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…
U.S. energy related carbon emissions in 2017 dropped 0.9 percent from the prior year and 14 percent below 2005 levels, according to a Sept. 25 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Although the gross domestic product grew by 2.3 percent from 2016 to 2017, the agency said that emissions were more than offset by…
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Sept. 25 authorized SunPower Corporation to sell its membership interests in Boulder Solar III LLC to 174 Power Global Corporation and KOMIPO America Inc. The Boulder Solar project is a 125-megawatt solar photovoltaic electric power generating facility under development in Nevada. The project is expected to come online in…
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission set a Nov. 27 deadline to issue an environmental assessment for TransCanada Corporation’s proposed Portland Xpress Project, according to the agency’s Sept. 24 notice. The project would boost natural gas supply to New England and Atlantic Canada markets by modifying the existing compressor station in Westbrook, Maine, and adding horsepower…
The U.S. exported 7.3 million barrels per day of crude oil and petroleum products in the first half of 2018, the largest recorded for the first six months of a year, according to a Sept. 24 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Crude oil exports, which exceeded hydrocarbon liquids exports, were about 80 percent…
Pennsylvania House lawmaker Christopher Quinn, a Republican, introduced legislation on Sept. 24 that would allow electric distribution companies to use a revenue decoupling mechanism to recover decreased revenues due to lower energy consumption or demand changes. The bill would limit upward adjustments through the mechanism to two percent of rates. The legislation would also allow…
The Illinois Commerce Commission opened a proceeding to gather information on the impact of electric vehicles on grid resiliency and energy efficiency, according to a Sept. 24 press release. The move follows two policy sessions that the commission held in April and September to examine transportation electrification. The commission said that regulatory uncertainty hinders widespread…
The U.S. Trade Representative on Sept. 19 granted exclusions from import duties for certain solar products. These include 45-W off-grid solar panels, 120-W flexible and semi-flexible off-grid panels designed for motor vehicles and boats, 90-W frameless panels in colors other than black or blue, back contact solar cells, and modules using U.S.-made solar cells. Solar…
More than a dozen members of the Georgia General Assembly, in a Sept. 19 letter to the owners of the Vogtle nuclear plant, expressed concerns over the “ever-escalating cost” of the project and urged them to establish a cost cap to protect electric ratepayers from cost overruns. The lawmakers noted that, last month Georgia Power,…
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Sept. 19 authorized NHIP II Bayonne Holdings LLC to indirectly acquire the outstanding equity interests in Thermal Bayonne Holdings LLC from MIC Thermal Power Holdings LLC. Thermal Bayonne is an indirect parent of Bayonne Energy Center LLC, which operates a 610-megawatt gas power plant in New Jersey, and Zone…
The U.S. Energy Department on Sept. 19 authorized Mexico Pacific Limited LLC to export up to 621 billion cubic feet per year of natural gas by pipeline for end use in Mexico and to re-export the gas after liquefaction in Mexico to countries with which the U.S. has a free trade agreement or FTA countries.…
