Fluor lands $831M contract to rebuild Puerto Rico electric grid

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has tapped the South Carolina company for a major rebuild of Puerto Rico's grid. But a wave of microgrid, storage and solar projects are quickly being installed to return power to small parts of the grid.

By Robert Walton • Dec. 6, 2017

FirstEnergy files $450M plan to upgrade Ohio distribution grids

Customers of Ohio Edison, Cleveland Electric Illuminating and Toledo Edison could see faster restoration times in outages and a grid more capable of standing up to adverse weather conditions.

By Robert Walton • Dec. 5, 2017

Explore the Trendline➔

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

NY ISO plan sees storage in state's wholesale markets by 2020

As the state moves to set recently enacted storage targets, the grid operator laid out a three-phase plan that focuses on integration, optimization and aggregation.

By Robert Walton • Dec. 5, 2017

As grid modernization accelerates, which states are in the lead, and why?

California, Illinois and Texas are at the top, according to the latest GridWise survey, with Rhode Island, Colorado and Washington showing the biggest improvement over the prior rankings.

By Herman K. Trabish • Dec. 5, 2017

Whitefish Energy challenges contractor in Montana court over Puerto Rico storm recovery payments

Arc American, a contractor, had asked the Puerto Rico utility for payment for work it completed to repair the island's devastated electrical grid rather than collecting through Whitefish.

By Robert Walton • Dec. 5, 2017

Massachusetts approves Eversource rate increase to help boost EV, storage investment

Regulators trimmed the utility's initial proposal, but it includes $45 million in electric vehicle infrastructure investments and $55 million for energy storage projects on Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Cod.

By Robert Walton • Dec. 5, 2017

SolarCity, Salt River Project antitrust lawsuit heads to Supreme Court

In 2015, SolarCity filed an anti-trust lawsuit against Salt River Project. The U.S. Supreme Court will determine if the public power utility can be sued under those laws.

By Robert Walton • Dec. 4, 2017

Chatterjee blames national environmental groups for delaying pipeline approvals

Concerns over climate change have given rise to a "national keep-it-in-the-ground movement resisting any natural gas project as a matter of principle," Chatterjee said in a speech before gas executives Thursday.

By Gavin Bade • Dec. 1, 2017

Middle-agers lead on using energy-saving devices, but overall adoption is low

About one quarter of customers have such items in their homes, with smart thermostats the most popular device.

By Robert Walton • Dec. 1, 2017

CPUC: SDG&E may not recover $379M from consumers for 2007 wildfires

The closely-watched decision could have implications for other utilities — including Pacific Gas & Electric which is under scrutiny for its role in wildfires that devastated Sonoma and Napa counties this fall. 

By Robert Walton • Dec. 1, 2017

Updated: California political commission requests emails related to San Bruno explosion

The California Fair Political Practices Commission wants information on political aide Susan Kennedy's communications with the state's Public Utilities Commission since 2012.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 28, 2017

Gas rush: FERC's pipeline approvals underline persisting controversy over permitting

The federal agency has approved 8 Bcf/d of pipeline capacity in recent months, resisting calls to expand its evaluation procedures.

By Gavin Bade • Nov. 28, 2017

DOE identifies possible microgrid opportunities in Puerto Rico

The island continues to struggle with rebuilding its electric grid after Hurricane Maria, but federal officials say there is progress in making the power supply more resilient.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 28, 2017

Whitefish Energy resumes work in Puerto Rico after 'good faith' payment

The Montana company had ceased work to repair the island's electric grid over an unpaid $83 million bill for work that was completed in October.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 27, 2017

California lawmakers want to block utilities from passing on wildfire costs

Following October wildfires that devastated Sonoma and Napa counties, California lawmakers are considering a measure to block utilities from recovering costs if their equipment is determined to be at fault.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 27, 2017

Has California built its last natural gas plant?

Two pending decisions from state regulators will decide how the Golden State moves toward a clean(er) energy future. 

By Herman K. Trabish • Nov. 22, 2017

Whitefish Energy halts restoration work in Puerto Rico over $83M bill

The controversial contract has been terminated, but the company and Puerto Rico officials agreed it would complete work in progress and remain on the island through the end of November.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 21, 2017

Class action lawsuit targets Eversource, Avangrid over pipeline scheduling

An EDF report alleging the two utilities artificially constrained pipeline capacity has sparked a class action lawsuit from consumers who say the practice raised their electricity rates. 

By Gavin Bade • Nov. 20, 2017

Mississippi utilities seek higher rates as gas prices rise

However, Southern Co. subsidiary Mississippi Power says its rate increase is separate from its efforts to recover costs from the Kemper coal gasification plant. 

By Robert Walton • Nov. 20, 2017

Latest GridEx simulation models 'fake news' campaigns, Ukraine cyberattack

More than 6,000 participants from roughly 400 organizations participated last week in North American Electric Reliability Corp.'s biennial GridEx training exercise.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 20, 2017

Rhode Island grid mod plan to focus on renewables integration, cost control

The blueprint released by the state's energy agencies also focuses on customer choice, grid flexibility, new utility earnings models and increased reliability. 

By Robert Walton • Nov. 20, 2017

Northern Pass transmission project moves closer to construction with DOE approval

Eversource Energy wants to construct a 192-mile transmission line that would move hydroelectric power from Canada to New England.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 17, 2017

APS customers say new bills higher than expected after rate case decision

Customers within Arizona Public Service Co. could fight for a rehearing over the rate case if they sign a petition with enough names, but a reversal of the increase is unlikely. 

By Robert Walton • Nov. 16, 2017

NERC: Growing gas reliance demands new planning strategies

A new report calls for regulators to consider fuel diversity as they evaluate electric system plans and establish energy policy objectives. 

By Robert Walton • Nov. 15, 2017

Do utilities need rate design for electric vehicle charging?

A Massachusetts muni is using analytics and a traditional marketing approach to shift EV charging off-peak. Will it work for everyone?

By Krysti Shallenberger • Nov. 15, 2017