DOE announces $45 million investment for cybersecurity research FEBRUARY 26, 2024 The Department of Energy on Monday announced a $45 million investment into cybersecurity research for the energy sector, including projects on artificial intelligence detection and response and quantum communication for the grid. DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and…
Texas Lawmaker files bill that would allow the rest of the country to access Texas’ power grid
Texas Lawmaker files bill that would allow the rest of the country to access Texas’ power grid February 18, 2024 Congressman Greg Casar, D-Austin, says it is the first time it has ever happened in Congress: a bill was drafted and filed that would make Texas connect its power grid…
Oak Ridge public-private partnership looks to advance quantum tech for the power grid
Oak Ridge public-private partnership looks to advance quantum tech for the power grid FEBRUARY 1, 2024 A new cooperative endeavor based at Tennessee’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory unites public and private sector players to push forward advancements in the quantum sciences field, particularly for solutions to further secure the U.S.…
PJM Urges Delayed Retirement of 840-MW Fossil Fuel Power Plant, Citing Reliability Impacts
PJM Urges Delayed Retirement of 840-MW Fossil Fuel Power Plant, Citing Reliability Impacts January 10, 2024 PJM has urged Talen Energy to delay its deactivation of two of four units at the 840-MW coal, oil, and gas–fired Herbert A. Wagner Generating Station in Maryland until transmission upgrades are put into…
Coordination of Texas electric and natural gas sectors key in dealing with blackouts
Coordination of Texas electric and natural gas sectors key in dealing with blackouts Energize Weekly, January 10, 2024 Better coordination between the Texas electric and natural gas industries is key to getting individual generating facilities up and running – a so-called blackstart – after a cold-weather blackout, according to a…
Energy cases to watch in 2024
Energy cases to watch in 2024 01/02/2024 Energy regulators’ power to address planet-warming emissions is in the crosshairs in federal courts in 2024. In one of the year’s biggest cases, the Supreme Court could rein in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s ability to use 50-year-old laws to take bold action…
FERC sets exit fee formula ending four-year battle between Tri-State G&T and its largest co-op
FERC sets exit fee formula ending four-year battle between Tri-State G&T and its largest co-op Energize Weekly, January 3, 2024 After a four-year battle over how much it will cost the Colorado electric cooperative United Power to leave its wholesale power provider, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, federal regulators settled…
New manufacturing facilities and data centers are driving increased electricity demand
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…
FirstEnergy Subsidiaries Awarded More Than $800 Million in Transmission Upgrades
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…
U.S. Hit Second Highest Hourly Peak Demand This Summer, EIA Reports
U.S. Hit Second Highest Hourly Peak Demand This Summer, EIA Reports October 6, 2023 This summer, the United States hit the second highest peak electricity demand since the Energy Information Administration began collecting data in 2016, the agency said. Peak hourly electricity demand in the continental United States reached 741,815…
Losing member co-ops, Tri-State seeks to sell its electricity on the wholesale power market
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
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
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…
SRP and APS report record-breaking electricity demand during July heat wave
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…
Wind and solar are propping up the Texas power grid amid a brutally long heat wave
Wind and solar are propping up the Texas power grid amid a brutally long heat wave July 28, 2023 As Texas bakes under a sweltering heat dome this summer and people crank their air conditioners, the state’s energy demand has smashed records. But the power has stayed on and prices…
Northland transmission line to boost reliability as renewables replace power plants
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…
Congestion on the U.S. electric grid added $20.8 billion in costs in 2022
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.…
PPL outlines first-of-its-kind technology
PPL outlines first-of-its-kind technology Jul 16, 2023 PPL Electric Utilities is bolstering the reliability of the power it delivers to its more than 1.4 million customers with the use of Dynamic Line Rating (DLR) technology, a first-of-its-kind technology that is garnering national recognition. In 2022, PPL Electric became the first…
Northern Maine power line project moves forward, slowly
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…
U.S. solar industry sets record in the first quarter of 2023 but faces a host of challenges
U.S. solar industry sets record in the first quarter of 2023 but faces a host of challenges Energize Weekly, June 28, 2023 After a record-setting first quarter in 2023, the U.S. solar industry is poised for rapid growth while facing a spate of challenges including system underperformance, labor shortages and…
FERC finalizes new rules to improve reliability in extreme weather conditions
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…
U.S. grid facing blackout risks this summer and next winter, reliability agency warns
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.…
New FERC rule creates incentive-based rate treatment for utilities investing in cybersecurity
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…
Surge in clean generation and storage projects creating a backlog on U.S. electric grids
Surge in clean generation and storage projects creating a backlog on U.S. electric grids Energize Weekly, April 26, 2023 A surge in clean energy projects – a 40 percent year-over-year increase in 2022 – is creating a traffic jam in getting onto the U.S. electric grid, according to a Lawrence…
A key link in bringing Wyoming wind power to California gets federal BLM approval
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…
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…
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…
More than 43,000 miles of new transmission lines needed in the U.S. by 2040, DOE study says
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…
DOE touts grid expansion plans as operators raise concerns
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,…
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…
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…
Senators explore power supply failure — especially natural gas — during Christmas storm
