PJM Interconnection LLC released its fuel security analysis on Nov. 1 finding that its system is reliable and can endure prolonged periods of highly stressed conditions. The study analyzed over 300 scenarios that could occur from 2023 considering generation retirements, customer demand, fuel delivery, and fuel disruptions. The results underscored that in a sustained cold…
The California Public Utilities Commission approved energy storage procurement proposals of the state’s large investor-owned utilities for the 2018 biennial procurement period, according to an Oct. 31 decision. The 2018 cycle is the third of the four solicitation cycles the commission directed the utilities to conduct following the 2010 Energy Storage Law. In 2013, California…
Retail electricity prices for customers enrolled with competitive suppliers in the New England region are less volatile compared to wholesale power prices, although temporary price hikes occur when wholesale prices experience the largest increases, according to an Oct. 31 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. All the New England states except Vermont have deregulated…
The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission approved a settlement increasing Indianapolis Power & Light’s annual revenues by about $43.9 million, resulting in a $5.18 hike in monthly residential bills, according the agency’s Oct. 31 press release. In February, the utility lowered its revenue request to $96.7 million from its initial request of $124.5 to account for…
Northern Indiana Public Service Company LLC, a subsidiary of NiSource Inc., on Oct. 31 filed its 2018 integrated resource plan with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Authority, detailing a strategy to retire its coal-fired generation portfolio over the next decade and transition to more cost-efficiency renewable energy. The resource plan charts a path to meet customer…
Massachusetts electric and gas utilities on Oct. 31 filed a joint energy efficiency plan with the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities proposing an investment of $2.77 billion over three years from 2019 to 2021. The proposal seeks to invest over $200 million more in the new plan compared to the prior three-year period and achieve…
The Department of Energy announced its inaugural Grid Optimization (GO) Competition consisting of a series of challenges to develop software that will improve the reliability, resilience and security of the nation’s power grid. In an Oct. 31 press release, U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry recognized that the grid has become more diverse, with the…
The Western Energy Imbalance market generated about $100 million in savings in the third quarter of this year, with total benefits reaching $502 million since its launch in November 2014, according to an Oct. 29 press release from the California Independent System Operator Corporation. The third quarter benefits were the highest for any quarter due…
U.S. electric power sector emissions totaled 1,744 million metric tons in 2017, the lowest since 1987, according to an Oct. 29 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Energy-related emissions in the power sector fell by 28 percent since 2005 compared to 5 percent in all other energy sectors. The agency attributed the drop in…
The Virginia State Air Pollution Control Board on Oct. 30 approved recommendations to revise to regulations governing carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel-fired electric power plants in the state. The Department of Environmental Quality proposed a more stringent base budget of 28 million tons in 2020 resulting in additional emissions reductions of 5 million tons…
The Florida Public Service Commission on Oct. 29 authorized Tampa Electric Company to recover costs for five solar projects totaling 260 megawatts under the second phase of the company’s solar plan. The projects raise the revenue requirement by $46 million resulting in a $2.46 increase in monthly residential bills, effective January 2019. The agency said…
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities announced that all Solar Renewable Energy Certificate or SREC applications submitted after Oct. 29 will have a lifespan of 10 years, clarifying legislation enacted in May. The language of the legislation says that the 10-year term applies only to certain proposals seeking to connect to the distribution system.…
