PNM joins WPP’s reliability planning and compliance program in western US 10 Apr 2023 The Public Service Company of New Mexico has joined the first region-wide reliability planning and compliance program in the Western US, known as the Western Resources Adequacy Program. Seattle City Light and Snohomish County Public Utility…
Southwest Power Pool takes a first step in creating a western wholesale electricity market
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…
Dominion Energy Utah starts hydrogen blending in Utah pipelines
Dominion Energy Utah starts hydrogen blending in Utah pipelines Apr 04, 2023 Dominion Energy Utah (DEU) has begun hydrogen blending in Delta, Utah, pipelines as part of the ThermH2 project. The project gas entered its first phase which is focused on blending hydrogen in the utility’s Training Academy to confirm…
Electric prices for Connecticut residents likely to drop dramatically during the second half of 2023
Electric prices for Connecticut residents likely to drop dramatically during the second half of 2023 April 3, 2023 After three months of paying dramatically higher electric rates, there may be some relief coming this summer for a majority of Connecticut electric customers. The state’s two largest electric distribution companies, Eversource…
US Power Plant Firm Goes Bankrupt After Winter Storm Penalties
US Power Plant Firm Goes Bankrupt After Winter Storm Penalties March 31, 2023 Lincoln Power LLC, the owner of two Illinois power plants, filed for bankruptcy after its financial strain was exacerbated by nearly $39 million in penalties levied by the biggest US electric-grid operator. The Chapter 11 filing allows…
The pace of U.S. coal-fired plant closures quickens, coal’s share of generation to plummet
The pace of U.S. coal-fired plant closures quickens, coal’s share of generation to plummet Energize Weekly, April 5, 2023 The pace of U.S. coal-fired plant closures continues to accelerate with half of all the capacity, which peaked in 2011, closed by 2026, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and…
North America Drops 38 Rigs
North America Drops 38 Rigs March 28, 2023 North America dropped another 38 rigs week on week, according to Baker Hughes’ latest rotary rig count, which was released on March 24. The count showed that Canada decreased its rig figures by 42 week on week, while the U.S. added four…
Southern California Edison Improves Grid Safety, Significantly Reduces Wildfire Threat
Southern California Edison Improves Grid Safety, Significantly Reduces Wildfire Threat March 27, 2023 Southern California Edison today submitted its 2023-25 Wildfire Mitigation Plan to California’s Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety. SCE has reduced the probability of wildfires associated with its utility equipment by 75%-80% since 2018. This is a significant…
Radioactive water leaks at Minn. nuclear plant for 2nd time
Radioactive water leaks at Minn. nuclear plant for 2nd time Mar 23, 2023 Water containing a radioactive material has leaked for a second time from a nuclear plant near Minneapolis and the plant will be shut down, but there is no danger to the public, the plant’s owner said Thursday.…
New Ky. law makes it more difficult to retire coal-fired power plants
New Ky. law makes it more difficult to retire coal-fired power plants March 27, 2023 Energy utilities now have to prove to regulators their plans to retire fossil-fueled power plants won’t compromise the reliability and resilience of the electric grid in Kentucky. It takes effect immediately. The legislation emerged following…
White House threatens veto for Republican energy package
White House threatens veto for Republican energy package 03/27/23 The White House on Monday threatened a veto of a House Republicans’ energy package, known as H.R. 1, if it makes it to President Biden’s desk. “H.R. 1 would take us backward. Therefore, if presented to the President in its current…
U.S. EV and battery investments reached $120 billion in 2023 spurred by federal legislation
U.S. EV and battery investments reached $120 billion in 2023 spurred by federal legislation Energize Weekly, March 29, 2023 Electric vehicle (EV) and battery manufacturing investments in the U.S. surged by $120 billion in the last eight years with federal legislation spurring activity, according to a study by the Environmental…
U.S. pipeline regulator grants over $25 million in funding to improve safety
U.S. pipeline regulator grants over $25 million in funding to improve safety March 20, 2023 The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) on Monday announced more than $25 million in funding to improve safety nationwide after recent train derailments. These grants are targeted to train…
South Carolina lawmakers pass power grid protections after attacks
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…
Martin Drake Power Plant natural gas units generating power
Martin Drake Power Plant natural gas units generating power Mar 21, 2023 Colorado Springs Utilities (Springs Utilities) has started generating power with the first of six modular natural gas units at the Martin Drake Power Plant. Springs Utilities said over the next several weeks each unit will go online and…
Xcel is cleaning up radioactive water spill at Monticello plant
Xcel is cleaning up radioactive water spill at Monticello plant MARCH 16, 2023 A broken pipe at Xcel Energy’s Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant leaked about 400,000 gallons of water containing radioactive tritium, and the utility is working to clean up the contaminated plume, state regulators said Thursday. Both Xcel and…
Power rate hike rebate during winter storms possible, court ruling reveals
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…
Embargoes and price caps send Russian oil searching for new markets in Asia and Africa
