featured top story
The California Public Utilities Commission is preparing the state's electric grid for an estimated 770-percent increase in behind-the-meter energy storage capacity by 2030.
Top Stories
A group of California community choice aggregators—Central Coast Community Energy, East Bay Community Energy, MCE and Silicon Valley Clean Energy—formed a new joint-powers agency focused on power-purchase financing. The California Community Choice Financing Authority has a goal of reducing p… Read More
Utilities and regulators are still sorting out how to integrate and regulate microgrids, which are gaining interest across the U.S. to meet reliability and decarbonization goals. But new business models and regulatory constructs will be needed for their integration, according to an expert panel. Read More
Another round of intense heat across the western U.S. prompted most energy prices to skyrocket in trading. Read More
The California Public Utilities Commission is preparing the state's electric grid for an estimated 770-percent increase in behind-the-meter energy storage capacity by 2030. Read More
Energy experts in California are proposing voluntary building energy code options that local cities and builders could follow in order to further decarbonize structures in the state. Read More
California's Wildfire Safety Advisory Board at a July 27 administrative meeting elected Jessica Block to serve as acting chair. Block, associate director of the WIFIRE Lab at the University of California, San Diego, steps into the post upon the conclusion of the terms of former Chair Marcie … Read More
We want to hear from you on energy issues and to share your thoughts with our readership. Read more
Monsoon conditions provided regional drought relief again this week, but dry conditions continued worsening across the West, especially in California and the Northwest. Read More
The Southwest Power Pool at a joint stakeholder meeting July 27 approved terms and conditions for expanding its regional transmission organization in the Western Interconnection. Read More
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors continued petitioning state government agencies to exercise more stringent oversight of operations at the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility by voting July 27 to send a letter to the California Public Utilities Commission opposing any increa… Read More
The City of San Francisco is aggressively pursuing taking control of power lines operated by Pacific Gas & Electric, having opened an inquiry with the California Public Utilities Commission to identify the comprehensive value of PG&E's electrical equipment within its city limits. Read More
Southern California Gas Co. is working on several different hydrogen-related projects designed to propel the state and nation to a net-zero carbon emissions economy by 2050. Read More
The Bonneville Power Administration has reaffirmed its internal analysis showing the benefits of joining the Western Energy Imbalance Market in March 2022, and is now asking for public comment on joining the real-time market. Read More
Executives from New Mexico's largest utility told regulators at a July 28 meeting they could face resource-adequacy issues in summer 2022 as pandemic-related supply chain disruptions and rising prices for solar panels collide with plans to close a large coal-fired power plant. Read More
A 505-MW coal-fired power plant in Colorado is back in operation after spending several days off line due to a fire in its coal storage facility. Read More
Seasonal storms unleashed their wrath once again on Arizona utility infrastructure, toppling dozens of poles in Tucson and Phoenix but also bringing rain to the drought-stricken area. Read More
PG&E Corp., the parent of Pacific Gas & Electric, on July 29 reported earnings for the second quarter. Not surprisingly, the company's July 29 earnings call focused on the financial impact of public-safety power shut-offs from wildfires and wildfire mitigation. Read More
Edison International, the parent company of Southern California Edison, on July 29 reported second-quarter 2021 profits of $318 million, or 84 cents per share, compared with net income of $318 million, or 85 cents per share, for the same period in 2020. As adjusted, second-quarter 2021 core … Read More
A proposed bipartisan infrastructure package advanced in the Senate following July 28 passage of a procedural motion on a 67-32 vote. Read More