The California Public Utilities Commission on April 20 proposed to approve Pacific Gas & Electric Company’s bankruptcy reorganization plan with conditions, including changes to the company’s governance structure, enhanced oversight, and creation of local operating regions. The commission also proposed $1.937 billion in penalties for the utility’s role in causing the catastrophic wildfires in its…
California’s Climate Investments initiative funded nearly $2 billion in clean air and low-carbon projects implemented statewide in 2019, according to an April 22 press release from the Air Resource Board. Last year marked the program’s single largest annual investment in the state’s priority populations, with more than $1 billion of new projects benefiting disadvantaged and…...
The New York Public Service Commission on April 23 authorized the State Energy Research and Development Authority to issue a solicitation for 1 gigawatt or more of offshore wind capacity in 2020, in order to maintain the state’s trajectory in meeting its clean energy goals. The authorization allows the flexibility to evaluate a range of…...
The Michigan Public Service Commission deferred action on Enbridge Energy LP’s application seeking approval for the replacement of a pipeline segment under the Straits of Mackinac while it considers whether new siting authority is required to build the portion, according to an April 22 news release. Enbridge sought a declaratory ruling that it already has…...
The Bureau of Land Management on April 17 released a draft environmental assessment of the Wyoming Pipeline Corridor Initiative, which seeks to designate nearly 2,000 miles of pipeline corridor network for projects associated with carbon capture, utilization and storage, as well enhanced oil recovery. The initiative, proposed by the State of Wyoming, encompasses pipeline corridors…...
The Illinois Commerce Commission on April 21 opened a proceeding to establish a method for calculating the rebate values for distributed generation within Ameren Illinois Company’ service territory. The Future Energy Jobs Act, which took effect in 2017, directed the commission to start such a process when the total generating capacity of net metering customers…...
Amid the economic downturn ensuing from the pandemic, state utility regulators are faced with the challenging task of protecting customers from power shutoffs while also considering costs incurred by utilities. A growing number of state commissions are directing utilities to establish a regulatory asset account to capture and track COVID-19-related incremental costs.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on April 16 approved Rover Pipeline LLC’s proposal to increase its mainline capacity by 175 million cubic feet per day, for a total mainline capacity of 3.425 Bcf per day. The Rover Pipeline is a 713-mile natural gas pipeline designed to transport 3.25 Bcf per day of domestically produced natural…...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on April 16 issued a final rule concluding that it is not appropriate and necessary to regulate hazardous air pollutant emissions from coal- and oil-fired power plants, rescinding a 2016 supplemental cost finding that formed the basis for the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, or MATS. The agency said that…...
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on April 16 largely rejected requests to reconsider its December 2019 order that directed PJM Interconnection LLC to extend the minimum offer price, or MOPR, to state-subsidized resources attempting to enter the capacity market. The agency also denied rehearing of its June 2018 order which found that state subsidies distort…...
The U.S. Energy Department is negotiating contract awards with nine U.S. companies to store about 23 million barrels of crude oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, or SPR, according to an April 16 news release. This act aims to relieve oil producer’s stress in dealing with excess production under the combined effects of COVID-19 pandemic…...
The Bureau of Land Management released a draft environmental assessment for Borderlands Wind LLC’s 100-megawatt wind generating project spanning about 40,348 acres of public land in New Mexico, according to an April 10 news release. The agency’s preferred alternative consists of 34 turbines including larger versions with a maximum height of up to 630 feet…...
