New York Regulator Opposes Market Power Mitigation for Energy Storage, Distributed Resources Citing Harm to State Interests

New York Regulator Opposes Market Power Mitigation for Energy Storage, Distributed Resources Citing Harm to State Interests

New York’s Department of Public Service staff and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority said that energy storage and distributed energy resources should be exempt from buyer-side mitigation rules proposed by the New York Independent System Operator Inc., according to a June 25 filing. NYISO’s proposed rule responds to the Federal Energy…

SoCal Edison Allowed to Recover Costs For Storage Projects Addressing Reliability Concerns From Natural Gas Shortage

SoCal Edison Allowed to Recover Costs For Storage Projects Addressing Reliability Concerns From Natural Gas Shortage

The California Public Utilities Commission authorized Southern California Edison Company to recover costs for utility-owned energy storage systems procured during 2016-2017 to mitigate reliability concerns in the Los Angeles Basin following shortages caused by a major gas leak in the Aliso Canyon storage facility in October 2015, according to the commission’s June 25 decision. The…

New York Regulator Opposes Market Power Mitigation for Energy Storage, Distributed Resources Citing Harm to State Interests

New York Regulator Opposes Market Power Mitigation for Energy Storage, Distributed Resources Citing Harm to State Interests

New York’s Department of Public Service staff and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority said that energy storage and distributed energy resources should be exempt from buyer-side mitigation rules proposed by the New York Independent System Operator Inc., according to a June 25 filing. NYISO’s proposed rule responds to the Federal Energy…

New York Unveils Roadmap For 1,500 Megawatts of Energy Storage, Citing $2 Billion in Consumer Benefits

New York Unveils Roadmap For 1,500 Megawatts of Energy Storage, Citing $2 Billion in Consumer Benefits

The New York Public Service Commission and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority called for additional incentives to help lift the nascent energy storage industry off the ground as the state seeks to deploy 1,500 megawatts of capacity by 2025, according to a June 21 “roadmap” report. The regulators recommend a “market…

Con Edison's Electric School Bus-to-Grid Project Gets Nod from New York Regulators

Con Edison’s Electric School Bus-to-Grid Project Gets Nod from New York Regulators

The New York Public Service Commission approved a plan by Consolidated Edison Company to electrify New York school buses and use the vehicles as energy storage batteries to help meet swings in power demand on the grid. The agency said that the demonstration project will help the utility gain experience in managing distribution-level resources, which…

New York Electric Utilities Propose Compensation Methods For Storage-Paired Distributed Generation

New York Electric Utilities Propose Compensation Methods For Storage-Paired Distributed Generation

New York electric utilities proposed a joint tariff providing four options to compensate projects pairing clean energy and storage to ensure that the “value stack” pricing components are available only when it is clear that energy exported to the distribution system originates from the eligible generating equipment, according to a June 19 filing with the…

EnerKnol's Visual Primer - Smart Charging Boosts Role of Electric Vehicles in Balancing Evolving Power Grid

EnerKnol’s Visual Primer – Smart Charging Boosts Role of Electric Vehicles in Balancing Evolving Power Grid

The smart grid evolution has unleashed opportunities for electric vehicles thanks to technologies that allow them to feed power back into the grid. Utilities and grid regulators are eyeing plug-ins as a flexible resource class helping address the intermittency of renewables and reduce peak power demand.

Minnesota Power Wins Approval for 10-Megawatt Power Purchase Contract to Meet Solar Energy Standard

Minnesota Power Wins Approval for 10-Megawatt Power Purchase Contract to Meet Solar Energy Standard

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission on Oct. 2 authorized Minnesota Power’s agreement with Cypress Creek Renewables LLC to procure energy and capacity from the 10-megawatt Blanchard Solar LLC generation facility for a 25-year term. The state’s solar energy standard requires 1.5 percent of utilities’ retail sales to come from solar resources by 2020. Minnesota Power’s…

Utilities Seek to Weaken Renewable Energy Contracts as DIY Projects Proliferate

EnerKnol’s Visual Primer – Utilities Seek to Weaken Renewable Energy Contracts as DIY Projects Proliferate

The dramatic fall in renewables costs have enticed several utilities to look at large-scale investments and also attracted a large number of independent developers seeking to qualify their projects for must-buy obligations under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA). Utilities have complained about having to overpay qualifying facilities and buy electricity even when they don’t need it. The must-buy requirements are also interfering with the utilities’ own plans of developing renewable plants, intensifying the pushback against PURPA.