Virginia Delegates Mark Keam, a Democrat, and Lee Ware, a Republican, introduced legislation on Jan. 17 that would enable customers to purchase electricity from the retail provider of their choice, ending monopoly control over the state’s energy system. The bill would require each incumbent investor-owned utility, electric cooperative, and municipal electric authority to separate its…
The New York Public Service Commission on Jan. 16 adopted a three-year rate plan for Consolidated Edison Company of New York Inc., allowing the utility to increase electric and gas rates annually through 2022. The agency authorized a first-year electric revenue increase of about $113 million, or 3.1 percent, down from the original request of…
The Iowa Utilities Board approved a settlement allowing an increase of $127 million in Alliant Energy Corp.’s annual electric base rates, according to a Jan. 9 news release. The company initially asked for an increase of about $204 million, but a partial settlement reached last October reduced the amount by nearly 40 percent with a…
Utilities are optimizing green power programs to meet carbon reduction targets and satisfy their customers simultaneously. Green pricing options allow customers to meet a portion of their electricity needs from renewable energy resources. While offering innovative products to increase customer access to green power, these programs provide larger consumers the option to meet their varying sustainability and renewable energy goals.
Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom found that Pacific Gas and Electric’s proposed restructuring plan failed to meet the requirements of the state’s wildfire law, dealing a blow to the company’s efforts to exit bankruptcy, according to a Dec. 13 letter to PG&E Chief Executive Officer Bill Johnson. Newsom called for a feasible plan, pointing to the…
The New York Public Service Commission adopted a measure to consolidate the utility bills of Community Distributed Generation (CDG) customers in a bid to reduce operational costs and broaden access to the technology, according to a Dec.12 press release. CDG systems, such as community solar, offer customers that prefer not to install solar directly on their property,…
The Colorado Public Utilities Commission opened a docket to develop rules requiring investor-owned utilities to file distribution system plans, according to a Dec. 3 news release. Distribution planning would help ensure that grid modernization allows for continued safe, reliable and cost-effective utility operations, according to the agency. The move stems from legislation enacted in June…
The Idaho Public Utilities Commission has approved a proposed settlement with Avista Utilities that reduces annual base electric revenues by $7.18 million, or 2.84 percent, according to a Dec. 2 press release. According to the settlement, which takes effect Dec. 1, 2019, a residential electric customer who uses an average of 900 kilowatt-hours per month…
Nearly a year had passed before net electricity generation in Puerto Rico approached levels similar to those in the months before Hurricanes Irma and Maria damaged the territory’s electricity grid in September 2017, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s latest annual Power Plant Operations Report. When Hurricane Irma passed near Puerto Rico in early September 2017,…
The Ontario Energy Board has received an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance (AVC) from Elexicon Energy Inc. stating the company is committed to paying a series of fines after it admitted to disconnecting customers, according to a November 28 press release. The OEB’s inspection found, and Elexicon admitted, that during the period from May 1 to July…
The Missouri Public Service Commission approved changes to The Empire District Gas Company’s natural gas rates to reflect estimated changes in the wholesale cost of natural gas as well as a change in the company’s Actual Cost Adjustment (ACA) factor, according to a Nov. 25 press release. In the company’s North System, residential customers currently pay approximately $0.45 per…
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio on Nov. 21 directed the Dayton Power & Light Company, a subsidiary of AES Corporation, to terminate its distribution modernization rider, which authorized the utility to collect $315 million over a three-year period for future investments in grid modernization. The agency based its decision on a recent ruling by…