Visual Primer: Fallout From Winter Storm Uri Elicits Regulatory Actions Across U.S. States

Visual Primer: Fallout From Winter Storm Uri Elicits Regulatory Actions Across U.S. States

The fallout from severe arctic weather during February has prompted regulators from Texas to Montana to examine utility infrastructure, preparedness and response, and impacts to customers. Texas, which experienced the worst power outages resulting from Winter Storm Uri, has issued multiple orders and initiated investigations to address the impacts of the grid event. Following announcements of an inquiry into the grid event and the possibility of market violations, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is now set to examine the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events on electric system reliability. Regulators across several U.S. states are investigating the after-effects of the storm to mitigate bill impacts to customers while exploring cost-recovery for utilities which faced extraordinary expenses as natural gas prices soared to unprecedented levels.

Virginia Regulator Approves $650 Million Grid Transformation Plan for Dominion Energy

FERC Announces Technical Conference to Discuss Impacts of Climate Change on Electric Reliability

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on March 5 announced that it will hold a technical conference in June to discuss the threat posed by climate change and extreme weather events on electric system reliability. The agency announced a proceeding to examine the issue following prolonged power outages across Texas and the south-central U.S. during the…...

Visual Primer: Texas Power Outages Draw Scrutiny into Grid Operator’s Market Design and Reliability

Visual Primer: Texas Power Outages Draw Scrutiny into Grid Operator’s Market Design and Reliability

The widespread power outages across Texas during the extreme winter weather conditions brought about by a polar vortex in mid-February has raised questions about the reliability of the power grid operated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas Inc. (ERCOT). The grid operator, which manages about 90 percent of the state’s electric load, reported that 48.6 percent of generation was forced out at the highest point due to the winter storm.

ERCOT Holds Emergency Board Meeting In Light of Sweeping Power Failures Across Texas

ERCOT Holds Emergency Board Meeting In Light of Sweeping Power Failures Across Texas

The Electricity Reliability Council of Texas Inc. (ERCOT) Board of Directors on Feb. 24 convened for an emergency meeting to discuss and analyze the issues that led to grid infrastructure failures across Texas from Feb. 12 onwards. These outages were prompted by the presence of a polar vortex which brought about severely cold weather conditions…...

EnerKnol Special Report Part II: ERCOT Forecast Risks

EnerKnol Special Report Part II: ERCOT Forecast Risks

EnerKnol is committed to providing real-time transparency of the fragmented and highly technical landscape of energy regulation. With this as our guiding principle we are examining our database of over 35,000,000 regulatory records for insights into last week's Texas outages.

Enerknol Special Report: Texas Outages Raise Questions About ERCOT’s Reliability

Enerknol Special Report: Texas Outages Raise Questions About ERCOT’s Reliability

EnerKnol is committed to providing real-time transparency of the fragmented and highly technical landscape of energy regulation. With this as our guiding principle we are examining our database of over 35,000,000 regulatory records for insights into last week's Texas outages.

EnerKnol Special Report: Texas Outages Raise Questions About ERCOT’s Reliability

EnerKnol Special Report: Texas Outages Raise Questions About ERCOT’s Reliability

EnerKnol is committed to providing real-time transparency of the fragmented and highly technical landscape of energy regulation.  With this as our guiding principle we are examining our database of over 35,000,000 regulatory records for insights into last week’s reliability failure. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas Inc.’s (ERCOT) 2020 Operations Report and Plan, filed with…...

Georgia Power’s Fuel Rate Changes Expected to Reduce Annual Billings by $329 Million

Sweeping Outages Prompt Investigation into Role of Texas Grid Operator

Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Feb. 16 declared the reform of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, an emergency item in the current legislative session, following rotating outages resulting from extreme winter weather brought about by a polar vortex which primarily affected the Midwest and Southern regions of the U.S.  Abbott directed the…...

New England Capacity Auction Prices Rebound from Record Lows

New England Capacity Auction Prices Rebound from Record Lows

ISO New England Inc.’s fifteenth annual forward capacity auction concluded with preliminary clearing prices ranging from $2.48 to $3.98 per kilowatt-month across different pricing zones, up from last year’s record low, according to the results released on Feb. 11. Clearing prices declined since peaking at $9.55 per kilowatt-month in 2015 and hit an all-time low…...

New York Advances $485 Million Transmission Project to Enhance Grid Reliability, Support Renewables

Southwest Power Pool Launches New Electricity Market for Western Utilities

Southwest Power Pool on Feb 1 launched its Western Energy Imbalance Services market designed to balance generation and load regionally and in real time. The initiative is the latest in a series of measures to better serve the Western Interconnection and is expected to lower electricity costs and enhance price transparency. Moreover, the move will…

EnerKnol Research PU Visual Primer Renewable Natural Gas 2021 02 02 Blog preview

Visual Primer: Renewable Natural Gas Emerging as Utility Decarbonization Strategy

U.S. state regulators and utilities alike are exploring the use of renewable natural gas (RNG) due to its environmental benefits to displace fossil fuels and to support the transition to a low-carbon energy economy. RNG is pipeline-quality methane produced from biomass that is sourced from livestock operations, landfills, and other organic waste.

Policy Primer: Energy Storage Gains Prominence to Foster Grid Reliability

Policy Primer: Energy Storage Gains Prominence to Foster Grid Reliability

Energy storage initiatives are moving forward at a swift pace to complement clean energy policies as batteries can facilitate the integration of diverse generation technologies and address grid stability. With improving economics, there is a growing discussion on the role of energy storage as a grid asset to foster reliability and optimize renewables to meet ambitious clean energy goals.