New manufacturing facilities and data centers are driving increased electricity demand Energize Weekly, December 27, 2023 The U.S. electric grid is ill-prepared for a surge in demand coming from new manufacturing, data centers and in future years, electrification of transport and building heating. Meanwhile, the queue of generation projects waiting…
Building transmission takes forever. The Biden administration is pushing to change that DECEMBER 19, 2023 The SOO Green electric transmission project, a 350-mile high-voltage line between Mason City, Iowa, and Plano, Illinois, was proposed in 2018 to deliver renewable power and to better connect the nation’s two largest power markets.…
FirstEnergy Subsidiaries Awarded More Than $800 Million in Transmission Upgrades 12 Dec. 2023 FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) subsidiaries Potomac Edison and Mid-Atlantic Interstate Transmission (MAIT) have been awarded transmission projects totaling more than $800 million in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia by regional transmission organization PJM Interconnection. The projects…
Ford and Xcel Energy will build 30,000 EV charging ports for fleet businesses Dec 5, 2023 Ford may be dialing back some of its larger EV investments, but it’s still operating under the assumption that a lot of businesses will be interested in electrifying their fleets eventually. The company is…
Offshore Wind’s Power Grid Costs in States Add to Industry Woes Nov. 28, 2023 Atlantic Coast states and energy regulators are working to avoid the looming cost of plugging offshore wind into the nation’s power grid as the industry confronts rising inflation and project cancellations. The push to improve regional…
PG&E bills to soar next year after regulators approve 13% rate increase Thursday Nov 16, 2023 Monthly bills for Pacific Gas and Electric Co. customers will climb even higher next year after California regulators on Thursday unanimously approved allowing the utility giant to increase its rates for electricity and natural…
Xcel Energy proposes 175-mile transmission line routes to connect renewable energy for southwest Minnesota November 03, 2023 Xcel Energy turned in two proposed routes for its approximately 175-mile long Minnesota Energy Connection transmission line to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission and Minnesota Department of Commerce this week. Either route would…
US energy department announces $1.3bn transmission buildout Oct 31, 2023 The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced up to a $1.3 billion commitment in three transmission lines crossing six states, advancing projects aimed at adding 3.5GW of additional grid capacity throughout the United States. To ensure that transmission buildout is…
Global electricity grid must be upgraded urgently to hit climate goals, says IEA 17 Oct 2023 Ministers have been urged to “open their eyes” to the need to build a vast network of new electricity grids to allow countries to hit climate goals, the chief of the world’s energy watchdog…
Xcel Energy plans new $500M transmission line in western Wisconsin October 9, 2023 Xcel Energy plans to build a new $500 million transmission line through parts of western Wisconsin. The company says it’s needed to maintain grid reliability as the utility transitions away from coal-fired power plants and brings in…
PG&E to Pay $45 Million for Second-Largest California Fire October 9, 2023 PG&E Corp. will pay a $45 million penalty for its role in starting the second-largest wildfire in California history under a settlement proposal issued by state regulators. The California utility giant agreed to the shareholder-funded penalty proposed by…
Colorado awarded $17.2 million grant for power grid resilience Sep 28, 2023 The Colorado Energy Office and state Department of Local Affairs were granted $17.2 million in federal funds for improving the resilience and reliability of Colorado’s electric grid against climate-driven extreme weather events and aging infrastructure. As part of…
Hawaiian Electric begins restoration work in Lahaina at request of Maui Emergency Operations Center September 21, 2023 Hawaiian Electric reports that replacement of poles and electrical equipment damaged in last months windstorms and wildfires in Lahaina will get underway at the request of Maui emergency management officials. This work will…
CMP accused of overspending $53.6 million in storm recovery efforts Sep 8, 2023 Maine’s advocate for utility customers wants state regulators to withhold more than $50 million that it says Central Maine Power Co. overspent in violation of staffing guidelines when restoring power to customers during a dozen storms in…
Losing member co-ops, Tri-State seeks to sell its electricity on the wholesale power market Energize Weekly, September 13, 2023 Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, a wholesale power supplier for rural electric cooperatives, is seeking to sell excess power on the open market as it loses some of its biggest members.…
State power grid operator calls on Texans to conserve energy late Sunday AUG. 20, 2023 The state’s electric grid operator is asking Texans to limit their power use on Sunday between 7 and 10 p.m., the second such request in three days as extreme heat continues to grip the state.…
