As Powelson steps down, greens call for FERC seat to stay vacant

Powelson's departure Friday comes during a busy summer for FERC, with the commission facing high-profile decisions on pipelines, grid resilience and the PJM capacity market. 

By Gavin Bade • Aug. 10, 2018

Report: DOE, DHS planning new grid cybersecurity exercise this fall

The Liberty Eclipse exercise will focus on blackstart capabilities and the intersection of the natural gas and electric power sectors, E&E News reports. 

By Gavin Bade • Aug. 7, 2018

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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

FERC denies rehearing on Northern Access pipeline, overruling New York decision

The decision could help set a precedent for how FERC handles state challenges to its permitting authority for gas pipelines. 

By Gavin Bade • Updated Aug. 7, 2018

Court tosses construction permits for Atlantic Coast Pipeline

FERC's approval of the 600-mile pipeline was based on a faulty right-of-way permit from the National Park Service, the Fourth Circuit Court ruled, likely halting construction for the $6 billion project. 

By Gavin Bade • Aug. 6, 2018

FERC halts construction of Mountain Valley Pipeline after court ruling

The decision is the biggest victory yet for opponents of the 300-mile natural gas pipeline, which FERC approved last October. 

By Gavin Bade • Aug. 6, 2018

Berkeley lab challenges grid community to improve interoperability

The Plug & Play DER Challenge is a call for concepts to the smart grid community, seeking "visionary" ideas focused on improving interoperability on an increasingly-connected electric grid.

By Robert Walton • Aug. 6, 2018

Split FERC approves Spire pipeline, brushing aside self-dealing concerns

The only entity that signed contracts for the 65-mile pipeline is an affiliate of the project developer, leading critics to question if the project is truly necessary.

By Gavin Bade • Aug. 6, 2018

Broadband access: A regulatory call to action to protect utilities against cyber threats

Modernizing utility communications infrastructure to the advanced broadband available today will pay off for decades to come, according to Jack Markell, former Democratic governor of Delaware.

By Jack Markell • Aug. 6, 2018

As California customer choice options expand, regulators work to ensure grid costs are equitable

A new report estimates Community Choice Aggregators could serve a majority of California’s power consumers within the next decade, raising the stakes for efforts to ensure costs are shared equitably.

By Robert Walton • Aug. 3, 2018

Report: PG&E considers breaking up company to avoid wildfire liability

The company and its utility subsidiary have been highly critical of California laws that allow for wildfire liability even if standards and regulations are met, warning of the threat of bankruptcy and reorganization.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • Aug. 2, 2018

Recent heat wave provides stress test for US renewables integration

CAISO has called for conservation as a heat wave spiked electricity use. Like other areas of the country, the lights stayed on but also revealed weaknesses in the electric grid.

By Robert Walton • Aug. 2, 2018

Dominion nuke plant eligible for zero carbon resources bid in Connecticut

The company had warned regulators that its Millstone nuclear plant was at risk of shuttering after the state's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's original RFP wouldn't have allowed it to bid until 2023.

By Catherine Morehouse • Aug. 2, 2018

California ISO enters must-run contracts, approves measures to shore up reliability

The board of the California ISO last week approved several measures to support system reliability, including issuing two new reliability must-run designations and modifying other contracts.

By Robert Walton • July 31, 2018

California approves revised San Onofre closure settlement, saving customers $750M

This agreement ends a six-year controversy following a deal that the largest owner of the plant, Southern California Edison, struck in a private arrangement with state regulators.

By Robert Walton • July 30, 2018

Colorado regulators press forward with Black Hills TOU pilot

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission directed Black Hills Energy to develop a time-of-use rate pilot and file a proposal this fall.

By Robert Walton • July 27, 2018

Massachusetts utilities sign contracts to import Canadian hydropower

The Clean Energy Connect project, which will deliver the power, is generating controversy in Maine, where regulators say it should fund efficiency programs.

By Robert Walton • July 27, 2018

Indiana cost consumers $140M by nixing efficiency program, AEC says

A new analysis from the Applied Economics Clinic joins a host of other research concluding the state's energy efficiency mandate was working before legislators eliminated the program in 2014.

By Robert Walton • July 26, 2018

California Gov. Brown proposes reducing utility wildfire liability

The proposal would change rules currently requiring utilities to pay all damage costs if their equipment was involved in a fire, regardless of negligence.

By Robert Walton • July 26, 2018

Aging grids drive $51B in annual utility distribution spending

Major utilities increased capital expenditures to their distribution systems by 54% since 1997, according to a U.S. Energy Information Administration analysis.

By Robert Walton • July 25, 2018

How vulnerable is the grid to cyberattacks, really?

Experts say a recent DHS briefing that warned hackers could cause widespread blackouts may have overstated the threat.  

By Gavin Bade • July 25, 2018

New York utilities outline 'transformative' uses for blockchain

The four utilities will research blockchain and learn from other industries as the technology evolves, with the ultimate goal of drawing up a joint proof of concept and testing their findings.

By Katie Pyzyk • July 25, 2018

As California grid expansion nears finish line, hurdles only get higher

"With this bill, anything we do makes someone grumpy," said one architect of legislation to create a full Western electricity market.

By Herman K. Trabish • July 24, 2018

Report: SCANA, Dominion offered $1,500 refunds to escape Summer rate cut

The utilities wanted to increase support for their proposed merger and retain the ability to charge customers for the canceled V.C. Summer nuke, but lawmakers rejected their plan by wide margins.

By Robert Walton • July 24, 2018

Russian hackers infiltrated utility control rooms, DHS says

The hackers breached isolated utility networks thought to be secure and "got to the point where they could have thrown switches," Homeland Security officials said Monday.

By Gavin Bade • July 24, 2018

Vermont PUC seeks alternative ratemaking proposals to boost renewables

In a Monday order, the state's PUC urges regulators to approach new methods of utility operations "with open minds," in order to meet Vermont's aggressive clean energy goals.

By Robert Walton • July 23, 2018