New England Wholesale Electricity Prices Dropped by 40 Percent During 2019-20 Winter

New England Wholesale Electricity Prices Dropped by 40 Percent During 2019-20 Winter: EIA

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…...

U.S. Summer Electricity Demand Projected to Hit Decade Low

U.S. Summer Electricity Demand Projected to Hit Decade Low: EIA

U.S. summer electricity demand, from June through August, is expected to total 998 billion kilowatthours, a 5 percent drop compared to 2019 and the lowest value since 2009, according to a June 10 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Retail electricity sales in the commercial and industrial sectors are expected to decline 12 percent…...

ERCOT’s Final Winterization Report Confident That Texas Grid Is Prepared for Winter Weather

FERC Approves Transaction Allowing Delta Montrose to Exit Tri-State

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on June 9 approved a request by Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association Inc., a wholesale generation and transmission cooperative, to authorize the transfer of electric service contracts as part of a 2019 agreement, allowing Delta-Montrose to exit Tri-State on June 30. The cooperative will assign its wholesale electric service contracts…

Rover Pipeline Gets FERC Approval to Increase Natural Gas Transportation Capacity

FERC Adopts Rule to Preclude Natural Gas Project Construction Until Completion of Rehearing Process

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on June 9 adopted a rule that forbids natural gas projects from commencing construction until the agency acts on rehearing requests. The move intends to protect stakeholders, including landowners affected by pipeline projects. The rule attempts to address some of the concerns raised in a lawsuit before the U.S. Court…...

U.S. Interior Department Releases Long-Awaited Review for 800-Megawatt Vineyard Wind Offshore Project

U.S. Interior Department Releases Long-Awaited Review for 800-Megawatt Vineyard Wind Offshore Project

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management released the long-awaited supplement to the draft environmental review of Vineyard Wind LLC’s 800-megawatt wind farm offshore Massachusetts. Last year, the bureau postponed the final review for the $2.8 billion project, in order to undertake a supplemental analysis to understand the cumulative impacts of multiple projects proposed in the…...

New Mexico Enacts Trio of Bills Supporting Renewable Energy Expansion

NYSERDA Requests Funding to Launch Build-Ready Program for Renewable Energy Development

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority on June 5 submitted a petition to the Public Service Commission, requesting approval to launch and advance the Build-Ready program through 2025. The move is in response to recent legislation that established a Clean Energy Resources Development and Incentives Program through which the agency will advance…...

SWEPCO Wins Arkansas Approval to Acquire 800 Megawatts of Wind Power

NextEra Wins North Dakota Approval for 200-Megawatt Wind Project

The North Dakota Public Service Commission on June 10 issued a permit allowing Northern Divide Wind LLC to build a 200-megawatt wind generating facility and associated transmission line in Burke County. The NextEra Energy Resources subsidiary submitted a revised project application after a previous proposal was denied over concerns by federal and state regulators about…

New York Regulator Reaffirms Decision Approving Calpine’s 124-Megawatt Wind Project

New Mexico Approves 76-Megawatt Wind Project on State Trust Land

The New Mexico State Land Office approved leases for a 76-megawatt wind project proposed by Pattern Renewables 2 LP,  according to a June 4 news release. The Western Spirit Wind Development, spanning about 16,442 acres in Torrance County and Lincoln Counties, is expected to power over 15,000 homes annually. Commissioner of Public Lands, Stephanie Garcia…...

California Seeks to Improve Community Engagement for Utility Power Shut-offs Ahead of Wildfire Season

Virginia Allows Load Aggregation for Commercial Customers to Purchase Power From Third-Party Suppliers

The Virginia State Corporation Commission announced a pilot program that will allow Dominion Energy Inc.’s commercial customers to combine the load of separately metered retail stores to purchase electricity from third party suppliers, according to a June 10 press release. The measure is in response to legislation enacted in April that directed the agency to…...

FERC Conditionally Approves $4.3 Billion Sale of El Paso Electric Company

Trump Signs Executive Order to Expedite Infrastructure Investments to Recover Economy from COVID-19

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on June 4 directing federal agencies to use emergency powers to expedite infrastructure projects to facilitate recovery from the economic slowdown caused by COVID-19. The order allows agencies to consult with the White House Council on Environmental Quality to identify “alternative arrangements” for complying with the requirements…...

States Canada Imports and Exports Pulse

Energy Accounted for $85 Billion of U.S. Imports From Canada in 2019: EIA

Canada is the second-biggest destination for U.S. energy exports, next only to Mexico, and the main source of U.S. energy imports, according to a June 5 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. In 2019, energy accounted for $85 billion, or 27 percent, of the trade value for U.S. imports from Canada; crude oil and…...

U.S. Court Issues Another Halt to Construction of $3-Billion Mountain Valley Natural Gas Pipeline

U.S. EPA Updates Water Certification Rule for Energy Projects

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on June 1 issued a final rule specifying the timeframe for states to review water quality requirements for infrastructure projects under a section of the Clean Water Act. The rule requires states or authorized tribes to take final action within one year of a certification request. The agency also clarified…...