The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Nov. 21 established a new method to determine the return on equity, or ROE, for setting jurisdictional rates charged by public utilities. The agency applied the new process in complaint proceedings against the transmission owners of Midcontinent Independent System Operator, concluding that their existing 12.38 percent ROE was unjust…
The New York Independent System Operator Inc. has adequate supplies to meet the projected demand for electricity and maintain necessary operating reserves during the 2019-20 winter, according to a Nov. 21 news release. The power system is expected to have a total resource capacity of 43,346 megawatts including generation, imports, and demand response this winter.…
PJM Interconnection LLC and its members are prepared to meet the forecasted winter electricity demand across 13 states and the District of Columbia, according to a Nov. 7 press release. The nation’s largest grid operator forecasts peak demand at around 134,000 megawatts this winter compared to the grid operator’s all-time winter peak of 143,434 megawatts, which…
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas Inc. expects more than 82,000 megawatts of resource capacity to be available to meet the system-wide projected peak demand of 62,257 megawatts for the upcoming winter season from December through February 2020, according to a Nov. 7 announcement. The final resource adequacy assessment for winter season 2019-20 includes 136…
The Western Energy Imbalance market generated about $65 million in savings in the third quarter of this year, with total benefits reaching about $801 million since its launch in November 2014, according to a Nov. 1 press release from the California Independent System Operator Corporation. The energy imbalance market is an automated system that secures…
ISO New England has issued its 10-year power system strategy for the region laying the foundation for long-term power system planning in New England, according to an Oct. 31 filing. The report details power system needs through 2028, and how these can be addressed, discussing three key issues currently affecting the New England grid, namely…
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Nov. 1 approved an agreement resolving claims that Calpine Corp. violated the North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s reliability standards concerning maintenance and testing of protection systems, which contains certain battery testing requirements, as well as California power market rules relating to forced outages. Texas-based Calpine agreed to the terms…
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities must take a hard look at the ratepayer impact of nuclear subsidies as the state’s reentry into the regional carbon market and pending wholesale market initiatives will likely increase revenue for the nuclear units receiving zero emission credits, or ZECs, according to the Division of Rate Counsel. Those…
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Oct. 17 largely approved plans filed by PJM Interconnection LLC and Southwest Power Pool Inc. addressing electric storage participation in their wholesale markets. The orders mark the agency’s first move to implement the landmark Order No. 841, which directed grid operators to establish a market model that recognizes the…
The Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia is scheduled to discuss a framework for evaluating alternative ratemaking proposals following a request by Potomac Electric Power Company to boost its electric rates, according to a September 18 notice. In May, Pepco filed an application to increase rates for its electric distribution service in the…
The Michigan Public Service Commission approved a settlement agreement that resolves a number of long-standing contract issues between Consumers Energy Co. and qualified independent power producers in five separate cases, according to a September 11 press release. In June, the commission approved a settlement in Consumers’ integrated resource plan that included a new Public Utility…
The Michigan Public Service Commission released a report on September 11 called Statewide Energy Assessment, which Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer requested in the aftermath of an energy emergency earlier this year. In late January 2019, an extreme cold weather event combined with a fire at a major compressor station created an energy emergency in Michigan that challenged the…