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…
Winter Storm Elliott stressed regional electric grids across the U.S. in different ways
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…
Colorado co-ops say Xcel Energy mismanaged natural gas supplies during 2021 storm
Colorado co-ops say Xcel Energy mismanaged natural gas supplies during 2021 storm Energize Weekly, January 11, 2023 The fallout from the soaring natural gas prices created by Winter Storm Uri in 2021 continues as four rural Colorado electric cooperatives have filed a complaint with federal regulators saying they were overcharged…
US FERC to act on backstop transmission siting, long-running gas pipeline disputes
US FERC to act on backstop transmission siting, long-running gas pipeline disputes 12 Dec 2022 The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is poised to act on transmission siting, key pipeline rate disputes, and two important natural gas pipeline certificates at its last meeting of the year Dec. 15, potentially Democrat…
Wholesale on-peak electricity rates set to jump this winter by as much as 60 percent, EIA says
Wholesale on-peak electricity rates set to jump this winter by as much as 60 percent, EIA says Energize Weekly, December 14, 2022 On-peak wholesale and retail electricity prices are set to rise across the country this winter, with some regional wholesale rates jumping as much as 60 percent compared to…
NYISO reports sufficient electricity supplies expected to meet winter demands
NYISO reports sufficient electricity supplies expected to meet winter demands 11/28/22 The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) reported Monday, that they expect sufficient electricity supplies in the state are expected to meet demands this winter. “The New York State bulk electric system is well positioned to meet this winter’s…
U.S. grid faces “unprecedented” risk of electricity shortfalls this winter, NERC warns
U.S. grid faces “unprecedented” risk of electricity shortfalls this winter, NERC warns Energize Weekly, November 23, 2022 A large swatch of the U.S. electricity grid – in Texas, the Midwest, Southeast and New England – is at risk of being unable to provide adequate power in the face of extreme…
ComEd to file multi-year grid plan, rate plan
ComEd to file multi-year grid plan, rate plan November 07, 2022 ComEd, a Chicago-based energy company, will file a multi-year grid plan along with a four-year rate plan in line with the requirements of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA). The plan will align closely with the state of…
AEP, Liberty reach amended agreement
AEP, Liberty reach amended agreement September 30, 2022 American Electric Power has signed an amended agreement on the sale of its Kentucky operations to Liberty, according to a press release. AEP expects to close the sale in January 2023 after approval of the transaction from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,…
Dominion May End $10B Offshore Wind Project Over Performance Clause
Dominion May End $10B Offshore Wind Project Over Performance Clause AUG 28, 2022 The giant utility Dominion Energy has found itself in a disagreement with state regulators over a proposed performance guarantee for its $10 billion Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, one of the largest planned wind farms in the…
3 issues to watch as heat strains the grid
3 issues to watch as heat strains the grid 08/01/2022 From the Pacific Northwest to coastal New England, millions of Americans have endured sweltering temperatures in recent weeks, driving record energy consumption and offering a snapshot of emerging risks facing the nation’s power system. While grid operators say the electricity…
North American power grid faced extreme weather and cyberattack risks in 2021
North American power grid faced extreme weather and cyberattack risks in 2021 Energize Weekly, July 27, 2022 The North American electric grid faced unprecedented challenges from severe weather, cyberattacks and problems with natural gas supplies in 2021, but with except one exception – in Texas – utilities and grid operators…
Fossil-fuel electric generation challenged in Texas heat wave, raising reliability questions
Fossil-fuel electric generation challenged in Texas heat wave, raising reliability questions Energize Weekly, July 6, 2022 An early season heat wave in May tested the Texas grid, raising questions about the relation of baseload, fossil-fuel generation to wind and solar, according to analysis by the Institute for Energy Economics and…
Ameren aims to charge customers for closure of Rush Island coal plant
Ameren aims to charge customers for closure of Rush Island coal plant June 21, 2022 The costs to close the region’s second-largest power plant, after decades of Clean Air Act violations, are rising. Electric utility Ameren has proposed the construction of $244 million in electric lines and other upgrades before…
Indiana utilities brace for possible rolling blackouts, Kentucky meeting demands
Indiana utilities brace for possible rolling blackouts, Kentucky meeting demands Jun 13, 2022 Summer is kicking in with heat and humidity this week, and that puts a strain on the power grid to keep up with demand. Parts of Indiana could face rolling blackouts, according to the Midcontinent Independent System…
FERC chair on grid: ‘The old way doesn’t work’
FERC chair on grid: ‘The old way doesn’t work’ 05/20/2022 The growing threat of power outages fueled by extreme weather calls for new approaches to grid oversight, the head of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said yesterday, adding that utilities and grid operators should “think differently.” Read more
Colonial Pipeline Ransomware Attack: Lessons for Technologists
Colonial Pipeline Ransomware Attack: Lessons for Technologists May 23, 2022 While technologists have always understood the damage that ransomware could do to an organization’s infrastructure and data, the May 2021 attack that targeted Colonial Pipeline IT infrastructure changed the game for good. Read more
Nuclear plant owner Talen Energy Supply files for bankruptcy
Nuclear plant owner Talen Energy Supply files for bankruptcy May 11, 2022 Talen Energy Supply, the owner of the Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Salem Twp., has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The Woodlands, Texas-based company, a unit of Talen Energy Corp. which runs 18 power generation facilities, filed for…
California Power Officials Warn of Power Shortfalls This Summer Amid Increasing Strain from Climate Change
California Power Officials Warn of Power Shortfalls This Summer Amid Increasing Strain from Climate Change May 6, 2022 California power regulators are warning of power shortages and possible blackouts this summer as the state’s electrical grid faces increasing strain from drought and extreme heat. “We know reliability is going to…