The Wyoming Public Service Commission approved a contract term of 15 years for Rocky Mountain Power’s power purchase contracts with independent electricity generators under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act 1978, or PURPA. The commission denied the company’s request to reduce the contract length to seven years, finding that there is no evidence that qualifying…...
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.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on June 18 approved the New England grid operator’s Inventoried Energy Program to compensate resources that provide fuel security during the winters of 2023-2024 and 2024-2025. The commission found that the program is a reasonable short-term solution that will help address winter energy security in light of the misaligned incentives…...
New England’s average wholesale electricity prices dropped by 40 percent to $28 per megawatthour during the 2019-2020 winter from $47 per megawatthour in the previous winter, according to a June 10 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Natural gas-fired generators set the price of electricity more often compared with previous winters because of the…...
The New York Independent System Operator Inc. expects to have 41,319 megawatts of power capacity, including in-state generation, imports, and demand response to meet forecasted peak demand this summer, according to a May 28 press release. The grid operator anticipates a peak demand of 32,296 megawatts, which is 86 megawatts lower than the 2019 baseline…...
The Midcontinent Independent System Operator Inc. anticipates summer power demand to peak at 125 gigawatts, with 152 gigawatts of available capacity to meet the need, according to an April 29 news release. The grid operator said that impacts to the outage schedule from COVID-19 have been minor and no reliability impacts are foreseen due to…...
New Jersey and Maryland filed a lawsuit with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, challenging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s order directing PJM Interconnection LLC to extend the minimum offer price rule, or MOPR, to state-subsidized resources, according to an April 27 news release. Several states have criticized the move, citing its potential to harm…...
The New England grid operator has proposed a long-term, market-based solution to the region’s energy security problem as the power generation fleet moves towards a mix of energy-limited resources. With the retirement of resources with stored fuel, the system is increasingly reliant on facilities that run on just-in-time natural gas deliveries and weather-dependent wind and solar energy. To address the ensuing challenge, the grid operator proposes to improve the current market structure by creating incentives for the region’s fleet to invest in the energy supply arrangements and technologies on which the region depends.
Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association Inc., a wholesale generation and transmission cooperative, on April 16 asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to authorize the transfer of electric service contracts as part of a 2019 agreement under which Delta-Montrose will withdraw membership from Tri-State. The transaction allows Tri-State to assign its wholesale electric service contracts with…...
Amid the economic downturn ensuing from the pandemic, state utility regulators are faced with the challenging task of protecting customers from power shutoffs while also considering costs incurred by utilities. A growing number of state commissions are directing utilities to establish a regulatory asset account to capture and track COVID-19-related incremental costs.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on April 16 largely rejected requests to reconsider its December 2019 order that directed PJM Interconnection LLC to extend the minimum offer price, or MOPR, to state-subsidized resources attempting to enter the capacity market. The agency also denied rehearing of its June 2018 order which found that state subsidies distort…...
The volatile situation created by the COVID-19 spread has prompted state utility commissions to respond with new directives and guidance on a number of proceedings. Regulators have responded with various measures, including suspending service disconnections, transitioning to virtual meetings, and delaying rate cases.