Lawmakers in California quickly approved legislation providing investor-owned utilities with $21 billion to help them pay for wildfire damages linked to their transmission equipment. Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom signed the bill on July 12. The bill gives companies two options. One is a $10.5 billion state-backed line of credit to pay for wildfire damages that…
The California Independent System Operator Corporation launched RC West on July 1, becoming the official reliability coordinator with grid oversight responsibility for 16 balancing authorities and transmission operators in California and one in northern Mexico. The launch marks the first operational phase, with RC West taking over responsibility from Peak Reliability. The grid operator expects…
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on June 27 turned down a proposal by PJM Interconnection LLC to require demand response to conform to the requirements of supply-side capacity performance resources. The agency found that the changes would improperly charge load-serving entities participating in the grid operator’s price-responsive demand, or PRD, program by not providing a…
Public Citizen Inc issued a protest to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission requesting it release the name of utilities that violated reliability standards, according to June 24 filing with the federal regulator. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation, which is responsible for enforcing the nation’s cybersecurity and reliability standards for the electric utility industry, issued a…
The Southwest Power Pool Inc., the grid operator for 14 states in the central U.S., unveiled a proposal for a Western Energy Imbalance Service market designed to balance generation and load regionally and in real time. The market aims to create opportunities for participants to utilize diverse generating resources, optimize their use of the transmission…
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s 2019 Summer Reliability Assessment warns that the Electric Reliability Council of Texas Inc. might not have enough resources available to meet this summer’s projected peak electricity demand. The report, published earlier this month, also highlighted potential ramping issues associated with the growth in solar generation that may affect the California Independent…
The ISO New England Inc. requires wind and intermittent hydropower generators with a capacity supply obligation to offer their power into the grid operator’s day-ahead energy market, starting June 1. The requirement stems from an initiative launched in 2016 to enable these resources to take part in real-time markets and begin taking electronic dispatch instructions.…
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation certified the California Independent System Operator Corporation’s reliability coordinator service, named RC West, according to a June 3 press release. The RC will offer services for 16 balancing authorities and transmission operators in California, including one in northern Mexico from July 1. The grid operator expects RC West to…
Duke Energy plans to decommission its already retired Crystal River Nuclear Plant in Florida by 2027, 50 years before originally scheduled, according to a May 30 press release. The plan for early decommissioning is still subject to the approval of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Florida Public Service Commission. Duke had previously announced its decision to…
The Commission on Catastrophic Wildfire Cost and Recovery published a draft report on May 29 with recommendations on equitable distribution of costs among affected parties of the catastrophic California wildfires. According to the report, the trend of growing fire activity related to increasing global temperatures coupled with population incursions into high fire risk areas means that…
The total wholesale cost of electricity in the ISO New England Inc.’s markets was $12.1 billion in 2018, about 32 percent higher than the previous year, according to the grid operator’s annual market report released on May 23. The report said that the overall performance of the region’s capacity, energy, and ancillary service markets was…
The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission released an order identifying specific goals and best suited regulatory performance-based rate mechanisms for each outcome to be addressed in the upcoming Phase 2 of its investigation of performance-based rules, set to begin next month, according to a May 23 order. Building on a staff proposal issued in February 2019, the commission…