The California Public Utilities Commission on Aug. 1 revised a 1992 energy efficiency policy to allow funding for electrification efforts, paving the way for new programs that use electric technologies powered by emissions-free resources. The decision modifies the “three-prong test” that was originally adopted to avoid encouraging programs that involved substituting one fuel for another,…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Aug 2 upheld the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s approval of Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company’s Atlantic Sunrise Project, finding that the agency acted lawfully under circuit precedent. The court rejected arguments that the agency improperly conducted its environmental assessment, failed to substantiate the…
The Maryland Public Service Commission has taken action against the retail energy supplier Smart One Energy LCC for enrolling customers without their consent, a practice known as ‘slamming’ and other violations of state law, according to an August 2 press release. The Commission suspended Smart One’s 2011 license to operate as a natural gas supplier in…
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on July 30 proposed changes to remove restrictions from a 2015 rule, which limited coal ash use to 12,400 tons per site. The proposal is the agency’s latest effort to weaken the the Obama-era rule governing the disposal of coal ash, a toxic byproduct of coal-fired power plants. EPA is…
Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo on July 31 announced the launch of a 15-year modernization and digitization program to extend the life of the Niagara Power Project, the largest source of zero-carbon electricity in the state. The program centers on the Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant, a 2.4-gigawatt hydroelectric plant, which began operating in 1961. The…