The California Public Utilities Commission on Feb. 27 proposed a fine of nearly $2.14 billion on Pacific Gas and Electric Company shareholders for the utility’s role in causing the catastrophic wildfires in its service territory in 2017 and 2018. The record penalty, imposed in an administrative law judge’s decision, is an increase of about $462…
The Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission on Feb. 27 adopted reforms to enhance rules related to customer information disclosure and pricing practices for retail electricity service. The revisions are intended to provide customers with accurate, timely pricing information when they are shopping for electric service from competitive suppliers. The rule changes ban termination fees in the final…
The California Energy Commission on Feb. 20 approved Sacramento Municipal Utility’s proposal for a community solar program under the state’s new building standards, which took effect on Jan. 1. While the 2019 Energy Code requires a solar photovoltaic system on new homes, the commission noted that community solar was built into the code to provide…
Williams Companies Inc. announced on Feb. 24 that it has halted investment in the proposed Constitution natural gas pipeline, which has been delayed for years due to regulatory setbacks and opposition from environmental groups. The project, designed to connect Pennsylvania and New York, won the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s approval in December 2014, but has…
The Bureau of Land Management on Feb. 26 concluded that lifting an Obama-era moratorium on federal coal leasing will not have significant impact on cumulative greenhouse gas emissions compared to waiting for the pause to expire. The move responds to a court decision issued last April, finding that former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s order, which…
The twenty-second quarterly carbon auction held by California and Quebec sold all of the nearly 57.1 million carbon permits offered for current emissions at a price of $17.87 per allowance, above the floor price of $16.68, according to the results released on Feb. 26 by the California Air Resources Board. The current allowance price is…
The Southwest Power Pool Inc., the grid operator for 14 states in the central U.S., filed a tariff with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to implement its Western Energy Imbalance Service Market in 2021, according to a Feb. 21 news release. The market is designed to balance generation and load regionally and in real time.…
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Feb. 20 voted not to issue an order on the Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas export project and the associated Pacific Connector pipeline in Oregon. The decision follows the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development’s determination that the coastal adverse effects from the project will be significant. As…
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Feb. 20 authorized Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America LLC to advance its Gulf Coast Southbound Project, which is designed to provide an additional 300,000 dekatherms per day of firm transportation service for Corpus Christi Liquefaction LLC’s liquefied natural gas facility in Texas. The project involves the construction operation,…
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission approved a settlement allowing Public Service Company of Oklahoma to recover costs to add 675 megawatts of wind power the state, according to a Feb. 20 news release. The move will not increase rates for customers, as cost savings resulting from the project will be passed on to them. Public Service will…
The Michigan Public Service Commission on Feb. 20 sent DTE Electric Company back to the drawing board on its long-term resource plan, citing fundamental flaws including lack of competitive bidding for supply-side resource additions. The agency recommended that DTE issue a request for proposals for new generation, and raise the proposed energy efficiency targets. Considering…
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Feb. 20 issued a series of orders to narrow the resources exempt from the New York grid operator’s buyer-side market power mitigation rules. The agency dismissed a complaint from the Public Service Commission and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority seeking an exemption for electric storage…
