Category: Electric Utility

November 12, 2018

Shares of California utility companies plunged Monday as deadly wildfires scorched thousands of acres and continued to threaten life and property. Pacific Gas & Electric shares tumbled as much as 27 percent, and Edison International fell nearly 12 percent. Both […]

November 12, 2018

When operators of Duke Energy’s control room in Raleigh, North Carolina wait for a hurricane, the mood is often calm in the hours leading up to the storm. “Things are usually fairly quiet before the activity starts,” said Mark Goettsch, […]

November 9, 2018

Approval of PG&E’s landmark energy storage solicitation is the most significant example to date of batteries taking the place of fossil fuel generation on the power grid. Energy storage has helped decrease the California’s reliance on gas for years, particularly […]

November 5, 2018

Today’s utilities face a number of growing and complex challenges, from new and changing environmental regulations to evolving technologies, aging infrastructure and rising customer expectations. In addition to these technology and human challenges, utilities are being forced to confront the […]

November 2, 2018

Comments filed on the EPA’s proposed Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule this week demonstrate how the utility industry is quietly fighting against pollution regulations on coal plants even as it transitions to a heavier reliance on natural gas and renewables. […]

November 1, 2018

China in mid-September increased its renewable portfolio standard (RPS) to 35% of electricity consumption by 2030. The country has already heavily invested in wind and solar, and it anticipates more gains will come from some provinces. In a revision of […]

October 30, 2018

Western utility leaders’ political push to expand California’s grid system into a regional power market was dismissed in the state’s most recent legislative session — but now those leaders are looking toward a different market. California lawmakers in August rejected […]

October 4, 2018

Organic Valley, a cooperative of organic farmers, just announced the details of the community solar partnership it launched last year. The project enables Organic Valley to share the benefits of solar energy with its rural neighbors and become the largest […]

October 1, 2018

Utilities are increasingly considering demand charges, particularly for solar customers they believe are being subsidized by those without distributed generation. But the charges are a blunt instrument that can reduce a customers’ ability to control their bill, and potentially eliminate […]

September 25, 2018

Solar photovoltaic technology is getting cheaper, more efficient and more resilient all the time. But it still doesn’t make a good replacement for asphalt. After years of trial projects, a handful of “solar roadway” projects around the world are revealing […]