Utilities are struggling to keep the lights on as fires, drought plague California AUG 1 2021 The electric grid in the West is being tested like never before amid extreme-weather events, including raging wildfires and severe droughts fueled by climate change. Read more
Bipartisan $1T Senate infrastructure bill focuses on nuclear, carbon capture, transmission
Bipartisan $1T Senate infrastructure bill focuses on nuclear, carbon capture, transmission Aug. 3, 2021 A bipartisan group of senators on Sunday unveiled its nearly $1 trillion infrastructure bill, formalized into text following a 67-32 consensus to advance the legislation. The vote to advance the bill included the support of 17 Republicans. Read…
PG&E Announces Plan to Underground 10,000 Miles of Power Lines in Highest Fire-Threat Areas
PG&E Announces Plan to Underground 10,000 Miles of Power Lines in Highest Fire-Threat Areas JUL 27, 2021 Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) recently announced a major initiative to expand the undergrounding of electric distribution power lines in High Fire-Threat Districts (HFTD) to further harden its system and help prevent…
Hydropower worries grow as Colorado River reservoirs continue to dry up
Hydropower worries grow as Colorado River reservoirs continue to dry up July 19, 2021 The water levels behind the Colorado River’s biggest dams are fast-approaching or already at record lows, thanks to a 21-year megadrought that’s squeezing water supplies across the Southwest. But the effects of drought are likely to…
Connecticut launches nine-year effort to build up EV charging infrastructure
Connecticut launches nine-year effort to build up EV charging infrastructure July 19, 2021 The Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) approved a nine-year program to support electric vehicle charging infrastructure installation in the state. PURA established a statewide Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Program that provides a combination of incentives for…
Growing Oregon Wildfire Threatens California Transmission Lines, State Issues Grid Warning
Growing Oregon Wildfire Threatens California Transmission Lines, State Issues Grid Warning July 10, 2021 Southern Oregon’s Bootleg Fire has grown to more than 143,000 acres as of Sunday morning, doubling in size from Saturday, when California energy officials warned it was encroaching on power transmission lines to the state. Read…
California energy officials seeking additional capacity for the summer
California energy officials seeking additional capacity for the summer July 2, 2021 Citing climate change-driven heat events, California energy officials announced Thursday that the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), the operator of the state’s power grid, would exercise its authority to procure additional capacity. Read more
Texas power grid overcomes problems to meet record June demand
Texas power grid overcomes problems to meet record June demand June 25, 2021 Peak electricity demand in Texas broke June’s record on Thursday and was expected to do so again on Friday, the power grid operator said, but there was no repeat of last week’s problems when a significant amount…
Hawai’i Microgrid Tariff Framework Could Become Model for Other States
Hawai’i Microgrid Tariff Framework Could Become Model for Other States June 28, 2021 Last month Hawai’i become only the second state with a formal microgrid services tariff, and its framework could become a model for other states, according to Microgrid Knowledge, a national publication. Read more
CPUC issues proposal establishing independent safety monitor over PG&E
CPUC issues proposal establishing independent safety monitor over PG&E 15 JUNE 2021 As part of the continuing efforts to hold Pacific Gas and Electric Co. accountable for its safety performance, the California Public Utilities Commission has issued a scope of work for an independent safety monitor. Read more
Texas grid operator urges electricity conservation as many power generators are unexpectedly offline and temperatures rise
Texas grid operator urges electricity conservation as many power generators are unexpectedly offline and temperatures rise JUNE 14, 2021 The Electric Reliability Council of Texas says a large number of power plants are offline, but it could not provide details as to what may be causing the “very concerning” number…
Queue for electric generation and storage projects is growing across the U.S.
Queue for electric generation and storage projects is growing across the U.S. Energize Weekly, June 2, 2021 The queue of electricity generation and storage projects is growing year-on-year, reaching a total of 950 gigawatts (GW) of capacity by the end of 2020, according to a survey by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.…
Texas Legislature close to approving billions to pay for winter storm financial fallout
Texas Legislature close to approving billions to pay for winter storm financial fallout MAY 25, 2021 Several billions of dollars in state-approved financing will be necessary to stabilize the state’s distressed energy market after the winter storm. Texas approves more in finance bailouts for its utilities than any other state.…
New England grid expects 1 million electric vehicles, 1 million electric heat pumps by 2030
New England grid expects 1 million electric vehicles, 1 million electric heat pumps by 2030 5/11/2021 The organization that oversees the six-state power grid predicts New England will see one million electric cars and trucks on its roads and more than one million electric heat pumps in homes and businesses…
Union City to go off power grid for two weeks
Union City to go off power grid for two weeks Don Reid, April 22, 2021 Consumers Energy, the village of Union City, and Michigan South Central Power Agency have approved transferring a wholesale power sales agreement from the power agency to the village. Read More
Cost of winterizing Texas electricity grid worth the expense, Dallas Federal Reserve says
Cost of winterizing Texas electricity grid worth the expense, Dallas Federal Reserve says Energize Weekly, April 21, 2021 The cost of weatherizing the Texas electric power system – which faced a major collapse during a February freeze – could run into hundreds of millions of dollars, but the expense would…
The cost of power grid independence
Jim Redden, March 15, 2021 Being a leading producer of any commodity means little if you’re unable to faithfully distribute it to your customers. The state of Texas failed that elementary business principle in spectacular fashion during February’s historic deep freeze. Read more
Electric grid threatened by climate change, federal agencies need to do more, GAO says
Energize Weekly, March 17, 2021 Climate change – the heat waves, flooding, droughts, and hurricanes it may bring – poses a multibillion-dollar threat to the country’s aging electric grid, according to a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). Without significant efforts to upgrade the grid and make it…
The U.S. Grid Isn’t Ready For A Major Shift To Renewables
By Irina Slav – Mar 03, 2021 The blame game for the massive power outages in Texas last month continues. The dominant argument is that renewables had an ignorable part to play in the crisis, with natural gas and coal the indirect culprits due to their reduced availability resulting from infrastructure freezing…
The $7 Trillion Cost Of Upgrading The U.S. Power Grid
By Leonard Hyman & William Tilles – Feb 25, 2021 We have just witnessed the damage caused by poorly designed energy grids—rolling blackouts, skyrocketing electricity prices, people sleeping in their cars and in one insulated room to keep warm. At the same time a weaponized right wing media swings into action blaming…
California Utilities Will Buy More Energy, Hike Rates to Avoid Blackouts: CPUC
By Olga R. Rodriguez • Published February 12, 2021 Utilities will be allowed to buy extra energy and pass on the costs to customers in order to avoid a repeat of rolling blackouts that kicked in last summer when demand outpaced supply, California regulators said Thursday. Read more
