The Texas Public Utility Commission staff on Dec. 8 filed reports of violation against eight generation companies for failing to timely submit winter weather readiness plans. Thirteen of the state’s 850 generation resources owned by these companies missed the Dec. 1, 2021 deadline. In October, the commission adopted a rule addressing weather emergency preparedness of…...
The U.S. Energy Department on Dec. 2 announced $35 million in funding for technologies that aim to reduce methane emissions in the coal, oil, and natural gas sectors. The department selected 12 projects for the grants under a new program called “Reducing Emissions of Methane Every Day of the Year,” or REMEDY, a three-year research…...
The Biden administration is walking a tightrope on climate action as recent moves in the oil and gas industry challenge its aggressive climate agenda, which calls for net-zero emissions by 2050.
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration on Nov. 15 issued a final rule expanding federal safety oversight to onshore gas gathering pipelines, representing over 425,000 additional miles of pipelines that will be subject to federal reporting guidelines. Gathering lines typically transport gas from the production site to interstate transmission pipelines. The agency expects that…...
Discussion around performance-based regulation (PBR) continues to evolve as utilities and regulators explore a framework aimed at strengthening the connection between utility returns and performance.
Eastern Gas Transmission and Storage Inc. (EGTS), which provides natural gas transportation and storage services with one of the largest underground natural gas storage systems in the U.S., has requested a whopping 214 percent increase in cost of service rates in its first general rate case filed with federal regulators since 1998. The proposed changes have drawn protests from over two dozen companies that rely on the EGTS system for transportation and storage services.
Carbon reduction goals are driving policy support to keep financially-struggling nuclear generation plants operating and encourage new reactors. The fuel diversity and zero-carbon attributes of the resource are fueling the policy debate over its role in meeting state and federal energy and environmental goals.
The Texas Public Utilities Commission on Oct. 21 adopted a rule addressing weather emergency preparedness of power generators and utilities, the first of a two-part process in the development of reliability standards in the wake of the mid-February winter storm event. The rule requires affected companies to implement winter weather readiness recommendations identified in a…...
Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker, a Democrat, signed legislation on Sept. 15 that puts the state on the path to 100 percent clean energy by 2050. The law sets a goal of 50 percent renewable energy by 2040 and provides financial support for the states’ existing nuclear plants at risk of closure due to market…...
As the retail energy marketplace evolves, state lawmakers and regulators are expanding their focus on the impacts to clean energy and long-term reliability, in addition to consumer protections and operational efficiencies.
Extreme cold weather conditions were a major factor in multiple grid events that occurred over the last decade, most notably the recent mid-February Winter Storm Uri that affected the south-central U.S., causing widespread outages and forcing natural gas processing plants to shut down. The impacts of these events on electric and gas systems that were unprepared for the challenge has emphasized the need to address cold weather reliability.