U.S. exports of crude oil and petroleum products exceeded imports by 89,000 barrels a day in September, a turning point from only a decade ago, when imports surpassed exports by 10 million barrels a day, according to a Dec. 31 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The agency attributed the trend to changes in…
The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources announced that rebates will be extended from Jan. 1 to last through at least Dec. 31, 2021 under the “Massachusetts Offers Rebates for Electric Vehicles,” or MOR-EV, initiative, according to a Dec. 31 news release. The department will allocate at least $27 million per year in 2020 and 2021…
Southern California Gas Company has more flexibility to meet natural gas demand this winter than last year after California regulators approved new rules that make it easier for the company to withdraw gas from its Aliso Canyon storage facility, according to a Dec. 13 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Working natural gas inventory…
Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom found that Pacific Gas and Electric’s proposed restructuring plan failed to meet the requirements of the state’s wildfire law, dealing a blow to the company’s efforts to exit bankruptcy, according to a Dec. 13 letter to PG&E Chief Executive Officer Bill Johnson. Newsom called for a feasible plan, pointing to the…
Year-over-year increases in U.S. proved reserves resulted in record-high levels of crude oil and lease condensate, up 12 percent, and natural gas up 9 percent in 2018, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s U.S. Crude Oil and Natural Gas Proved Reserves, Year-End 2018 report. Strong oil and natural gas prices in 2018 drove the increase in…
The Public Service Commission of Maryland has issued its annual report on the implementation of the Maryland Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard with data for calendar year 2018. According to the report, published on Dec. 10, Maryland RPS obligations were almost entirely fulfilled through the submission of the appropriate level of Tier 1 and Tier 2 Renewable Energy Credits…
The New York State Public Service Commission has announced reforms to the retail energy market to strengthen customer protections and to enhance price and operational transparency, according to a Dec. 12 press release. The resetting of the retail energy market in New York will impact the day-to-day business of energy service companies, or ESCOs, doing business…
The New York Public Service Commission adopted a measure to consolidate the utility bills of Community Distributed Generation (CDG) customers in a bid to reduce operational costs and broaden access to the technology, according to a Dec.12 press release. CDG systems, such as community solar, offer customers that prefer not to install solar directly on their property,…
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities approved a new solar incentive program to facilitate the transition from the current Solar Renewable Energy Certificate, or SREC, program to a yet-to-be-determined successor incentive program, according to a December 6 press release. The Transition Incentive will serve as a bridge between the legacy SREC and the new…
The cumulative U.S. installed onshore wind capacity exceeded 100 gigawatts on a nameplate capacity basis as of the end of September 2019, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. More than half of that amount has been installed since the beginning of 2012. The oldest wind turbines still operating in the United States came online…
The 46th quarterly carbon auction of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the nation’s first mandatory cap-and-trade program to cut power sector emissions, resulted in a price of $5.61 per short ton for the 13.1 million tons of carbon allowances sold. The clearing price was almost the same as the June 2019 price, which was the…
Southwest Power Pool Inc., the grid operator for 14 states in the central U.S., launched a new roadmap process to improve the way in which the grid operator and its stakeholders collaborate on proposed changes to its day-ahead and real-time electric markets, according to a Dec. 11 news release. The process adds more transparency, giving…
