The California Public Utilities Commission on Dec. 2 introduced new programs and modifications to existing programs to lower energy demand and increase supply during critical hours to prevent electricity breakdowns during extreme heat events such as the west-wide heat waves of 2020 and 2021. To protect the grid during extreme weather seasons, the regulator approved…...
The growing incidence of extreme weather events has triggered regulatory and legislative efforts across the U.S. to improve the reliability and resilience of the energy system. Winter Storm Uri, which caused widespread outages in the South Central U.S. in February, prompted a regulatory upheaval in Texas, which suffered the brunt of the storm, leaving more than 4.5 million people without power. California has adopted measures to ensure reliability in the event of extreme weather in the summers of 2022 and 2023. Federal regulators have approved new cold weather electric reliability standards.
Western U.S. states are evaluating options to join or form a regional transmission organization (RTO) as regional coordination would strengthen electric system resilience and reliability, enhance clean energy adoption, and address transmission challenges.
U.S. President Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law on Nov.15, unlocking $62 billion for U.S. Energy Department initiatives, including revitalizing domestic manufacturing, expanding access to energy efficiency and clean energy, modernizing the power grid, and advancing next-generation technologies. Among the major provisions, the legislation allocates $6 billion for a Civilian…...
The U.S. Energy Department on Oct. 14 released a progress report of its Better Buildings, Better Plants program that aims to decarbonize the industrial sector. To date, over 250 manufacturers and water utilities have embraced efficiency and decarbonization measures, achieving cumulative savings of $9.3 billion in costs and 1.9 quadrillion British thermal units of energy,…...
Extreme cold weather conditions were a major factor in multiple grid events that occurred over the last decade, most notably the recent mid-February Winter Storm Uri that affected the south-central U.S., causing widespread outages and forcing natural gas processing plants to shut down. The impacts of these events on electric and gas systems that were unprepared for the challenge has emphasized the need to address cold weather reliability.
The California Energy Commission on Aug. 11 adopted the 2022 Building Energy Efficiency Standards revising energy efficiency standards for newly constructed and renovated buildings as part of its three-year update cycle. The new code is estimated to provide $1.5 billion in consumer benefits and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 10 million metric tons over the…...
Extreme cold weather conditions were a major factor in multiple grid events that occurred over the last decade, most notably the recent mid-February Winter Storm Uri that affected the south-central U.S., causing widespread outages and forcing natural gas processing plants to shut down. The impacts of these events on electric and gas systems that were unprepared for the challenge has emphasized the need to address cold weather reliability.
The mid-February Winter Storm Uri, which caused widespread power outages across the south-central U.S., has sharply brought cold weather reliability standards to the forefront of regulatory and market attention. Texas, which experienced the worst power outages resulting from the storm, has passed legislation and initiated investigations to address the impacts of the grid event. The…...
Oregon has embarked on a clean energy transition with the enactment of sweeping legislation that mandates carbon-free power by 2040, setting one of the most ambitious decarbonization timelines in the nation. The state’s carbon reduction efforts range from legislative measures to study renewable hydrogen and expand transportation electrification, to rulemaking for a climate protection plan, and investigation into resource adequacy.
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission launched a proceeding on July 23 to examine regulatory and policy structures governing natural gas utilities, in a bid to evaluate potential changes required for accomplishing the state’s greenhouse gas reduction goals. The move stems from the Natural Gas Innovation Act enacted in June establishing a regulatory framework for gas…...
Demand response (DR) portfolios of electric utilities across the U.S. continue to expand as they refine their programs and explore new options to support grid reliability in response to the changing resource mix. The role of DR in planning and operations is expected to increase as the resource mix continues to evolve with increasing generation from natural gas, wind, solar, battery storage, and other emerging distributed energy technologies.