. 27, 2015 -
Duke Energy to buy Piedmont Natural Gas for $4.9B
Duke will pay a 42% premium on Piedmont's stock price for a deal that would add about 1 million new gas customers for the utility giant.
By Gavin Bade • Oct. 26, 2015 -
Pennsylvania PUC approves PECO's $274M reliability, microgrid program
The Philadelphia-based utility's proposal includes up to $100 million for a microgrid pilot to enhance grid resiliency.
By Peter Maloney • Oct. 26, 2015 -
After fending off cyber attack, FirstEnergy says government coordination lacking
The government's response – or lack thereof – following an attempted denial of service attack on FirstEnergy this week highlights a lack of coordination between industry and federal officials.
By Robert Walton • Oct. 23, 2015