Embargoes and price caps send Russian oil searching for new markets in Asia and Africa Energize Weekly, March 22, 2023 Embargoes and price caps on Russian oil and petroleum products are taking a bite out of the country’s exports and revenues, which are down 42 percent year-over-year to $11.6 billion…
Biden Budget Proposes Elimination of Oil, Gas Tax Subsidies
Biden Budget Proposes Elimination of Oil, Gas Tax Subsidies March 14, 2023 U.S. President Joe Biden’s 2024 budget proposes to eliminate tax subsidies for oil and gas, a White House fact sheet has revealed. “The president is committed to ending tens of billions of dollars of federal tax subsidies for…
EPA proposes new rules for toxic pollutants discharged from coal-fired power plants
EPA proposes new rules for toxic pollutants discharged from coal-fired power plants March 13, 2023 The EPA has proposed new and stricter limits on toxic contaminants that utilities can discharge from their coal-fired power plants and coal ash landfills — but it’s still unclear how the rules would affect Duke…
Texas lawmakers propose bills moving away from renewable energy in attempt to shore up power grid
Texas lawmakers propose bills moving away from renewable energy in attempt to shore up power grid March 9, 2023 Some Texas senators unveiled plans Thursday to shift the focus away from wind and solar and toward resources like natural gas. It was part of nine bills Texas lawmakers announced aimed…
Xcel Energy will cut Colorado bills again in April as natural gas costs continue to fall
Xcel Energy will cut Colorado bills again in April as natural gas costs continue to fall Mar 14, 2023 Xcel Energy is again cutting natural gas costs passed through to consumers starting with April bills, the third price decrease announced in two months, even as a special legislative committee pursues…
Oil And Gas Firms Failed To Cut Back On Flaring In 2022
Oil And Gas Firms Failed To Cut Back On Flaring In 2022 March 3, 2023 Despite bold promises from several oil and gas firms, many failed to reduce their natural gas flaring in 2022. With increasing pressure from environmental organisations and governments to reduce carbon emissions, will 2023 be any…
Constellation starts up nuclear-powered clean hydrogen facility in New York
Constellation starts up nuclear-powered clean hydrogen facility in New York Mar 07, 2023 Constellation Energy Company has started up a 1MW demonstration-scale, nuclear-powered clean hydrogen production facility at its Nine Mile Point plant in Oswego, New York. Believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, the plant…
Global bank financing for low-carbon energy rose 15 percent to $550 billion in 2022
Global bank financing for low-carbon energy rose 15 percent to $550 billion in 2022 Energize Weekly, March 8, 2023 Investments in low-carbon energy supply rose by 15 percent in 2022 – the fastest growth rate in seven years – to $550 billion, according to BloombergNEF’s (BNEF) annual report on energy…
Interactive Colorado Water Supply Tool Illuminates Statewide Water Needs Through 2050
Interactive Colorado Water Supply Tool Illuminates Statewide Water Needs Through 2050 February 21, 2023 With more frequent, severe drought, many are looking for better ways to address water supply and storage as climate change alters life in Colorado and the West. The newly released Colorado Water Plan provides a framework…
U.S. drillers cut the most oil and gas rigs in a month since June 2020 – Baker Hughes
U.S. drillers cut the most oil and gas rigs in a month since June 2020 – Baker Hughes February 27, 2023 U.S. energy firms in February cut the most oil and natural gas rigs in a month since June 2020, with the gas rig count falling to the lowest since…
Northern Virginia data centers could strain power grid
Northern Virginia data centers could strain power grid February 27, 2023 Data centers in Northern Virginia starting to draw new environmental concerns. Monday, The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality will weigh whether the centers get a waiver on air pollution. Northern Virginia hosts the largest collection of data centers in…
SoCalGas planning to increase prices in 2024
SoCalGas planning to increase prices in 2024 Feb 27, 2023 As a winter storm continues to move through California, prompting many residents to turn up the heat, Southern California Gas Company announced plans to increase its prices next year. The nation’s largest natural gas company announced that it would hold…
General Assembly deal sets Dominion profits for two years while overhauling regulatory system
General Assembly deal sets Dominion profits for two years while overhauling regulatory system FEBRUARY 25, 2023 The decision came down to the wire, but on Saturday afternoon Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office and the General Assembly reached a deal on sweeping legislation to adjust Dominion Energy’s profit margin and reform the…
United Airlines launches $100 million fund to develop sustainable aviation fuel
United Airlines launches $100 million fund to develop sustainable aviation fuel Energize Weekly, March 1, 2023 United Airlines, which has supported and invested in a string of projects to develop sustainable aviation fuel, last week announced its latest initiative – a $100 million venture capital fund. The new United Airlines…
CDC Planning Wastewater Testing For Polio In Select Communities
CDC Planning Wastewater Testing For Polio In Select Communities February 16, 2023 The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will strategically expand wastewater testing for poliovirus in select jurisdictions across the country. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH)…
December weather led to 13% decline in North Dakota oil and gas production
December weather led to 13% decline in North Dakota oil and gas production 02-16-23 North Dakota oil production fell 13% in December and fell below 1 million barrels per day for only the fourth month since early 2017. The sharp drop, however, was expected after the state was hit by…
Attacks On The U.S. Power Grid Are Surging
