The Dixie Fire in several counties in Northern California, which Pacific Gas & Electric is under investigation for possibly causing, has burned more than 1,000 structures, which would trigger the next step of the California Public Utilities Commission's six-step enforcement process if PG… Read MoreQuick Bites: Energy News Roundup
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About midafternoon on Aug. 4, I was sitting in Starbucks in Grass Valley getting some work done, with intermittent bouts of scrolling through Twitter as I often do (in a media job, this counts as work, it really does). On a day that was hot, but with a clear blue sky, a tweet from Yubanet Fi… Read MoreFirst Person: Life in a Wildfire Zone
Weather continued to drive energy prices across the western U.S., although there wasn't a clear correlation between conditions and prices. Read MoreWeather Drives Prices, but Impacts Are Limited
The further into the future California energy officials look, the larger grows the state's projected energy supply shortage, expanding by thousands of megawatts and now sitting at more than 5,000 MW. Read MoreCalifornia's Projected Energy Shortfall Grows, Now at 5,200 MW by Next Summer
After two years of effort, lawsuits and public workshops, energy officials in California this week approved a "landmark" building energy-efficiency code revision that is perhaps the "most significant" in the California Energy Commission's history, CEC Chair David Hochschild said during an Au… Read MoreNew Homes in California Near All-Electric Requirement in Approved Code
Vantage Data Centers has asked the California Energy Commission to grant a small-power-plant exemption for 44 large diesel generators at a proposed data center in Santa Clara. Read MoreCEC Reviewing 96-MW Diesel Power Plant Exemption; Locals Concerned
An oft-cited rationale for creating a community choice aggregator is that it will not only provide local control of electric generation procurement, but will also enable the entity to launch community energy-efficiency programs benefiting all its customers. Read MoreReport: CCAs Nationwide Lag on Offering Customer Energy-Efficiency Programs
With little to no rain in the West, the U.S. Drought Monitor this week said the region's drought categorizations remain largely unchanged. Read MoreLack of Rain Across West Worsens Drought in Some Areas
The measured wholesale cost to serve electrical load in the California Independent System Operator territory rose only 3 percent last year, but actual costs rose by about 19 percent when lower natural gas and greenhouse gas compliance prices are figured in, a new report says. Read MoreCAISO Wholesale Costs Increased in 2020 Despite Lower Gas Prices
The Northwest was buzzing this week with the prospect of the Bonneville Power Administration's borrowing authority increasing by $10 billion, after the U.S. Senate passed the $1.2-trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act on Aug. 10. Read MoreCantwell Muscles Through Potential Increase in BPA Borrowing Authority
Hearings on the proposed merger between Public Service Company of New Mexico, the state's largest utility, and Avangrid, the utility arm of Spanish multinational energy company Iberdrola, began this week before the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission without representation by Iberdrola's… Read MorePNM/Avangrid Merger Hearings Commence as Lawyer Is Disqualified
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recently approved a wholesale rate settlement between Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association and its 42 utility members in four states, resolving the first major rate case the wholesale power provider has filed since becoming subject to fed… Read MoreFERC Approves Tri-State Rate Settlement as Members Mull Contract Changes
A Vermont-based renewable-energy retailer that serves customers in Texas, Illinois and five states in the eastern U.S. has applied to operate in the service territories of Arizona's two largest investor-owned utility monopolies. Read MoreGreen Mountain Vies to Compete With Arizona Monopolies for Retail Service
In what has been deemed a dramatic change from its recent predecessors, the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission is taking a proactive stance on many issues, from the request-for-proposals process to the promotion of clean energy resources, one of the subtle surprises in the state's regul… Read MoreNew Mexico Commission Embraces Change Before Revamp at End of 2022
The Senate on Aug. 11 passed a $3.5-trillion budget resolution that paves the way for legislation including a "clean-electricity payment program" and incentives for zero-carbon energy, electric vehicles, home electrification and weatherization. Read MoreBudget Resolution Passes Senate