By Mark Jaffe, EUCI energy writer Six consumer advocates – across four states and the District of Columbia – have filed a complaint with federal regulators contending that the rate design of the country’s largest grid, the PJM Interconnection, is creating “crushing” capacity prices. For the 2025-2026 delivery year, those capacity prices jumped sevenfold to…
Trend toward electric utility rate increases in regulated markets continues in 2024 September 9, 2024 Utility regulators in the United States are considering increases to electricity rates again this year as electric utilities seek to cover the investments needed to maintain and expand their systems. Utilities requested rate increases in recent years to pay for…
Southern California Edison Seeks to Recover $1.6 Billion of Wildfire-Related Losses Aug. 29, 2024 Southern California Edison, a unit of utility Edison International, said on Thursday it was seeking approval for a settlement agreement to recover nearly 60% of losses related to wildfires and mudslides in 2017 and 2018. Under the agreement with the California…
Residential solar prices drop as size of installations grow and more batteries are added Energize Weekly, September 4, 2024 The size of residential solar systems has been rising as solar module efficiency increases and solar panel costs decline, according to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s annual Tracking the Sun report. Generating capacity for individual residential…
FERC rejects Basin Electric’s bid for special cryptocurrency mine and large load rates Energize Weekly, August 28, 2024 The Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s plan for special rates for cryptocurrency mines and other large loads was rejected by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which said the co-op had not proved they were needed. “We find…
Data centers driving Oklo’s nuclear project pipeline 8.15.2024 Advanced nuclear company Oklo now has non-binding letters of intent for about 1,350 MW of microreactor capacity, a 93% increase from its 700 MW project pipeline in July 2023, the company told investors in its Q2 earnings call this week. Of the 650 MW announced during the…
Market problems, poor planning causing price hikes in nation’s largest electric market, critics say August 20, 2024 After years of climbing electric prices nationwide, customers in the United States’ largest power market are about to get squeezed harder. Last month, PJM, which coordinates the flow of electricity for an area that includes all or parts…
Appeals Court rules against Duke Energy in competition for Fayetteville’s business August 5, 2024 The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals has thrown out a lower court order and ruled against Duke Energy in a dispute over providing electricity to customers in Fayetteville. A competitor argued that Duke had engaged in illegal anticompetitive practices to…
Maine regulators will map out the next decade’s demands on the power grid July 29, 2024 An initial 10-year plan by the state for guiding Maine’s electric utilities includes goals of improving the reliability and resilience of the power grid system in the face of climate change — while also keeping costs affordable for consumers.…
U.S. electricity demand to rise spurred by the growth of data centers and electric vehicles Energize Weekly, July 31, 2024 After remaining relatively flat for the last 20 years, U.S. electricity demand is projected to grow 13 percent by 2030, boosted by demands from data centers, electric vehicles (EVs) and changing patterns of residential use,…
Seattle City Light to increase rates due to higher demand, rising energy costs July 15, 2024 The Seattle City Light Department recently announced a plan to increase rates for customers amid a growing energy demand and heightened labor costs. Customers could see a 5.4% rate increase in 2025 and 2026, which equates to about an…
How Chevron’s fall could remake the energy sector 07/01/2024 The Supreme Court’s decision Friday to give judges more authority over federal agencies creates new hurdles for the Biden administration as it seeks to promote low-carbon energy and address climate change. Forty years after the justices first decided Chevron v. NRDC, the high court opted to…