Attacks On The U.S. Power Grid Are Surging Feb 21, 2023 The number of attacks with gunfire or vandalism on the U.S. power grid infrastructure surged last year and is likely to continue rising this year, too, a confidential analysis seen by The Wall Street Journal has shown. Last year,…
EPA undoes Trump-era power plant rollback
EPA undoes Trump-era power plant rollback 02/17/2023 A quixotic and clamorous regulatory saga perhaps unmatched in Clean Air Act history has ended — at least for now. In a final rule unveiled Friday, EPA restored the legal underpinnings of a 2012 set of regulations for emissions of mercury, a neurotoxin…
War-roiled LNG markets see a major swing to Europe in 2022 and tight supplies in 2023
War-roiled LNG markets see a major swing to Europe in 2022 and tight supplies in 2023 Energize Weekly, February 22, 2023 The Russian invasion of Ukraine and a pandemic economic hangover has roiled global liquefied natural gas (LNG) markets in ways that could lead to a short-term dearth, but a…
‘New era’ for wind industry as Vestas makes blade recycling breakthrough
‘New era’ for wind industry as Vestas makes blade recycling breakthrough 2/8/23 Vestas has unveiled a crucial new technology that could put an end to decommissioned wind turbine blades being sent for scrap. The Danish manufacturing company says its solution “renders epoxy-based turbine blades as circular”, without the need for…
U.S. shale oil and natgas output set to rise to record highs in March -EIA
U.S. shale oil and natgas output set to rise to record highs in March -EIA February 13, 2023 U.S. crude oil and natural gas production from the seven biggest shale basins is expected to rise to record highs in March, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its monthly…
Duke Energy plans gas plants as it moves away from coal, but critics see higher cost and emissions
Duke Energy plans gas plants as it moves away from coal, but critics see higher cost and emissions February 14, 2023 Three years ago, Duke Energy opened its newest natural gas-fired power plant in Asheville, on the site of an old coal-fired plant. Duke wants to build more gas plants…
Renewables and nuclear set to cover global growth in electricity demand, IEA says
Renewables and nuclear set to cover global growth in electricity demand, IEA says Energize Weekly, February 15, 2023 New renewable and nuclear generation is set to meet 90 percent of the growing demand for electricity globally during the next three years, while increasing extreme weather will test grid resilience, according…
Washington State Issues Enforcement Order Against U.S. Army Over Yakima Training Center Contamination
Washington State Issues Enforcement Order Against U.S. Army Over Yakima Training Center Contamination February 1, 2023 The U.S. Army’s Yakima Training Center contains dozens of sites contaminated by chemical spills and toxic waste, including some that have threatened drinking water supplies in nearby wells. In order to ensure the Army…
More than half of new U.S. electric-generating capacity in 2023 will be solar
More than half of new U.S. electric-generating capacity in 2023 will be solar FEBRUARY 6, 2023 Developers plan to add 54.5 gigawatts (GW) of new utility-scale electric-generating capacity to the U.S. power grid in 2023, according to our Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory. More than half of this capacity will…
Hydrogen is supplementing natural gas, but critics remain wary
Hydrogen is supplementing natural gas, but critics remain wary FEB 6, 2023 A public utility is experimenting with blending small amounts of carbon-free hydrogen into natural gas lines in some Minnesota homes, but critics argue the procedure remains largely an exercise in hot air. As first reported last week by…
FBI says Baltimore County woman plotted to ‘shoot up’ BGE electric substations
FBI says Baltimore County woman plotted to ‘shoot up’ BGE electric substations February 6, 2023 A Baltimore County woman has been arrested on charges for allegedly plotting to destroy electric substations in the Baltimore region, federal authorities said during a press conference on Monday. Sarah Beth Clendaniel was recorded detailing…
The United States Is Facing Electricity Famine
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…
Judge dismisses lawsuit over TVA’s long-term deals
Judge dismisses lawsuit over TVA’s long-term deals Feb. 7, 2023 A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by environmental groups that challenged how the nation’s largest public utility signs up local power providers for two-decade contracts. A ruling by U.S. District Judge Thomas L. Parker in Memphis last week sided…
Renewable tax credits and changes on the grid are making most coal-fired plants uneconomical
Renewable tax credits and changes on the grid are making most coal-fired plants uneconomical Energize Weekly, February 8, 2023 A combination of new federal incentives for renewable generation and a shift in the way electric grids are managed has led to a point where it is more expensive to operate…
California is lone holdout in Colorado River cuts proposal
California is lone holdout in Colorado River cuts proposal January 31, 2023 Six Western states that rely on water from the Colorado River have agreed on a model to dramatically cut water use in the basin, months after the federal government called for action and an initial deadline passed. California…
FERC Directs NERC to Tighten Bulk Electric System Cybersecurity
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…
Natural gas-fired power replacing coal-fired electricity in Pennsylvania
Natural gas-fired power replacing coal-fired electricity in Pennsylvania JANUARY 30, 2023 According to a new report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, natural gas-fired power plants have replaced coal-fired power plants in Pennsylvania over the last two decades. In 2001, natural gas accounted for 2 percent of the electricity produced…
