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…
The New York State Public Service Commission predicts that the cost for electricity supply this summer will remain near historically-low levels thanks to a decline in the amount of electricity consumed, according to a May 16 press release. Energy price forecasts based on projections from the New York Mercantile Exchange are down between 1 to…
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has determined that Camp Fire, the deadliest and most destructive fire in California history, was caused by electrical transmission lines owned and operated by Pacific Gas and Electric, according to a May 15 press release. The Camp Fire started in Butte County on the morning of November 8,…
The United States produced a record amount of energy from various sources in 2018, reaching 96 quadrillion British thermal units, 8 percent higher than in the previous year, according to the Energy Information Administration’s latest Monthly Energy Review. While fossil fuels like crude oil and natural gas saw increases of 17 and 12 percent respectively…
Tucson Electric Power Company entered into an agreement to join the Western Energy Imbalance Market from April 2022, according to a May 8 news release from the California Independent System Operator Corporation. Tucson estimates the participation to result in about $13 million in annual energy cost savings for its customers by expanding real-time access to…
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas on May 8 released its seasonal assessment report for the upcoming summer, which forecasts a peak demand of about 74,850 megawatts, which is 1,300 megawatts higher than the all-time record set last July. The grid operator identified a potential need for an energy emergency alert status, in order to…
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on May 1 denied Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s requests for rehearing of the agency’s order asserting concurrent jurisdiction with bankruptcy courts over wholesale contracts that the utility may seek to reject through its Chapter 11 filing. While FERC’s role in evaluating rates and terms of power contracts is to protect…
The Western Energy Imbalance market generated about $85 million in savings in the first quarter of this year, with total benefits reaching over $650 million since its launch in November 2014, according to an April 29 press release from the California Independent System Operator Corporation. The market used over 52,000 megawatt-hours of surplus renewable energy…
In 2018, the United States consumed more energy than ever before, reaching a record high of 101.3 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu) in 2018, up 4 percent from 2017 and 0.3 percent more than the previous record set in 2007. Consumption of petroleum, natural gas, and coal grew by 4 percent in 2018 and accounted…
PJM Interconnection LLC will proceed with its upcoming capacity auction scheduled to begin on Aug. 14 unless the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rules otherwise, according to an April 10 filing. The agency has not yet rendered a decision on the grid operator’s proposal filed last year to address the pricing-suppressing effects from the growing influx…
PJM Interconnection LLC is joining forces with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory to study the integration of distributed energy resources, such as rooftop solar, into the operator’s grid, according to an April 2 press release. The Argonne laboratory will be supporting PJM’s Distributed Energy Resource Ride-Through Task Force in developing guidelines for so-called “ride through” and…
