Cybersecurity and Privacy Protocols

Cybersecurity Agency Seeks Input on Cyber Incident Reporting Requirements

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued a request for information, seeking public input on approaches to implement the cyber incident reporting requirements, in accordance with the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022, or CIRCA. CIRCA has been a pioneering legislative measure for the whole cybersecurity public and everyone interested in protecting…...

President Biden Supports Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan Including $73 Billion in Power Grid Investment

Michigan Addresses Reliability, Customer Data Access Under MI Power Grid Initiative

The Michigan Public Service Commission on Sept. 8 issued an order aimed to improve reliability in the electric distribution system and advance efforts on customer data and privacy issues. The move is part of the MI Power Grid initiative, a multi-year stakeholder initiative launched in 2019 to maximize the transition to clean and distributed energy…...

U.S. Energy Department Launches Initiative to Reduce Cost of Geothermal Power

The U.S. Energy Department announced on Sep. 8 a new objective to make enhanced geothermal systems, or EGS, an extensive renewable energy alternative in the U.S. by reducing its expense by 90 percent to $45 per megawatt hour by 2035. As it stands, there are five terawatts of heat resources that exist in the U.S,…...

DOE industrial pulse

U.S. Energy Department Lays Out decarbonization Roadmap for Industrial Sector

The U.S. Energy Department on Sep. 7 released a comprehensive roadmap identifying four key pathways – energy efficiency, electrification, use of low-carbon energy resources, and carbon capture – to decarbonize the industrial sector. The roadmap encourages the use of nuclear energy for heat and electricity, renewables, clean hydrogen, and biofuels. The report underscores the importance…...

U.S. Energy Department Announces $225 Million Program to Encourage Adoption of Efficient Building Codes

Arizona Entities Commit to Southwest Power Pool’s Markets+ Development

The Southwest Power Pool announced on Sep. 6, 2022 that several entities in Arizona have pledged to support the next stage of the Markets + development. Arizona Electric Power Cooperative, Arizona Public Service Company, Salt River Project and Tucson Electric Power join seven other organizations that earlier pledged to support market development. Markets+ is a…...

U.S. Enacts Laws to Foster Advanced Nuclear Technologies, Encourage Private Sector to Boost Energy Innovation

California Lawmakers Pass Bill to Extend Diablo Canyon Operations to 2030

California lawmakers on Sept. 1 passed a bill to provide a $1.4 billion loan to extend operations at the state’s last operating nuclear power plant Diablo Canyon by an additional five years. The plant’s two units are scheduled to be retired in 2024 and 2025. The proposal, also part of Governor Gavin Newsom’s agenda, cleared…...

New York Advances $485 Million Transmission Project to Enhance Grid Reliability, Support Renewables

Maine Court Rules Against Referendum That Blocked Avangrid’s $1 Billion Transmission Project

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court on Aug. 30 ruled that a ballot referendum in Maine that was voted in November 2021 to block the New England Clean Energy Connect transmission project is unconstitutional. The latest development provides renewed impetus to the $1 billion U.S. transmission line designed to transmit Canadian hydropower. The court states that…...

Arizona Law Prevents Local Restrictions on Natural Gas Use in Buildings

Texas Adopts Weatherization Rule to Ensure Natural Gas Supply During Emergencies

The Texas Railroad Commission on Aug. 30 adopted a weatherization rule for natural gas facilities to ensure gas supply to power plants and avoid electricity disruption during weather events. The rule establishes Weather Emergency Preparedness Standards pursuant to Senate Bill 3 enacted in 2021 in response to Winter Storm Uri that affected the south-central U.S.,…...

U.S. Agriculture Department Announces $100 Million to Expand Biofuel Availability

U.S. Energy Department Invests $46 Million in Biofuel Technologies

The U.S. Energy Department on Aug. 31 announced $46 million in funding for 22 biofuel projects to help reduce carbon emissions in the transportation and power sector. The grant aims to lower the cost of fuels and products made from algal feedstocks while increasing the positive greenhouse gas impacts that could be achieved by deploying…...

U.S. Energy Department Announces Crude Oil Purchase to Test Market

Court Rules Two 2018 Oil Leases in Gulf of Mexico Unlawful

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on Aug. 30 ruled two oil leases – lease sales 250 and 251 – conducted by the Interior Department during the Trump administration in the Gulf of Mexico were unlawful. In 2020, a federal district court declared that the sales were valid, and environmental groups…...

Virginia Commission Denies Dominion’s $750 Million Smart Meter Proposal Over Cost Concerns

U.S. Energy Department Begins Implementation of $10.5 Billion Grid Resilience Programs

The U.S. Energy Department on Aug. 30 released a request for information on a $10.5 billion Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnership Program. The funding, backed by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, spans a five-year period from fiscal years 2022 through 2026 to prevent outages and enhance the resilience of the electric grid, deploy…...