Consultants offer ways to improve US power transmission planning in FERC comments 11 Oct 2021 Stakeholders and power market participants have begun submitting responses to federal regulators regarding an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on transmission improvements, with one group contending transportation and space heating electrification will increase power demand…
CMP, public power backers locked in war to weaken each other’s 2022 referendum bids
CMP, public power backers locked in war to weaken each other’s 2022 referendum bids October 11, 2021 Supporters and opponents of establishing a consumer-owned utility in Maine both made changes to their ballot initiatives in the past week in attempts to render the other ineffective ahead of a possible referendum fight…
Lynn Good projects $100B in spending on ‘clean energy transition’ at Duke Energy in the next 10 years
Lynn Good projects $100B in spending on ‘clean energy transition’ at Duke Energy in the next 10 years Sep 30, 2021 Touting Duke Energy Corp.’s sustainability goals at a presentation an S&P Global Inc. conference, CEO Lynn Good said the company will spend close to $100 billion on its transition to clean…
N.J. advances grid plan seen as national model for renewables
N.J. advances grid plan seen as national model for renewables 10/05/2021 New Jersey is weighing a novel approach to developing electric transmission projects that observers say could soon be explored by other states and help drive renewables. New Jersey’s Board of Public Utilities announced Sept. 24 that it had closed…
Liberty upgrading downtown infrastructure
Liberty upgrading downtown infrastructure Sep 26, 2021 An upgrade to some of Liberty’s oldest electric infrastructure in Joplin is now fully underway as the utility works to replace lines, poles and add new substations downtown that officials said will improve reliability. Read more
Hydropower output plummets in parched U.S. West with no quick end in sight
Hydropower output plummets in parched U.S. West with no quick end in sight Energize Weekly, September 29, 2021 The heat wave that blanketed the western United States this summer drained the region’s hydropower output, a situation that will likely continue in 2022 and may even get worse, according to reports…
Dominion Energy proposes solar, energy storage projects
Dominion Energy proposes solar, energy storage projects SEPTEMBER 19, 2021 As it works towards a state mandate for producing electricity from carbon-free sources by 2045, Dominion Energy Virginia has acquired a 20-megawatt battery storage facility in Chesterfield County from Charlottesville-based energy storage developer East Point Energy, according to a Sept.…
Massachusetts utilities propose plans to ramp up electric vehicle infrastructure
Massachusetts utilities propose plans to ramp up electric vehicle infrastructure September 21, 2021 Clean transportation advocates are declaring measured support for Massachusetts electric utilities’ proposals to spend $470 million on programs to help the state reach its ambitious goals for electrifying transportation over the next decade. Read more
System Monitors Transmission Lines for Faults and Damage
System Monitors Transmission Lines for Faults and Damage SEP 14, 2021 Prisma Photonics Ltd and Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) have signed a pilot agreement to supply monitoring services for IEC’s electrical power transmission grid. The collaboration has started as a part of Israel’s Innovation Authority’s program to run pilots in governmental companies and national infrastructure.…
Solar could power 45 percent of U.S. electricity by 2050 with multi-billion dollar investment, DOE says
Solar could power 45 percent of U.S. electricity by 2050 with multi-billion dollar investment, DOE says Energize Weekly, September 15, 2021 The U.S. could get 40 percent of its electricity from solar installations by 2035 and 45 percent by 2050 – through $225 to $560 billion in the power grid…
Why Hurricane Ida crippled the New Orleans power grid
Why Hurricane Ida crippled the New Orleans power grid September 4, 2021 Hurricane Ida’s 150-mph winds crippled a Louisiana electric grid already vulnerable from aging transmission lines, electricity bottlenecks and $2 billion worth of damage caused by three hurricanes that hit last year. Read more
PacifiCorp holds course to exit Wyoming coal
PacifiCorp holds course to exit Wyoming coal Sep 1, 2021 Wyoming’s largest utility, Rocky Mountain Power, will decommission its entire coal-fired power fleet in the state by 2039 while continuing to add wind, solar and battery storage to its six-state operating system, according to preliminary details of its 2021 Integrated…
Los Angeles City Council approves transition to clean, carbon-free energy by 2035
Los Angeles City Council approves transition to clean, carbon-free energy by 2035 September 3rd, 2021 In a unanimous vote, the Los Angeles City Council yesterday (September 1) approved a motion introduced by Councilmembers Paul Krekorian and Mitch O’Farrelll requiring that 100 percent of the city’s electricity come from clean, zero carbon energy by 2035. Read…
Global EV sales bounce back from the pandemic, set to hit 14 million vehicles by 2025
Global EV sales bounce back from the pandemic, set to hit 14 million vehicles by 2025 Energize Weekly, September 8, 2021 Global electric vehicle sales have rebounded from the pandemic with a forecast of reaching 16 percent of all passenger car purchases by 2025, but the pace remains far short…