Experts eye ways to mitigate physical assaults on US power grid 11 Aug, 2023 Industry experts offered a range of ideas for how power system planners can help bolster physical grid security during an Aug. 10 technical conference hosted by Federal Energy Regulatory Commission staff. The gathering, held jointly with…
Hawaiian Electric shares plummet 40% after Maui wildfires lawsuit August 15, 2023 Shares of Hawaiian Electric have plummeted nearly 40% since trading opened Monday over concerns that the utility company could be held liable for damage wrought by the Maui wildfires. A class-action lawsuit filed against Hawaiian Electric on Saturday…
SRP and APS report record-breaking electricity demand during July heat wave Aug. 4, 2023 After July’s historic heat wave, both SRP and APS reported electricity demand skyrocketed, and the companies recorded the highest demand they have ever seen from customers. Both companies say it only takes one megawatt to power…
Northland transmission line to boost reliability as renewables replace power plants July 31, 2023 Large cross-country transmission lines carrying clean energy from remote rural areas to population centers will be a key strategy for reducing emissions. But as a project in Minnesota illustrates, the grid puzzle is more complicated than…
Feds propose $2B in PNW energy grid upgrades to meet rising demand July 24, 2023 The Pacific Northwest’s need for more — and renewable — electricity is increasing, and Bonneville Power Administration officials say the grid needs billions of dollars’ of work to keep those higher energy loads flowing across…
Congestion on the U.S. electric grid added $20.8 billion in costs in 2022 Energize Weekly, July 26,2023 The increasingly choked U.S. electric grid – sometimes preventing the cheapest generation from getting online – cost consumers $20.8 billion in 2022, a 55 percent year-over-year increase, according to utility consultant Grid Strategies.…
Probe Into 2022 Attack on Kern County PG&E Facility Hits Dead End Jul 10 Investigators have hit a dead end in their investigation of a July 2022 incident in which gunfire caused nearly $6 million in damage to a PG&E substation near Bakersfield. It’s one of a string of unsolved…
Global EV sales set to triple by 2026 led by China, Europe, and the U.S. Energize Weekly, July 12, 2023 Electric vehicle (EV) sales are projected to almost triple between 2022 and 2026, reaching nearly 27 million vehicles as the technology pushes beyond automobiles to trucks and buses, according to…
How old coal plants could help fuel a renewable boom 06/30/2023 When Pennsylvania’s largest coal plant closes Saturday, it will leave behind more than towering smokestacks and mounds of coal waste. The Homer City Generating Station has a valuable asset: a connection to both the nation’s largest regional power grid…
Northern Maine power line project moves forward, slowly June 26, 2023 Plans for a major renewable energy project that would connect Aroostook County to New England’s electric power grid are inching forward. Last week, legislators and Gov. Janet Mills signed off on a bill for construction of a high-voltage transmission…
FERC finalizes new rules to improve reliability in extreme weather conditions June 20, 2023 The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) finalized two new rules last week that are designed to help improve reliability of the bulk power system against threats of extreme weather. The first rule directs the North American…
Gov. Abbott vetoes energy efficiency bill JUNE 20, 2023 Gov. Abbott vetoed SB 2453, by Senator Jose Menendez, and sponsored in the House by Rep. Ana Hernandez, a bill allowing the state to adopt strong energy efficiency standards for new buildings, on Friday. The measure, collateral damage to an unrelated…
Austin to enter mutual aid agreement with neighboring utility companies after February freeze June 2, 2023 A little over three months after an ice storm left tens of thousands of Austin Energy customers without electricity, some for as long as two weeks, the Austin City Council on Thursday ratified a…
Lawmakers eye compromise bill to bolster power lines in permitting negotiations 05/25/23 Lawmakers appear to be considering a compromise bill to bolster the nation’s power lines as part of efforts to tie energy permitting reforms to legislation that would lift the debt ceiling. A source briefed on the issue told…
Upcoming CPUC Rulemaking To Streamline Transmission Line Permitting 22 May 2023 The California Public Utilities Commission (Commission) has uploaded a proposed Order Instituting Rulemaking (OIR) that would revamp the permitting process for siting of electric transmission infrastructure within the state of California. The OIR, which is expected to be adopted…
U.S. grid facing blackout risks this summer and next winter, reliability agency warns Energize Weekly, May 24, 2023 U.S. power grids are facing a risky summer and an even riskier winter, according to analyses by the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC), the agency that oversees grid reliability and security.…
Another power line proposed to carry electricity from Quebec through New Hampshire 5/4/2023 Five years after Northern Pass was rejected by the state, another proposal is on the books to bring Quebec hydropower through New Hampshire but this time along a different route – passing through Dunbarton instead of Concord…
