ERCOT cancels additional capacity request for winter, CEO says Texas grid is ‘adequately’ prepared November 19, 2023 The state’s power grid won’t add any additional capacity this winter, according to an ERCOT statement. ERCOT said it made this decision after weighing various factors and accounting for a limited market response.…
U.S. DOE awards $3.5 billion for 58 projects to make electric grids safer and more resilient
U.S. DOE awards $3.5 billion for 58 projects to make electric grids safer and more resilient Energize Weekly, October 25, 2023 The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has made $3.5 billion in grants to utilities in 44 states to improve grid reliability and to take measures to meet the risks…
Global electricity grid must be upgraded urgently to hit climate goals, says IEA
Global electricity grid must be upgraded urgently to hit climate goals, says IEA 17 Oct 2023 Ministers have been urged to “open their eyes” to the need to build a vast network of new electricity grids to allow countries to hit climate goals, the chief of the world’s energy watchdog…
State awarded $17.2 million grant for power grid resilience
Colorado awarded $17.2 million grant for power grid resilience Sep 28, 2023 The Colorado Energy Office and state Department of Local Affairs were granted $17.2 million in federal funds for improving the resilience and reliability of Colorado’s electric grid against climate-driven extreme weather events and aging infrastructure. As part of…
Hawaiian Electric begins restoration work in Lahaina at request of Maui Emergency Operations Center
Hawaiian Electric begins restoration work in Lahaina at request of Maui Emergency Operations Center September 21, 2023 Hawaiian Electric reports that replacement of poles and electrical equipment damaged in last months windstorms and wildfires in Lahaina will get underway at the request of Maui emergency management officials. This work will…
Dominion, in rare move, details data centers’ big electricity demands
Dominion, in rare move, details data centers’ big electricity demands Sep 18, 2023 Data centers, some of the biggest electricity users of all, have signed agreements with Dominion Energy showing they expect to use the equivalent of 35% of the record flow of electricity the utility saw during last year’s…
Eversource presents plans for electrical grid upgrades, without fossil fuels
Eversource presents plans for electrical grid upgrades, without fossil fuels Sep. 03, 2023 Eversource has announced its first draft of improvements it hopes to make to the state’s electrical grid, boosting clean energy production and reducing the use of fossil fuels. The final plan — which will meet company requirements…
Hawaii power utility takes responsibility for first fire on Maui, but faults county firefighters
Hawaii power utility takes responsibility for first fire on Maui, but faults county firefighters August 28, 2023 Hawaii’s electric utility acknowledged its power lines started a wildfire on Maui but faulted county firefighters for declaring the blaze contained and leaving the scene, only to have a second wildfire break out…
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…
Hawaiian Electric shares plummet 40% after Maui wildfires lawsuit
Hawaiian Electric shares plummet 40% after Maui wildfires lawsuit August 15, 2023 Shares of Hawaiian Electric have plummeted nearly 40% since trading opened Monday over concerns that the utility company could be held liable for damage wrought by the Maui wildfires. A class-action lawsuit filed against Hawaiian Electric on Saturday…
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…
Cyberattacks on the power grid are on the rise as utilities seeking security play catch-up
Cyberattacks on the power grid are on the rise as utilities seeking security play catch-up Energize Weekly, August 9, 2023 In the summer of 2022, the Colorado Springs Utilities alerted its customers that their data from its system had been hacked. Several months later, 2,000 wind turbines in Germany were…
Probe Into 2022 Attack on Kern County PG&E Facility Hits Dead End
Probe Into 2022 Attack on Kern County PG&E Facility Hits Dead End Jul 10 Investigators have hit a dead end in their investigation of a July 2022 incident in which gunfire caused nearly $6 million in damage to a PG&E substation near Bakersfield. It’s one of a string of unsolved…
Penelec Boosts Service Reliability with Summer Preparations in Pennsylvania
Penelec Boosts Service Reliability with Summer Preparations in Pennsylvania June 26, 2023 Penelec, a FirstEnergy subsidiary, is enhancing service reliability by inspecting and maintaining equipment across its 31-county northern and central Pennsylvania service area for the upcoming hot summer months. Crews are completing inspections of the local energy delivery system…
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…
JCP&L, looking to reduce outages, to spend $34M to trim trees in 9 counties
