Power & Utilities

PacifiCorp Proposes $22 Million Portfolio of Innovative Programs to Enhance Grid Management

PacifiCorp Proposes $22 Million Portfolio of Innovative Programs to Enhance Grid Management

Electric Vehicles, Energy Storage, Energy Storage, EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, Power & Utilities, REC Feed, Smart Grid

Rocky Mountain Power, a division of PacifiCorp, proposed three innovative utility programs to explore vehicle-to-grid power flow management, study the value of behind-the-meter grid optimized solar-plus-battery installations, and improve outage response by deploying line sensor technology on distribution circuits, according to a March 8 filing with the Utah Public Service Commission. The initiatives form the…...

Florida Regulator Approves Smart Meter Opt-Out Provision for Tampa Electric Customers

Florida Regulator Approves Smart Meter Opt-Out Provision for Tampa Electric Customers

EnerKnol Pulse, Grid Modernization, Power & Utilities, REC Feed, Smart Grid

The Florida Public Service Commission on March 5 accepted Tampa Electric Company’s opt-out tariff for customers who wish to retain their existing analog meter instead of a smart meter. The company anticipates about 0.2 percent of customers to opt out of the initiative, after reviewing experiences with other utilities that have implemented advanced metering programs…....

AEP Subsidiary Reaches Settlement, Slashing Rate Hike Request by Almost Half

AEP Subsidiary Reaches Settlement, Slashing Rate Hike Request by Almost Half

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, Power & Utilities, Retail Power, Retail Power and Gas

The Public Service Company of Oklahoma reached a proposed settlement seeking a revenue increase of $46 million, down from the originally requested $88 million, according to a Feb. 27 press release by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. The settlement would raise monthly residential electric bills by about $2.38 compared to an increase of $7 that would…...

FERC Drops Case Against Footprint Power for Alleged False Supply Offers in New England Power Market

FERC Drops Case Against Footprint Power for Alleged False Supply Offers in New England Power Market

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, Natural Gas, Power & Utilities, Wholesale Markets, Wholesale Power

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Feb. 25 ended its investigation into allegations that Footprint Power LLC made false and misleading power supply commitments in the summer of 2013 for its natural gas-fired Salem Harbor Power Plant in Salem, Massachusetts. The move follows the Office of Enforcement’s recommendation that the commission vacate its order to…...

FERC Approves Reforms to Enhance Battery Storage Participation in New England Wholesale Power Markets

FERC Approves Reforms to Enhance Battery Storage Participation in New England Wholesale Power Markets

Energy Storage, Energy Storage, EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, Power & Utilities, REC Feed

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Feb. 25 accepted ISO New England Inc.’s market rules to enable advanced storage technologies to be dispatched and priced in the real-time energy market in a manner that more fully recognizes their ability to transition rapidly between charging and discharging. The revisions allow batteries and emerging storage technologies to…...

New England Grid's Reliability Risks to Crop Up Year-Round With Shift to Gas, Renewables

New England Grid’s Reliability Risks to Crop Up Year-Round With Shift to Gas, Renewables

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Insights, EnerKnol Research Reports, Power & Utilities, PRODUCTS, REC Feed, Wholesale Markets, Wholesale Power

New England’s grid is undergoing a rapid change as nuclear, oil, and coal-fired power plants that operate with stored fuel are retiring in larger numbers, and are being replaced by natural-gas-fired plants and renewable generation. Natural gas accounted for 49 percent of the region’s power generation last year, up from just 15 percent in 2000…....

Duke Energy to Return Nearly $240 Million in Federal Tax Cut Savings to Ohio Electric Customers

Duke Energy to Return Nearly $240 Million in Federal Tax Cut Savings to Ohio Electric Customers

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, Power & Utilities, Retail Power, Retail Power and Gas

The Ohio Public Utilities Commission on Feb. 20 approved rate reductions for Duke Energy’s electric customers to account for the federal tax law, which slashed the corporate income tax rate to 21 percent from 35 percent, effective Jan. 1, 2018. Customers will see a $2.13 decrease in their monthly bills. The company will refund $8.1 million…...

New England’s Evolving Resource Mix Makes Power System Operations More Complex

New England’s Evolving Resource Mix Makes Power System Operations More Complex: ISO-NE Report

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, Power & Utilities, REC Feed, Wholesale Markets, Wholesale Power

New England’s power system is strong, but the changing resource mix, driven by industry trends and state policies, is making operations more complex, according to a Feb. 20 briefing on the state of the region’s grid by Gordon van Welie, president and CEO of ISO New England Inc. Nuclear, oil, and coal-fired power plants that…...

Battery Installation to Provide Black Start Service at Gas-Powered Plant

California Approves Battery Installation to Provide Black Start Service at Gas-Powered Plant

Breaking News, Energy Storage, Energy Storage, EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, Fossil Fuels, Natural Gas, Natural Gas, Power & Utilities

The California Energy Commission on Feb. 20 approved the installation of a battery storage system to the Russell City Energy Center, a 600-megawatt natural-gas fired power plant, to provide black start capability. The project consists of installing 6 to 10 megawatts of lithium-ion batteries, which would be used to start the gas turbines, in order…...

California Grid Operator Forms Oversight Committee to Advance Reliability Coordinator Services

California Grid Operator Forms Oversight Committee to Advance Reliability Coordinator Services

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, Power & Utilities, Wholesale Markets, Wholesale Power

The California Independent System Operator Corporation on Feb. 20 announced that its reliability coordinator service, named RC West, established an oversight committee to “provide guidance and foster consensus on reliability compliance.” RC West has completed 39 service agreements with balancing authorities and transmission operators across the west. The ISO announced last month that it is…...

State Regulators Exercise Greater Scrutiny on Utility Planning Efforts

EnerKnol’s Visual Primer – State Regulators Exercise Greater Scrutiny on Utility Planning Efforts

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Research Reports, EnerKnol Visual Primer, Integrated Resource Plans, Power & Utilities, PRODUCTS, REC Feed, Smart Grid

Policy changes are occurring faster than ever before, confounding efforts by utilities to plan for the future, causing a paralysis in decision making. The task of identifying all possible scenarios over a longer horizon is becoming more demanding as state renewable energy standards are changing more frequently. Utilities are grappling with the influx of distributed energy resources and new renewable generation under various state programs, coupled with the need to maintain fossil generation to manage the intermittency of these sources.

Midwest Grid Operator Delivered Up To $3.9 Billion in Benefits in 2018: MISO Report

Midwest Grid Operator Delivered Up To $3.9 Billion in Benefits in 2018: MISO Report

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, Power & Utilities, Renewables, Wholesale Markets, Wholesale Power, Wind, Wind Power

The Midcontinent Independent System Operator Inc. estimates that benefits in the range of $3.2 billion to $3.9 billion were realized in its region last year, according to the results of its annual value proposition study released on Feb. 19. The study, which identifies several factors that drive positive value, found that footprint diversity, wind integration,…...