Colorado state Democratic Senators Matt Jones and Mike Foote on Jan. 12 introduced legislation that would require utilities to source all of their energy from renewable sources by 2035 from the current goal of 30 percent by 2020. The draft bill is just the latest of several proposals by states, including California, to transition to 100 percent renewable energy as costs for the technology plummet. (SB 18-064)

The New York State Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment on Jan. 17 approved subsidiary Cassadaga Wind LLC to construct up to 48 turbines in Chautauqua County following an assessment of its environmental impacts. New York’s Clean Energy Standard requires half of the state’s electricity to come from renewable energy sources like wind and solar by 2030.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authorized Forward Energy LLC to sell its 129-megawatt wind-powered generation facility in Wisconsin to Wisconsin Public Service, a subsidiary of WEC Energy Group Inc.; Wisconsin Power and Light, a subsidiary of Alliant Energy Corporation; and Madison Gas and Electric, a subsidiary of MGE Energy Inc.

State delegate Richard Sullivan, a Democrat, introduced legislation Jan. 10 that would require utilities to source at least 80 percent of its supplies from renewable sources by 2026. The state’s current mandate calls for utilities to derive an average of 15 percent of electricity from renewables in 2025. States including California and Colorado seek to strengthen procurement targets for wind and solar amid an influx of the generation.

The Vermont Public Utility Commission on Jan. 12 opened a case to consider revisions to the state’s net metering program, including changes to residential rates and eligibility criteria for different categories. The agency, which adopted new net metering rules last year, set a March 1 deadline for proposals to be filed.

The Georgia Public Service Commission directed the Southern Company subsidiary to award payouts to ratepayers after the utility’s retail return on equity in 2016 surpassed the agency-approved 12 percent, according to a Jan. 16 press release. Two-thirds of the excess retail earnings will go to customers while Georgia Power will retain the remainder. The amount of the refunds has not been determined.

The New York State Public Service Commission on Jan. 18 approved a program for five municipalities in Central New York and the Capital District to buy electric and natural gas supplies for their residents. The so-called Community Choice Aggregation program, which is administered by a subsidiary of Good Energy Group, is aimed at providing communities more leverage to secure favorable prices from suppliers through bulk purchases. The program, the third in the state, will also consider ways to support customer-sited energy storage systems, purchase excess energy from customers with on-site generation, and secure green power.

Historic low temperatures saw electric use on the grid managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas Inc. reach 65,731 megawatts, topping the last high of 62,855 megawatt set on Jan. 3. The grid operator reported sufficient generation and transmission reserves to meet the uptick in consumption.

The New York Independent System Operator Inc. received approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to temporarily waive the $1,000 per megawatt-hour offer price caps for the real-time and the day-ahead wholesale power market from early January through February. The measure seeks to ensure that generators are able to recover the cost of purchasing natural gas, which tends to surge when demand for the fuel to heat homes spikes, limiting supplies to run electric generators.

The California Independent System Operator Corp. seeks an April 13 start for an expansion of its program compensating power plants at risk of retirement that are needed to ensure reliable electric service, according to a Jan. 12 request filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The grid manager will establish two annual windows, up from one, for owners to request cost-of-service-based compensation for critical generators. The move comes as the threat of plant retirements in the state grows with the influx of renewable generation and lower power prices.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission proposed to approve new reliability standards by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation to mitigate cyber security risks associated with the supply chain for grid-related cyber systems, according to the commission’s Jan. 18 press release. The commission also proposed modifications to address gaps regarding electronic access control and monitoring systems, as well as evaluate risks posed by physical access controls and protected cyber assets.

The California Public Utilities Commission authorized Pacific Gas and Electric Company to hold competitive solicitations for energy storage to meet power demand previously met by Calpine Corporation gas-fired plants, according to the commission’s Jan. 12 resolution. The commission expects the new portfolio to eliminate the need for “reliability must run” contracts filed by Calpine to operate two peaking units and a 580-megawatt generator.

A coalition of ten California state Democratic Senators introduced a resolution on Jan. 12 urging President Donald Trump and the U.S. Congress to safeguard the Pacific Coast from new oil and gas leasing, seeking to preserve the coastal economy and transition away from offshore fossil fuel production to avoid the damaging impacts of climate change. The Trump administration on Nov. 2 proposed to open more than 90 percent of the outer continental shelf acreage for oil and gas development under its draft program, a sharp reversal from the current rules that put most of the acreage off limits. (SR 73)

U.S. Democratic Senators Sheldon Whitehouse, representing Rhode Island, and Edward Markey, representing Massachusetts, introduced legislation on Jan. 11 that would ban offshore oil and gas leasing off the New England coast. The measure would protect ocean and coastal resources said to be an “economic engine” that contributes $17.5 billion annually to the region’s economy. The proposal follows a move by the Trump administration to open more than 90 percent of the outer continental shelf to natural gas and oil extraction. (S. 2298)

Governor Andrew Cuomo asked the U.S. Interior Department to include New York in the list of states such as Florida, which have been excluded from the Trump administration’s plan to expand oil and gas drilling off the Atlantic Coast because of threats to the coastal economy. Cuomo said that the plan poses the risk of hazardous oil spills, accelerates climate change, and conflicts with the state’s offshore wind energy goal. The White House seeks to rollback restrictions on fossil fuel production to help the nation become a dominant player in the global marketplace.

A group of Washington State Democratic senators led by Sen. Andy Billig introduced a bill on Jan. 12 that would impose a moratorium on the use of hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas development in the state until 2028. The bill would require a report by 2023 providing the impacts the practice has on public health and the environment and proposed rules for regulating its use. Fracking, which involves pumping a mix of chemicals, sand and water to release natural gas and oil from underground deposits, has unlocked a glut of supplies, sending fuel prices to historic lows while putting the nation on course to become the top producer in the world. (SB 6345)

Natural gas accounted for 32 percent of U.S. power generation and exceeded coal’s share of 30 percent amid low costs and plentiful supplies of the fuel, according to a Jan. 17 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Less volatility in natural gas prices kept wholesale electricity prices stable in most of the U.S.