close

EUCI Blog

Transition costs to a zero-emissions transport system drop with falling battery prices

Energize Weekly, July 22, 2020 The cost of a transitioning to zero-carbon transportation is plummeting – thanks to a drop in battery prices – and may not need much in the way of direct government investment to speed the adoption of zero-emission vehicles, according to an analysis by University of California, Davis researchers. In 2016,…

Read more
Coronavirus continues to twist and warp energy demand in the U.S., studies find

Energize Weekly, July 8, 2020 The novel coronavirus pandemic continues to torque and warp energy demand and markets in the U.S. from shifts in electricity demand to filling commercial oil storage to record levels. Electricity demand is projected by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) to be the lowest since 2009 – 998 billion kilowatt-hours…

Read more
COVID-19 drives down electricity demand, puts renewable projects and balance sheets at risk

Energize Weekly, April 15, 2020 The impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic on electricity demand in the U.S. and on the utility industry is becoming clearer with lower loads, changing peak demands, more emphasis on renewable generation and emerging financial risks. U.S. power usage is set to drop more steeply in 2020 than in any…

Read more
Electricity demand drops as utilities enact plans to keep lights on during the pandemic

Energize Weekly, April 1, 2020 The closing of businesses and sheltering-in-place of millions of citizens to tamp down the novel coronavirus pandemic is dampening demand for electricity, even as utilities across the country put in place emergency plans to keep electrons flowing through the grid. Between March 14 and March 24, daily peak demand was…

Read more
Global energy consumption set to rise 50 percent by 2050 led by rapid growth in Asia, EIA says

Energize Weekly, January 8, 2020 Global energy consumption is projected to grow 50 percent between 2018 and 2050, spurred by a rising demand for energy in Asia and a sharp growth in electricity as a key energy source, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). In its annual International Energy Outlook, the EIA projects…

Read more
Tri-State adds new member, natural gas broker MIECO, in bid to qualify for FERC regulation

Energize Weekly, September 11, 2019 Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association has added energy services company MIECO Inc. as its first non-rural electric cooperative member, clearing the way for the association to be regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). In July, Tri-State, which serves 43 electric cooperatives in four states – Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming…

Read more
U.S. electricity prices up slightly in the past 12 months spurred by sharp regional differences

Energize Weekly, September 4, 2019 Average electricity prices in the U.S. edged up three-tenths of a percent in the most recent 12-month rolling period, which ended in May 2019, compared to the previous 12-month span, according to the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA). There were, however, sharp regional and state differences with falling rates in…

Read more
Powder River Basin coal, accounting for 40 percent of U.S. production, is controlled by troubled companies

Energize Weekly, September 4, 2019 Sixteen mines in the Powder River Basin (PRB), which covers northeast Wyoming and southeast Montana, supply more than 40 percent of the coal produced in the U.S., and the bulk of that production is controlled by four companies, according to an analysis by the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA). The…

Read more
TVA approves $10.6 billion budget and a plan to add up to 14 GW of solar power by 2038

Energize Weekly, August 28, 2019 The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) board of directors at their August meeting approved a $10.6 billion budget for 2020 and a resource plan that could include up to 14 gigawatts (GW) of new solar capacity by 2038. The TVA, a federal agency, provides electricity to business customers and local power…

Read more
Colorado PUC moves to block Tri-State plan to move from state to FERC regulation

Energize Weekly, August 21, 2019 The Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has filed an unprecedented protest with federal regulators seeking to block the bid by Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association to move from state to federal rate regulation. Tri-State, which wants to shift rate regulation to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), provides wholesale power…

Read more
Oil will have to drop to $10/barrel to stay competitive with EVs and renewables, BNP Paribas study says

Energize Weekly, August 14, 2019 The economics for electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy charging have become so competitive that in the future, the price of oil will have to be no more than $10 a barrel to compete, according to analysis by Paris-based BNP Paribas. The analysis – Wells, Wires and Wheels – is…

Read more
Tri-State reaches exit deal with Colo. co-op, seeks FERC regulation on rates and contracts

Energize Weekly, July 31, 2019 After more than two years of sometimes acrimonious negotiations, fights before a state utilities commission and lawsuits, the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association has agreed to terms allowing one of its rural Colorado cooperatives to leave next year. Four days after filing the agreement with Colorado Public Utilities Commission (CPUC),…

Read more