JCP&L, looking to reduce outages, to spend $34M to trim trees in 9 counties June 9, 2023 Jersey Central Power & Light announced Thursday that it is investing approximately $34 million in 2023 to trim trees along more than 3,400 miles of power lines across its central and northern New…
Austin to enter mutual aid agreement with neighboring utility companies after February freeze
Austin to enter mutual aid agreement with neighboring utility companies after February freeze June 2, 2023 A little over three months after an ice storm left tens of thousands of Austin Energy customers without electricity, some for as long as two weeks, the Austin City Council on Thursday ratified a…
Lawmakers eye compromise bill to bolster power lines in permitting negotiations
Lawmakers eye compromise bill to bolster power lines in permitting negotiations 05/25/23 Lawmakers appear to be considering a compromise bill to bolster the nation’s power lines as part of efforts to tie energy permitting reforms to legislation that would lift the debt ceiling. A source briefed on the issue told…
Grant County’s $75 Million Electric System Upgrade Project Nearing Completion
Grant County’s $75 Million Electric System Upgrade Project Nearing Completion May 15, 2023 Grant County PUD is set to undergo a comprehensive electric-system upgrade project across 10 different sites, costing approximately $75 million. The aim of these upgrades is to minimize outage durations and enhance the electric supply for residential,…
ComEd says traditionally summer preparations becoming year-round reality for grid resilience
ComEd says traditionally summer preparations becoming year-round reality for grid resilience May 08, 2023 According to a presentation of ComEd’s summer readiness and plans to the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC), mechanisms are in place to assure reliability for its 9 million customers in northern Illinois. Summer is traditionally the time…
Cybersecurity goes undercover to protect electric grid data
Cybersecurity goes undercover to protect electric grid data 2-May-2023 Inspired by one of the mysteries of human perception, an ORNL researcher invented a new way to hide sensitive electric grid information from cyberattack: Within a constantly-changing color palette. Peter Fuhr, who heads the Grid Communications and Security group at ORNL,…
FirstEnergy Ohio firms file plan to invest in grid security, customer assistance and energy efficiency
FirstEnergy Ohio firms file plan to invest in grid security, customer assistance and energy efficiency April 07, 2023 With submission of a proposed Electric Security Plan (ESP) this week to state regulators, Ohio Edison, Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company and Toledo Edison sought to bolster their investments into distribution modernization and…
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…
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…
California could keep the lights on by expanding grid across the West, report finds
California could keep the lights on by expanding grid across the West, report finds MARCH 03, 2023 Expanding California’s electricity grid to cooperate with neighboring states would bolster reliability and affordability while reducing carbon emissions, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy concluded in a new report. The report released…
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,…
Electric Vehicles Loom Large in U.S. Power Grid Modernization
Electric Vehicles Loom Large in U.S. Power Grid Modernization February 9, 2023 Since its inception, the U.S. electric grid has mostly operated smoothly as one synchronous machine with a one-directional flow of electricity to meet the nation’s predictable power needs. However, as older centralized thermal resources are being replaced with…
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…
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…
State lawmakers propose power grid protections after attacks
State lawmakers propose power grid protections after attacks January 22, 2023 When gunshots at two electrical substations cut power to thousands of central North Carolina homes for several days in early December, Republican state Rep. Ben Moss watched his vibrant district full of family farms, small businesses and sprawling golf…
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…
Biden declares emergency in California as more winter storms advance
Biden declares emergency in California as more winter storms advance JAN 9 2023 President Joe Biden on Monday declared an emergency in California after a barrage of deadly winter storms has prompted widespread power outages and flooding since last week. Extreme downpours, high winds and flash floods have caused at…
AEP Ohio asking for rate increase to boost system reliability after last summer’s storms
AEP Ohio asking for rate increase to boost system reliability after last summer’s storms Jan. 6, 2023 Several months after powerful storms whacked AEP Ohio’s transmission system and forced the power company to turn off electricity to some Columbus-area neighborhoods to avoid a larger power loss, AEP is now asking…
