The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) and the State Department of Commerce (DOC) on Aug. 1 adopted new rules for electric utilities, marking an important step forward in the state’s transition to a clean energy future. The rule addresses various key aspects of the 2019 Clean Energy Transformation Act, or CETA, including the requirement…...
Performance-based regulation (PBR) is gaining momentum across U.S. states driven by policy and technology changes to meet decarbonization goals and changing customer expectations.
The Oregon Public Utilities Commission on July 29 approved an ongoing discount program on monthly bills for Cascade Natural Gas Corporation’s residential customers based on their income. The program contains four levels of discounts, varying from 15 percent to 95 percent, evaluated as a percentage of the bill. Qualifying customers must have an income level…...
New York Governor Kathy Hochul on July 28 announced the rollout of a $567 million COVID-19 bill credit program to help low-income electric and gas utility customers settle accrued bills incurred during the recent pandemic. The credit will reflect on customers’ August bills. Over 327,000 low-income customers are expected to directly benefit from the program…....
The Oregon Public Utility Commission has announced that the state’s electric utilities have filed plans to mitigate and prevent wildfire risk in the region. The plans are the first to be filed in response to legislation enacted in August 2021 requiring utilities to identify high-risk areas within their service territory and reduce those risks. The…
The evolving retail electricity marketplace has prompted reforms to strengthen customer protections and expand options to access clean energy while addressing reliability concerns.
The Illinois Commerce Commission on July 22 directed Ameren to carry out a cost-benefit analysis of the company’s continued membership in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) versus joining the PJM Interconnection. MISO’s failure to fulfil resource demand in a capacity auction for the period June 2022-May 2023 triggered rising wholesale prices and utility bills…...
The New York State Public Service Commission has adopted new rules requiring certain energy distribution companies to compensate residential and small business consumers who have suffered widespread and prolonged service outages. The decision enables consumers to get reimbursement in the event of extensive service outages lasting longer than three days. This ensures that utilities do…...
The District of Columbia Public Service Commission on July 8 opened a proceeding to take action that will identify accessible funding sources for the Potomac Electric Power Company and the Washington Gas Light Company under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. As a part of this proceeding, the commission directed the utilities to…...
The Michigan Public Service Commission has approved a settlement allowing Consumers Energy Co. to increase rates applicable to its natural gas service by $170 million. In an initial request, the company had asked for an increase of $278 million, which was later abridged to $233 million. However, the amount agreed to in the settlement is…...