Governor Ralph Northam, a Democrat, released Virginia’s new energy plan which provides a strategic vision for the commonwealth’s energy policy over the next 10 years. The plan is the implementation strategy of the Grid Transformation and Security Act (Senate Bill 966), signed into law earlier this year. Among other things, the legislation includes 3,000 megawatts…
PJM Interconnection LLC on Oct. 2 unveiled a proposal addressing a June 29 directive from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to revamp the capacity market rules to address price distortion as the participation of sources receiving out-of-market state revenues continues to grow. The plan proposes an expanded minimum offer price rule or MOPR that would…
U.S. net natural gas exports averaged 0.87 billion cubic feet per day during the first six months of this year, more than double the amount during all of 2017, which marked the first time the U.S. became a net exporter in almost 60 years, according to an Oct. 1 report from the U.S. Energy Information…
The U.S. Interior Department’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement on Sept. 28 updated the 2016 well control rule, one of the spate of safety regulations implemented in the wake of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill that spewed 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico over nearly three months. The agency said…
The Michigan Public Service Commission on Sept. 28 approved settlements that will return a total of about $7.6 million under the second round of federal tax cut adjustments to electric customers of Alpena Power Co. and Upper Michigan Energy Resources Corp., and gas customers of Michigan Gas Utility Corp., Northern States Power, SEMCO Energy Gas…
The Kansas Corporation Commission approved a settlement that lowers electric rates for customers of Westar Energy Inc. by $66 million annually, resulting in a $3.80 cut in monthly bills, according to a Sept. 27 press release. The settlement includes bill credits of about $50 million to reflect savings from the federal tax law that slashed…
The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities on Sept. 26 approved compensation for new solar owners under the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target or SMART program, a long-term, sustainable solar incentive solution that replaces the Solar Renewable Energy Certificate or SERC II program. The program has a goal of 1,600 megawatts, implying that ten percent of the…
The Idaho Public Utilities Commission approved Intermountain Gas Company’s purchased gas adjustment that will lower gas bills by about 10 percent for residential customers and 11.9 percent for commercial customers on Oct. 1, according to a Sept. 26 press release. The annual adjustment reflects changes in the costs incurred by the utility to purchase, store,…
The Ohio Public Utilities Commission approved a settlement allowing Dayton Power & Light Company to raise its distribution revenues by $29.78 million annually, and set a rate of return of 7.27 percent, according to a Sept. 26 press release. The rates reflect savings under the federal tax law which slashed corporate income tax to 21…
The U.S. Interior Department proposed to offer all available unleased areas in the Gulf of Mexico for oil and gas leasing in the auction to be held in March 2019, according to a Sept. 25 press release. The auction marks the fourth offshore sale under the 2017-2022 leasing program. The last auction held in August…
The U.S. Energy Department announced a funding opportunity for projects designed to study the application of big data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning technology and tools to enhance the value of sensor data used to monitor the power grid, according to a Sept. 25 press release. The department said that advanced sensors called “phasor measurement…
The Illinois Commerce Commission announced that Commonwealth Edison Company’s customers will see $318 million in benefits as a result of a settlement concerning the allocation of costs for transmission facilities in the PJM Interconnection LLC’s footprint, according to the agency’s Sept. 25 press release. The settlement, approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, is a…
