The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on July 16 rejected a petition by the New England Ratepayers Association seeking federal jurisdiction over energy sales from rooftop solar and other distributed generation facilities on the customer side of the retail meter. The commission found that the association failed to identify a “specific controversy or harm” that should…...
U.S. electric generators experienced more delays in commercial operation dates in March and April partly due to the COVID-19 mitigation efforts, according to a July 15 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Restricted travel of specialized workers, along with supply chain disruptions and permitting challenges increased the risk of project delays. According to a…...
The New York Public Service Commission on July 16 adopted a successor to net metering for residential and small commercial customers, establishing monthly charges that will apply to customers who install solar on or after Jan. 1, 2022. The decision addresses cost shifts identified in a December 2019 whitepaper which recommends changes applicable to mass…
The Michigan Public Service Commission on July 9 approved DTE Electric Co.’s amended renewable energy portfolio. The new supply-side renewable resources approved incorporate a 225-megawatt wind farm and two 25-year solar power purchase contracts of about 128 megawatts. The generation capacity, to be added over the next two years, would enable the company to comply…...
The U.S. Energy Department on July 1 announced $100 million funding for ten Energy Frontier Research Centers over four years to expedite the scientific breakthroughs needed to tackle the energy challenges of the 21st century. The move intends to strengthen the nation’s economic prosperity and energy security. The centers will bring together multidisciplinary scientific teams…...
As states continue to reexamine net metering programs in the evolving distributed solar landscape, the industry faces a new challenge: a petition asking federal regulators to exercise jurisdiction over these state-administered programs that compensate behind-the-meter generation for grid-exported energy.
The Nevada Public Utilities Commission on June 24 announced that subscriptions for the third tier of its net metering program reached the 80-megawatt threshold established by a 2017 law, which created a four-tier structure to compensate customers for grid-exported energy. There is no capacity limit for Tier four, which is now open for applications, but…...
The New York Department of Public Service and the state’s Energy Research and Development Authority on June 18 released a whitepaper that identifies a framework to achieve the state’s goal of sourcing 70 percent of its electricity from renewable energy by 2030 under the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. Achieving the goal is…...
As the pandemic continues to unfold, utility regulators across the U.S. are focusing on the core issues of providing relief for the hardest-hit customers and reviving the economy with the help of utility initiatives. To date, several states have extended disconnection moratoriums and implemented customer relief programs, while others are examining how additional spending by the utilities could provide new jobs while minimizing customer bill impacts in the future.
Xcel Energy Inc. on June 17 filed a plan with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission to invest almost $3 billion in accelerated and incremental projects in an effort to help the state’s economy recover from the slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposal follows the commission’s request for information from electric and gas utilities…...
Rocky Mountain Power, a unit of PacifiCorp, proposed to close its net metering program, which compensates customers for exported energy at the retail rate, and create a successor program that would provide compensation based on an export credit rate, according to a June 12 press release from the Idaho Public Utilities Commission. The new net…...
U.S. summer electricity demand, from June through August, is expected to total 998 billion kilowatthours, a 5 percent drop compared to 2019 and the lowest value since 2009, according to a June 10 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Retail electricity sales in the commercial and industrial sectors are expected to decline 12 percent…...