New York Governor Kathy Hochul has announced the commissioning of NextEra Energy Transmission LLC’s Empire State Transmission Line, a 20-mile transmission project that will upgrade the energy transmission system in the western part of the state. This initiative will enable the delivery of an additional 3,700 megawatts of renewable energy and is expected to avoid…
The U.S. Energy Information Administration slashed its spot natural gas price forecasts for the second half of 2022 according to a July 12 report primarily due to lower-than-expected liquefied natural gas exports stemming from the extended outage at the Freeport LNG facility. The agency expects 10.5 billion cubic feet per day in U.S. LNG exports…...
The District of Columbia Public Service Commission on July 8 opened a proceeding to take action that will identify accessible funding sources for the Potomac Electric Power Company and the Washington Gas Light Company under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. As a part of this proceeding, the commission directed the utilities to…...
The Michigan Public Service Commission has approved a settlement allowing Consumers Energy Co. to increase rates applicable to its natural gas service by $170 million. In an initial request, the company had asked for an increase of $278 million, which was later abridged to $233 million. However, the amount agreed to in the settlement is…...
The U.S. Energy Department on July 8 announced the award of over $40 million to five state agencies and 21 organizations to enable U.S. households to increase the energy efficiency of their homes and lower their utility bills. The funding from the Weatherization Assistance Program, or WAP, enhanced by over $3.2 billion through the 2021…...
The Michigan Public Service Commission directed its staff to establish a Distribution System Data Access workgroup as part of the MI Power Grid effort, a multi- year initiative launched in 2019 to maximize the benefits of the transition to clean, distributed energy resources for consumers. In light of the increasing proliferation of distributed generation resources…...
The Baker-Polito Administration on June 30 published the Clean Energy and Climate Plan for 2025 and 2030 (2025/2030 CEP). The plan provides an extensive and detailed approach to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 33 percent compared to 1990 levels, by 2025 and by a minimum of 50 percent by 2030, in order to reach Massachusetts…...
U.S. primary energy consumption, which includes energy from fossil fuels, renewables, and nuclear, increased by 4 quadrillion British Thermal Unit (quads) in 2021 as compared to 2020, according to a July 1 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Fossil fuels namely, petroleum, natural gas, and coal, represent approximately 76.6 quads out of the total…...
The U.S. Energy Department on June 30 circulated a request for information seeking public input on the implementation of a $630 million hydropower incentive program pursuant to the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This information would assist the department in studying the structure of hydropower incentive programs, selection criteria, timing and distribution of funds,…...
The U.S. Supreme Court on June 30 restricted the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate power plant emissions under the Clean Air Act. The 6-3 decision in favour of coal interests in West Virginia v. EPA, is expected to negatively impact the Biden administration’s wider attempts to combat climate change. The court invoked the “major…
Federal agencies, including the Department of the Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency, on June 24 released their initial lists of programs covered under the Biden administration’s Justice40 Initiative launched in 2021 to ensure that disadvantaged communities receive the benefits of investments in terms of climate, clean water, and energy. The goal of the initiative…...
The U.S. Energy Department on June 28 issued the 2022 U.S. Energy and Employment Report. A key finding of the report was in the face of economic uncertainty, the energy sector undertook optimistic job growth, increasing 4 percent from 2020 to 2021, outperforming general U.S. employment, which climbed 2.8 percent in the corresponding period. In…...
