Puget Sound Energy's agreement to sell its 185 MW share of Colstrip Unit 4 to NorthWestern Energy is now a three-way deal. Read MoreTalen Energy Cuts Into PSE Sale of Colstrip Unit 4 to NWE
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Cascade Natural Gas has filed a general rate request with the Oregon PUC asking for a 7.2 percent, $4.9 million increase. Read MoreCascade Files $4.9M Rate Case in Oregon for Replacing Pipeline, Cleanup
Okanogan County PUD has canceled plans to develop a 74.4 kW community solar project, citing customers' concerns about underwriting it given unknown financial demands the coronavirus pandemic might impose on them. Read MoreOkanogan PUD Kills Solar Project Amid COVID-19-Fueled Funding Shortfall
BPA said some people who gave oral comments on a draft environmental impact statement for Columbia River System Operations misinterpreted specifics about the four lower Snake River dams or about BPA's financial status. Read MoreBPA Corrects Misinterpretations in CRSO Draft EIS Comments
Acknowledging that the COVID-19 pandemic has altered working environments, BPA has proposed adjusting the schedule of future workshops on the 2022 power and transmission rate cases, and on Phase III issues of the agency's potential entry into the Western EIM. Read MoreBPA Proposes Rejiggering Rate Case, EIM Schedules
Attempting to plan for potential issues arising from COVID-19, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers notified Washington and Oregon authorities that if total dissolved gas or gas bubble trauma monitoring is disrupted by pandemic restrictions, the Corps will revert to spill levels of 110 percent T… Read MoreCorps: COVID-19 Could Disrupt Spring Spill If Gas Bubble Monitoring Is Interrupted
With spring runoff delayed due to cold April weather, additional water releases were approved by water managers and are being implemented at Grand Coulee, Chief Joseph and Dworshak hydroelectric projects to help juvenile fish migrate downstream. Read MoreWater Releases Approved From Columbia River Dams to Help Juvenile Migration, Incubation
BC Hydro has introduced a COVID-19 relief fund designed to provide bill credits to its residential and small customers hardest hit by the pandemic. Read MoreBC Hydro Provides Assistance During COVID-19 Pandemic
The Oregon PUC will conduct a renewable natural gas rulemaking hearing on April 28, by teleconference. The rules were mandated by passage in 2019 of Senate Bill 98, which directs OPUC to adopt programs with caps on the total amount paid for RNG to protect both utilities and customers from ex… Read MoreBrief Mentions: News Roundup
In the second of a series of podcast interviews featuring Pacific Northwest utility leaders discussing the coronavirus pandemic, Puget Sound Energy President/CEO Mary Kipp talks about her utility's early approach; the utility's ongoing operational work and social-distancing adaptations; load… Read MoreCOVID-19: PSE Focuses on Reliability, Health, Safety, Economy
California energy demand and prices edged up this week after falling in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, reversing the trend and demonstrating that the only constant in the current market is change. Also worth noting, the demand peak shifted back to Monday this week, after previously… Read MoreChange: The Only Current Market Constant
In the latest Energy West podcast, Clearing Up's Dan Catchpole and California Energy Markets' Jason Fordney talk about obstacles to building offshore wind in California waters, interconnection delays across the country, Washington delaying new building codes in the wake of the 9th Circuit's Berkeley decision, PacifiCorp booking a $120 million first-quarter loss due to the 2020 Labor Day weekend wildfires, and more.
Stay-at-home orders to fight spread of the coronavirus pandemic have lowered demand for several Northwest utilities, according to early data, but the effects could become more severe if isolation orders are extended and the economy continues to falter. Read MoreCoronavirus Sheltering Shows Modest Effect on Power Demand So Far
Washington's climate agenda has been set back by the mounting expense of the coronavirus pandemic, sweeping off the table some bills and policies passed during the 2020 legislative session that adjourned only four weeks ago. Read MoreCOVID-19 Derails Some Wash. Climate Bills, Regional Clean-Fuel Standard
The Columbia River is flowing smoothly nearly six months after the last vestige of the Mid-C Hourly Coordinating Agreement—which coordinated power generation among Chelan, Douglas and Grant county PUDs—expired. Read MoreCoordination Gives Way to Cooperation on Mid-Columbia
The California State Water Resources Control Board issued a final water quality certification and final environmental impact report, which are vital to the Klamath River Renewal Corporation’s request for a license transfer and surrender approval from FERC [P-2082, P-14803]. Read MoreCalif. Water Board Gives Key OK for Klamath Dam Removal
An international consortium is working hard to manage a burgeoning threat to salmon habitats in the Columbia Basin posed by the flowering rush, a difficult-to-detect invasive plant that's hard to eradicate. Read MoreConsortium Works to Quash Columbia's Growing Aquatic Invasive Plant
The Federal Reserve on April 9 announced $2.3 trillion in credit support for the pandemic-stressed economy, including loans for state and local governments. Meanwhile, FERC and the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners asked the Fed to expand purchases of short-term debt t… Read MorePOTOMAC: Fed Expands Credit Support as Pandemic Pounds Economy