Dominion Energy Inc. on Sept. 30 filed a second petition with the Virginia State Corporation Commission for approval of the first three-year phase of its 10-year grid transformation plan. The $594 million proposal includes investments in a customer information platform that allows for digital management of energy usage and nearly one million smart meters, which…
The New Mexico Supreme Court on Oct. 3 declined to hear a petition seeking clarification regarding the applicability of the Energy Transition Act to the Public Service Company of New Mexico’s closure and replacement of the San Juan coal-fired plant. The law, which took effect in June, includes provisions to issue energy transition bonds for…
Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation on Oct. 2 directing the Public Utilities Commission to review each retail seller’s annual renewable portfolio standard compliance report and notify a seller if it may be at risk of not satisfying the requirement. The law requires the commission to ensure that load-serving entities carry out their integrated resource…
The Energy Information Administration projects that renewables will collectively provide almost 50 percent of global electricity generation by 2050, with solar being the fastest growing technology, according to its latest International Energy Outlook 2019. Resource availability, renewable policies, regional load growth, and declining technology costs drive EIA’s projected increase in global electricity generation from solar technologies.…
The Illinois Power Agency on Sept. 30 proposed a plan for the procurement of electricity for eligible retail customers of Ameren Illinois Company, Commonwealth Edison Company, and MidAmerican Energy Company for the period of June 2020 through May 2025. The plan provides recommendations related to the procurement of electricity, capacity, and associated transmission services to…
The Delaware Public Service Commission received Delmarva Power & Light Company’s annual renewable portfolio compliance report covering June 1, 2018, to May 31, 2019 compliance year, according to a September 23 filling. The company reports total retail sales of 8,080,249 megawatt-hours, with 17.5 percent from eligible energy resources, including 1.75 percent from solar photovoltaics. Established in…
Utility resource planning is becoming more complex in the fast-changing energy landscape, prompting intense scrutiny from regulators. State measures are transforming the way utilities procure energy in light of continued growth in intermittent large-scale energy, customer-sited generation, demand response, energy efficiency, and clean energy commitments.
The California Public Utilities Commission on Sept. 20 proposed to revise the requirements for utilities’ integrated resource plans filed in 2020. The proposal would require all load-serving entities, regardless of size, to file standard plans and remove alternative plans that allowed simplified filing requirements for smaller utilities. Under the proposal, all entities must provide contractual…
The California Public Utilities Commission issued a proposed decision on Sept. 23 that would authorize the state’s investor-owned utilities to collect from ratepayers a non-bypassable charge to support California’s wildfire fund, which is designed to help utilities pay for wildfire damages linked to their transmission equipment. Pacific Gas and Electric Company must emerge from bankruptcy…
The U.S. Energy Information Administration forecasts that natural gas-fired electricity generation in the United States will increase by 6 percent in 2019 and by 2 percent in 2020, while wind power will go up by 6 percent in 2019 and by 14 percent in 2020, according to its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook. These trends vary widely among…
The General Assembly’s Legislative Regulation Review Committee has unanimously approved updates to carbon dioxide emissions regulations under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) that strengthen the state’s commitment to a zero-carbon grid by 2040, according to a September 25 press release. The regulations, proposed by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) in…
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities took the first step towards developing an incentive program to support the purchase and use of electric vehicles and associated infrastructure in the state, according to a Sept. 27 news release. The state has a goal of achieving 330,000 EVs on the road by 2025, which will cut…
