The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission determined that it has concurrent jurisdiction with bankruptcy courts over wholesale power contracts that Pacific Gas & Electric Company may seek to reject through bankruptcy, according to a Jan. 25 order. The ruling comes in response to a request by NextEra Energy Inc. and NextEra Energy Partners L.P seeking commission…...
Hydro One Ltd. and Avista Corp. have decided to terminate plans to merge after regulators in Washington and Idaho refused to approve the deal, according to a Jan. 23 press release. After weighing the chances of getting those decisions reversed, both companies have decided to kill the plan, with Hydro One having to pay Avista a $103 million termination…
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced a final rule addressing nuclear plant safety to incorporate lessons learned from the 2011 accident at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant, according to a Jan. 24 news release. The rule removes the requirement in the final draft presented by the commission staff in 2016 requiring nuclear plants to take additional…...
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission issued an order on Jan. 23 approving Tenaska Inc.’s 260 megawatt Nobles 2 wind farm in Nobles County, southwestern Minnesota. The project will include between 65 to 82 wind turbines, with a nameplate capacity ranging from 2 to 4.2 megawatts each, spread over approximately 42,200 acres. In December, Nobles 2 executed a power purchase…
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection determined that a private electrical system caused the Tubbs Fire in 2017 in Northern California’s Sonoma County, and not Pacific Gas & Electric Company, which had been under scrutiny for the possible involvement of its equipment in sparking the fires, according to a Jan. 24 news release.…