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Xcel Energy proposes TOU rates for all Colorado residential customers

Energize Weekly, March 4, 2020 Time-of-use electricity rates are increasingly being seen as a valuable tool in reducing peak demand and managing renewable energy generation – but concerns are being voiced over their impact on low-income and elderly customers. Xcel Energy is seeking to shift all of its 1.2 million Colorado residential customers to summer…

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Corporate clean energy purchases soared in 2019 to a record 19.5 GW, Bloomberg says

Energize Weekly, February 5, 2020 Corporations purchased a record 19.5 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy contracts in 2019, a 40 percent increase over 2019, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). Contracts, primarily power purchase agreements (PPAs), were signed by more than 100 companies in 23 different countries, marking a three-fold increase from 2017. “Corporations…

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IEA forecasts stable global coal demand despite sharp drops in the U.S. and Europe

Energize Weekly, January 8, 2020 Global coal demand in 2019 dropped, driven by coal-fired plant retirements in Europe and the U.S., but should be stable over the next five years due to growth in China and Asia, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The outlook for coal in the U.S. over the next five…

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Clean energy investment in the developing world dropped in 2018, led by China downturn

Energize Weekly, December 4, 2019 Clean energy investment in developing countries dropped by more than 20 percent in 2018 to $133 billion, while coal-fired generation surged, according to a Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) survey. “Both suggest that despite considerable recent progress, developing countries’ power sector CO2 emissions are rising rapidly,” BNEF’s annual Climatescope report…

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Five states with open electricity retail markets now have financial aid programs for nuclear plants

Energize Weekly, October 16, 2019 Five states have now moved to provide financial aid to their economically challenged nuclear power plants, according to a federal Energy Information Administration (EIA) report. In July, Ohio joined Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Illinois in offering financial relief or other assistance to their nuclear units, which have seen…

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EIA forecasts a 50 percent increase in energy demand by 2050 driven by Asian economies

Energize Weekly, October 2, 2019 World energy consumption is projected to grow by 50 percent by 2050, with most of that demand coming from growing Asian economies, according to the federal Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) International Energy Outlook. “Energy consumption was greater in Asia than in any other region in 2018, and we project that…

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Texas, California and U.S. West may face electricity reliability challenges this summer

Energize Weekly, June 26, 2019 There is adequate generating reverse to meet summer electricity demands in most of the U.S., while Texas, California and the West may face challenges, according to the North American Reliability Corp. (NERC) 2019 summer assessment. NERC, a nonprofit corporation overseeing regional electricity reliability in the Lower 48 United States, Canada…

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Electricity demand to be down this summer, coal’s share expected to drop, EIA says

Energize Weekly, May 15, 2019 Summer electricity generation in 2019 is forecast to be down 2 percent from last summer to 1,168 million megawatt-hours (MWh) with a sharp drop in how much of that power is provided by coal-fired plants. The energy mix for the summer highlights the ongoing shift in the generating portfolio with…

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FERC asked by officials in 18 states to ensure that utility tax savings go to customers

Energize Weekly, January 17, 2018 Consumer advocates and attorneys general from 18 states are calling for federal energy regulators to ensure that hundreds of millions of dollars in tax savings utilities are likely to gain from the new federal tax law are passed on to consumers. In letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC),…

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California to go it alone on electric reliability, but may try to lure other Western states to join it

Energize Weekly, January 10, 2018 In a move further fragmenting the Western power sector, the California grid operator last week announced it would become its own reliability coordinator, leaving the 14-state regional system. The move was prompted by the prospect of seven utilities and transmission operators in the Rocky Mountain region leaving the regional system,…

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Regulators eye customer rate cuts as utilities get a revenue boost from new federal tax law

Energize Weekly, January 10, 2018 The federal tax overhaul may provide a windfall in tax cuts and write-offs for utilities. Now, utility commissions and state officials around the country are looking to see if some of that money ought to flow back to customers. On Jan. 4, Oklahoma Corporation Commission administrative judges recommended that five Oklahoma…

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2017 saw upending events in the utility sector as long-term trends showed staying power

Energize Weekly, January 3, 2018 The utility industry faced a tumultuous 2017 with big policy initiatives from Washington and strong underlying trends continuing to challenge the sector. Many of the year’s big stories came from the Trump administration, but markets and corporate decisions also played a big role in defining 2017. And despite the high-profile…

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