Two Puyallup men charged in Pierce County power substation attacks
Two Puyallup men charged in Pierce County power substation attacks January 3, 2023 Two Puyallup men alleged to have attacked four Pierce County power substations over Christmas weekend will appear in U.S. District Court Tuesday. Matthew Greenwood, 32, and Jeremy Crahan, 40, were arrested Dec. 31, and face charges of…
Entergy Louisiana files proposed 10-year Entergy Future Ready resilience plan
Entergy Louisiana files proposed 10-year Entergy Future Ready resilience plan 12/19/2022 Today, Entergy Louisiana filed its proposed Phase I Entergy Future Ready resilience plan with the Louisiana Public Service Commission. Phase I seeks approval of the first five years of a 10-year resilience plan that would aim to accelerate the…
Boise State prof receives grant to develop power grid security that thinks like a human
Boise State prof receives grant to develop power grid security that thinks like a human DECEMBER 08, 2022 A Boise State associate professor is researching ways to improve the power grid’s reliability by creating electronics to make it think like a human brain. The United States Department of Energy is…
Tens of thousands still in the dark after ‘targeted’ attacks on North Carolina power substations
Tens of thousands still in the dark after ‘targeted’ attacks on North Carolina power substations December 5, 2022 With no suspects or motive announced, the FBI is joining the investigation into power outages in a North Carolina county believed to have been caused by “intentional” and “targeted” attacks on substations…
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…
Highway charging stations for EVs may need as much electricity as a small town
Highway charging stations for EVs may need as much electricity as a small town Energize Weekly, November 30, 2022 A growing number of electric cars and trucks on highways will by 2035 require charging stations demanding the same power as an outdoor sports arena or even a small town, according…
Biden-Harris Administration Announces $13 Billion To Modernize And Expand America’s Power Grid
Biden-Harris Administration Announces $13 Billion To Modernize And Expand America’s Power Grid NOVEMBER 18, 2022 The Biden-Harris Administration, through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $13 billion in new financing opportunities for the expansion and modernization of the nation’s electric grid. Funded by the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,…
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…
AEP to spend millions improving electrical grid to prevent another massive outage
AEP to spend millions improving electrical grid to prevent another massive outage November 14, 2022 Winter is right around the corner and those who lost power during this summer’s large storm, coupled with a heatwave, are wondering if another massive outage could happen again when the temperatures dip below freezing.…
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…
Puerto Rico’s Fragile Grid to Get Boost from Networked Batteries
Puerto Rico’s Fragile Grid to Get Boost from Networked Batteries November 1, 2022 Sunrun Inc was selected to develop a 17-megawatt electricity generation project in Puerto Rico that harnesses excess battery power from its residential solar customers. The California-based company will begin enrolling households into what is known as a…
Southern California Edison to spend $50M in pole drone inspection services
Southern California Edison to spend $50M in pole drone inspection services Oct. 20th 2022 Southern California Edison says it plans to spend an estimated $50 million in drone inspection services over the next three years to ensure that nearly 160,000 of its electricity poles are adequately maintained. The news comes…
ComEd cites major reliability improvements in 2022 compared to pre-smart grid efforts
ComEd cites major reliability improvements in 2022 compared to pre-smart grid efforts October 17, 2022 According to new metrics released by ComEd last week, efforts to improve the power grid in northern Illinois through smart grid technology yielded an 82 percent improvement in overall reliability compared to when improvements began…
Ohio Edison, The Illuminating Company Complete Three-Year Grid Modernization Project in Ashtabula County
Ohio Edison, The Illuminating Company Complete Three-Year Grid Modernization Project in Ashtabula County Oct. 6, 2022 Ohio Edison and The Illuminating Company are completing smart grid upgrades across Ashtabula County to help prevent or minimize the length of service disruptions, particularly during severe weather. The work includes installation of new,…
PNM unveils grid upgrade plan, possible added $1.20 monthly cost
PNM unveils grid upgrade plan, possible added $1.20 monthly cost Oct 3, 2022 A big new plan from PNM outlines some major possible upgrades to the grid providing electrical service to many New Mexicans, including changes that could offer more data about how customers are using electricity. The utility is…