Utilities Seize Control of the Coming Boom in Transmission Lines April 26, 2023 Just about everyone involved agrees that the grid needs an upgrade, including a plan for a new transmission line that would run south of Chicago, across northern Indiana and into Michigan. What they don’t agree on is…
New FERC rule creates incentive-based rate treatment for utilities investing in cybersecurity April 24, 2023 A final rule issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) last week could encourage the adoption of cybersecurity technology and collaboration among utilities, thanks to its creation of an incentive-based rate treatment. That treatment…
A key link in bringing Wyoming wind power to California gets federal BLM approval Energize Weekly, April 19, 2023 After 15 years of planning and permitting battles, a key piece in billionaire Philip Anschutz’s $8 billion project to bring Wyoming wind power to California – the 732-mile TransWest Express transmission…
Southwest Power Pool takes a first step in creating a western wholesale electricity market Energize Weekly, April 12, 2023 A group of 26 utilities and organizations representing power producers – ranging from the Rockies to the Southwest to the Pacific Northwest – agreed to join the initial phase of the…
South Carolina lawmakers pass power grid protections after attacks March 20, 2023 South Carolina lawmakers are working to make sure electrical substations are better protected months after a substation shooting knocked out power for more than 34,000 people in North Carolina. Last week, South Carolina senators unanimously passed two bills…
Power rate hike rebate during winter storms possible, court ruling reveals March 20, 2023 When the temperatures dropped during Winter Storm Uri in 2021, prices for electricity went up. The bills that followed provided a shock that energy analysts like Ed Hirs, a University of Houston energy fellow, described as…
More than 43,000 miles of new transmission lines needed in the U.S. by 2040, DOE study says Energize Weekly, March 15, 2023 The United States is projected to need more than 47,300 gigawatt-miles of new transmission lines by 2040 – in some cases they will be needed as soon as…
California could keep the lights on by expanding grid across the West, report finds MARCH 03, 2023 Expanding California’s electricity grid to cooperate with neighboring states would bolster reliability and affordability while reducing carbon emissions, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy concluded in a new report. The report released…
DOE touts grid expansion plans as operators raise concerns 02/27/2023 The Department of Energy calls its new draft report on transmission a vital step in confronting barriers to long-distance power lines, but not all U.S. grid operators are sold on the outlook. DOE’s draft “National Transmission Needs Study,” released Friday,…
Electric Vehicles Loom Large in U.S. Power Grid Modernization February 9, 2023 Since its inception, the U.S. electric grid has mostly operated smoothly as one synchronous machine with a one-directional flow of electricity to meet the nation’s predictable power needs. However, as older centralized thermal resources are being replaced with…
The United States Is Facing Electricity Famine Feb. 7, 2023 There are signs that we are heading towards an electricity famine; a life-threatening energy Holodomor throughout many areas of the United States caused by political decisions. The system is being set up to fail. This problem this time is not…
FERC Directs NERC to Tighten Bulk Electric System Cybersecurity January 26, 2023 On January 19, 2023, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a Final Rule directing the North American Electric Reliability Corporation to file for FERC review new or modified Reliability Standards that require internal network security monitoring (INSM) within…
Senators explore power supply failure – especially natural gas – during Christmas storm January 26, 2023 The winter storm of Dec. 23-25 produced an unexpectedly high demand for electricity. Despite the surprise, PJM, the 13-state power grid organization — thought it had plenty of reserve on hand. But the power…
PUC approves electric market redesign in ‘big step for ERCOT’ Jan 19, 2023 The Public Utility Commission of Texas on Thursday approved a redesign of the state’s electric market, recommending a new model they said will improve grid reliability, but critics said could pass more costs onto the consumer. The…
Winter Storm Elliott stressed regional electric grids across the U.S. in different ways Energize Weekly, January 18, 2023 Winter Storm Elliott, the bomb cyclone with freezing temperatures and blizzard conditions that swept across the U.S. east of the Rockies, sparked a wave of outages with its impacts varying from regional…
Biden declares emergency in California as more winter storms advance JAN 9 2023 President Joe Biden on Monday declared an emergency in California after a barrage of deadly winter storms has prompted widespread power outages and flooding since last week. Extreme downpours, high winds and flash floods have caused at…
AEP Ohio asking for rate increase to boost system reliability after last summer’s storms Jan. 6, 2023 Several months after powerful storms whacked AEP Ohio’s transmission system and forced the power company to turn off electricity to some Columbus-area neighborhoods to avoid a larger power loss, AEP is now asking…
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