Connexus electricity co-op wants a new power deal with Great River Energy
Connexus electricity co-op wants a new power deal with Great River Energy AUGUST 30, 2021 Connexus Energy, the largest owner of Great River Energy, wants to exit the big electricity generating co-op as a member, saying its longtime arrangement has become too costly and inflexible. Read more
Hurricane Ida damage to Louisiana’s power grid expected to take weeks to repair
Hurricane Ida damage to Louisiana’s power grid expected to take weeks to repair August 30, 2021 Rescuers set out in hundreds of boats and helicopters to reach people trapped by floodwaters Monday, and utility repair crews rushed in, after a furious Hurricane Ida swamped the Louisiana coast and ravaged the…
Texas power demand to hit record high during Tuesday heat
Texas power demand to hit record high during Tuesday heat August 24, 2021 The Texas power grid operator forecast demand would reach a record high on Tuesday as homes and businesses crank up their air conditioners to escape another heat wave. Read more
PJM puts transmission upgrades for onshore renewables and offshore wind at up to $3.2 billion
PJM puts transmission upgrades for onshore renewables and offshore wind at up to $3.2 billion Energize Weekly, August 18, 2021 The PJM Interconnection – the nation’s largest grid operator – estimates that it will take between $2.2 billion and $3.2 billion in new transmission investments by 2035 to accommodate the…
PG&E power line suspected in Dixie fire was set to be buried underground in safety move
PG&E power line suspected in Dixie fire was set to be buried underground in safety move AUG. 10, 2021 After Pacific Gas & Electric equipment sparked a massive fire that burned much of Paradise, Calif., and killed 86 people in 2018, the utility vowed a safety campaign aimed at preventing similar…
New Mexico customers sound alarm over major utility merger
New Mexico customers sound alarm over major utility merger Aug 10, 2021 New Mexico customers are sounding the alarm over a proposed multibillion-dollar merger of the state’s largest electric utility provider with a U.S. subsidiary of Spanish energy giant Iberdrola, citing a sordid track record of reliability and customer service.…
Bipartisan $1T Senate infrastructure bill focuses on nuclear, carbon capture, transmission
Bipartisan $1T Senate infrastructure bill focuses on nuclear, carbon capture, transmission Aug. 3, 2021 A bipartisan group of senators on Sunday unveiled its nearly $1 trillion infrastructure bill, formalized into text following a 67-32 consensus to advance the legislation. The vote to advance the bill included the support of 17 Republicans. Read…
PG&E Announces Plan to Underground 10,000 Miles of Power Lines in Highest Fire-Threat Areas
PG&E Announces Plan to Underground 10,000 Miles of Power Lines in Highest Fire-Threat Areas JUL 27, 2021 Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) recently announced a major initiative to expand the undergrounding of electric distribution power lines in High Fire-Threat Districts (HFTD) to further harden its system and help prevent…
Hydropower worries grow as Colorado River reservoirs continue to dry up
Hydropower worries grow as Colorado River reservoirs continue to dry up July 19, 2021 The water levels behind the Colorado River’s biggest dams are fast-approaching or already at record lows, thanks to a 21-year megadrought that’s squeezing water supplies across the Southwest. But the effects of drought are likely to…
Connecticut launches nine-year effort to build up EV charging infrastructure
Connecticut launches nine-year effort to build up EV charging infrastructure July 19, 2021 The Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) approved a nine-year program to support electric vehicle charging infrastructure installation in the state. PURA established a statewide Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Program that provides a combination of incentives for…
Western drought hurts hydropower production, California among the hardest hit states
Western drought hurts hydropower production, California among the hardest hit states Energize Weekly, July 14, 2021 The drought conditions smothering the West are crippling hydropower production with hydro-generation’s share of energy production forecast to be 6.5 percent this year – the lowest it has been since 2015, according to the…
California energy officials seeking additional capacity for the summer
California energy officials seeking additional capacity for the summer July 2, 2021 Citing climate change-driven heat events, California energy officials announced Thursday that the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), the operator of the state’s power grid, would exercise its authority to procure additional capacity. Read more
More than half the U.S. faces electricity supply problems in the face of a long, hot summer
More than half the U.S. faces electricity supply problems in the face of a long, hot summer Energize Weekly, July 7, 2021 More than half the U.S. – primarily in the West, Texas, Midwest and to a lesser extent, New England – is at risk of energy emergencies this summer,…
NJ set to award second massive offshore wind project
NJ set to award second massive offshore wind project JUNE 29, 2021 In a decision that could make New Jersey a leader in wind power, the state is poised to award a deal for the second-largest procurement of new offshore turbine projects yet to be developed anywhere in the U.S.…
