The Michigan Public Service Commission on July 18 approved part of DTE Electric Co.’s renewable energy plan, which includes the purchase of about 455 megawatts of wind power that will qualify for the full federal tax credit. The investments are expected to boost the company’s renewable energy portfolio by nearly 50 percent. The agency said…
The New Hampshire Supreme Court on July 19 ruled in favor of the state’s decision that denied a key permit for Eversource Energy to construct its 192-mile Northern Pass transmission line designed to supply hydro power from Hydro-Quebec’s dams in Canada to New England. Last February, the New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee, the state agency…
Last year, 89 utilities, representing nearly half of all major U.S. electric utilities, filed rate cases with state regulatory commissions, the largest number since 1983, according to a July 19 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The aggregated value of utility-rate hike requests in 2018 was $6.8 billion, and regulators approved a total increase…
The Hawaiian Electric Company has submitted a plan with state regulators for its largest-ever renewable energy solicitation, seeking about 900 megawatts of new renewable generation capable of delivering nearly 2 million megawatt-hours each year, according to a July 17 filling. Pending regulatory approval, the utility plans to issue the final RFPs by August 9 and…
Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker, a Democrat, signed legislation that allows a one-year extension of the date by which the Illinois Power Agency is required to deliver renewable energy credits from new utility-scale wind and solar projects acquired through long-term contracts. The bill sets a June 1, 2022 deadline for the agency to begin supplying…
The Ohio Public Utilities Commission on July 17 adopted a settlement requiring FirstEnergy Corp.’s distribution utilities to revise their rates to reflect the savings from the federal tax cut law that slashed the corporate income tax rate to 21 percent from 35 percent, effective Jan. 1, 2018. The agreement calls for credits and rate revisions…
DTE Electric Company asked the Michigan Public Service Commission to approve a pilot program that will test six distinct rates within the residential rate class, according to a July 19 filing. In May, the agency provided an extension to the implementation of the time-of-use rate structure ordered last year and authorized the company to test…
Public Citizen, a Washington DC-based consumer advocacy group, lodged a protest against that New England grid operator for failing to provide access to details of its interim fuel security program in its rate filing on delist bids submitted for the 2023-24 capacity auction, according to a July 17 filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.…
The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to overturn the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s decision to deny states the opportunity to opt out of storage participation in wholesale markets, according to a July 16 press release. The organization, which represents state utility commissions,…
Sport prices for natural gas are projected to average $2.37 per million British thermal units from June to August this year, the lowest summer average since 1998, according to a July 18 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. A relatively mild weather at the start of the summer led to lower than expected gas-fired…
Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo on July 18 announced the selection of two projects totaling 1.7 gigawatts in New York’s first comprehensive offshore wind solicitation. Cuomo also signed legislation, which requires a carbon-neutral power system by 2040 and codifies the state’s targets of 6 gigawatts of solar by 2025, 3 gigawatts of energy storage by 2030,…
The Ohio state Senate approved legislation on July 17 that would require electric customers to pay new monthly surcharges from 2021 through 2027, raising $150 million per year to subsidize FirstEnergy Solutions Corp.’s ailing nuclear plants. The revised version of the bill, which passed the House in May, would scale back the state’s renewable portfolio…