PacifiCorp unveiled its draft long-term resource plan on Oct. 3 that proposes to retire 20 of its 24 coal units by the end of the planning period in 2038, reducing coal-fired generation capacity by about 4.5 gigawatts. The plan, which envisions about 7 gigawatts of renewables and storage by 2025, identifies battery installations as part…
The New Mexico Supreme Court on Oct. 3 declined to hear a petition seeking clarification regarding the applicability of the Energy Transition Act to the Public Service Company of New Mexico’s closure and replacement of the San Juan coal-fired plant. The law, which took effect in June, includes provisions to issue energy transition bonds for…
Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation on Oct. 2 directing the Public Utilities Commission to review each retail seller’s annual renewable portfolio standard compliance report and notify a seller if it may be at risk of not satisfying the requirement. The law requires the commission to ensure that load-serving entities carry out their integrated resource…
The Illinois Power Agency on Sept. 30 proposed a plan for the procurement of electricity for eligible retail customers of Ameren Illinois Company, Commonwealth Edison Company, and MidAmerican Energy Company for the period of June 2020 through May 2025. The plan provides recommendations related to the procurement of electricity, capacity, and associated transmission services to…
Utility resource planning is becoming more complex in the fast-changing energy landscape, prompting intense scrutiny from regulators. State measures are transforming the way utilities procure energy in light of continued growth in intermittent large-scale energy, customer-sited generation, demand response, energy efficiency, and clean energy commitments.
The California Public Utilities Commission on Sept. 20 proposed to revise the requirements for utilities’ integrated resource plans filed in 2020. The proposal would require all load-serving entities, regardless of size, to file standard plans and remove alternative plans that allowed simplified filing requirements for smaller utilities. Under the proposal, all entities must provide contractual…
A growing number of states are redesigning policies and incentives for distributed generation as customer-sited installations spread amid falling costs. Regulators have initiated a number of actions this year, ranging from examining the value of distributed energy resources (DER) to overhauling interconnection rules, and equipping utilities with the planning structure required to accommodate new resources.
Carbon reduction is becoming ingrained in the planning strategies of utilities across the Northwest in response to state-level decarbonization policies and market changes. As coal plants are no longer cost-competitive, utilities are taking advantage of new technologies and favorable economics of natural gas and renewables.
The Tennessee Valley Authority board of directors on Aug. 22 approved the utility’s integrated resource plan, which calls for a continued reduction in its carbon footprint partly through the addition of up to 14 gigawatts of solar capacity by 2038. The resource plan, unveiled in June, updates TVA’s 2015 IRP in response to continuing changes…
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality on Aug. 16 unveiled a draft Clean Energy Plan outlining policy and action recommendations for the state to transition to carbon-free electricity by 2050, starting with a 60 to 70 percent reduction from 2005 levels by 2030. An executive order issued last year by Democratic Governor Roy Cooper…
The Georgia Public Service Commission on July 16 approved Georgia Power’s integrated resource plan, allowing the company to invest in 80 megawatts of battery storage and increase its renewable generation by 72 percent over the next five years. The IRP calls for 2,260 megawatts of new renewables, increasing the capacity to 5,390 megawatts by 2024…
The Virginia State Corporation Commission accepted Dominion Energy Inc.’s revised integrated resource plan, finding that it meets the minimum legal and regulatory requirements, according to a June 27 order. The agency warned that the plan may understate the costs facing customers, noting that it does not include the multi-billion dollar expenses of the statutorily mandated…