Texas power grid overcomes problems to meet record June demand
Texas power grid overcomes problems to meet record June demand June 25, 2021 Peak electricity demand in Texas broke June’s record on Thursday and was expected to do so again on Friday, the power grid operator said, but there was no repeat of last week’s problems when a significant amount…
FirstEnergy Taking Proactive Steps to Prepare Transmission System for Summer Weather
FirstEnergy Taking Proactive Steps to Prepare Transmission System for Summer Weather Jun 21, 2021 FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) has completed annual inspections and maintenance throughout its transmission system to help ensure reliability for customers ahead of the summer season. Read more
Extreme heat drives ‘high risk’ summer for U.S. power, especially in California
Extreme heat drives ‘high risk’ summer for U.S. power, especially in California May 26, 2021 Extreme heat this summer could create energy shortfalls in California, Texas, New England and the U.S. West and Central regions, the organization responsible for North American electric reliability warned on Wednesday. Read more
Canada Gives Final OK for Hydropower Transmission Project
Canada Gives Final OK for Hydropower Transmission Project May 21, 2021 The Canadian government has given its final approval for construction and operation of power line to serve as a conduit for hydropower to reach the power grid in New England, officials said Friday. Read more
New England grid expects 1 million electric vehicles, 1 million electric heat pumps by 2030
New England grid expects 1 million electric vehicles, 1 million electric heat pumps by 2030 5/11/2021 The organization that oversees the six-state power grid predicts New England will see one million electric cars and trucks on its roads and more than one million electric heat pumps in homes and businesses…
New strategy for greener TVA will close coal plants, add solar and nuclear
New strategy for greener TVA will close coal plants, add solar and nuclear Thu, May 6, 2021 Nearly a century after the Tennessee Valley Authority was created to harness the power of the Tennessee River, America’s biggest public utility is planning to turn more to the sun, splitting atoms and…
Texas Storm Cost NextEra $180 Million in Uncollected Revenue
Texas Storm Cost NextEra $180 Million in Uncollected Revenue Josh Saul and Mark Chediak; Fri, April 23, 2021 NextEra Energy Inc., the world’s biggest investor-owned generator of wind and solar power, said it wasn’t able to collect $180 million in revenue following the Texas energy crisis that left the state’s…
Cost of winterizing Texas electricity grid worth the expense, Dallas Federal Reserve says
Cost of winterizing Texas electricity grid worth the expense, Dallas Federal Reserve says Energize Weekly, April 21, 2021 The cost of weatherizing the Texas electric power system – which faced a major collapse during a February freeze – could run into hundreds of millions of dollars, but the expense would…
Records reveal Entergy’s role in stalling MISO transmission planning
Daniel Tait • April 5, 2021 Entergy coordinated closely with Mississippi Public Service Commission staff and the Commission’s outside consultants to stall regional transmission projects, potentially blocking its customers’ access to lower-cost wind energy from outside Entergy’s service territory and placing them at greater risk of future power outages. Read more
The $7 Trillion Cost Of Upgrading The U.S. Power Grid
By Leonard Hyman & William Tilles – Feb 25, 2021 We have just witnessed the damage caused by poorly designed energy grids—rolling blackouts, skyrocketing electricity prices, people sleeping in their cars and in one insulated room to keep warm. At the same time a weaponized right wing media swings into action blaming…
Xcel Energy plans to transform its Colorado grid, boosting renewables and closing coal plants
Energize Weekly, March 3, 2021 Xcel Energy – in one of the country’s most sweeping initiatives to reconfigure a gird – has announced an $8 billion plan to double its renewable energy generation and storage in Colorado, add transmission and close all its coal-fired power plants in the state by…
Collapse of the natural gas system from wellhead to turbine fueled Texas’ blackout
Energize Weekly, February 24, 2021 The near collapse of Texas’ electric grid was caused in the main by a failure of the natural gas system from the wellhead to pipeline to gas turbine, according to an analysis by the International Energy Agency (IEA). “Texas has a power shortage because it…
U.S. energy consumption will take years to rebound from pandemic, EIA says
Energize Weekly, February 10, 2021 It will take years for U.S. energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions to return to 2019 levels after the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the country’s economy and the global energy sector, according to the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA). Energy consumption in…
Voters weigh in on local and state energy issues from renewable energy to oil and gas taxes
Energize Weekly, November 11, 2020 Election returns on state and local energy issues were both literally and figuratively all over the map last week on issues ranging from renewable energy to oil and gas taxes. Voters in Alaska rejected a tax on oil operations while the industry was denied a…
