Last year saw U.S. coal-fired generating capacity drop by an estimated 13.7 gigawatts (GW), and the first five days of 2020 suggested the fuel’s fortunes will only continue to shrink. By Jan. 5, 2020, two of the four...
For more than a century, utilities have relied on human eyesight to identify specific trees that pose a danger to conductors, but the results often fall short. Now, cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) offer the...
We’ve been hearing for several years now that electrical utilities are approaching a time of transformation. It’s been predicted that distributed energy resources (DERs), such as rooftop solar systems and battery-based energy...
Utilities have only a few options available to them when it comes to customers who don’t pay their bills. In Arizona, the option of cutting off service has been taken off the table for now. On June 20, Commissioners for the...
Utilities are used to facing opposition from environmental and consumer groups when they present a new rate-case proposal to their state regulators. However, Dominion Energy in Virginia has been challenged from an unexpected...
Changes in California’s utility regulations are coming about because of last year’s devastating wildfires. Some regulations, including enhancements to utilities’ mitigation plans, are expected, and some, such as...
When it comes to transmission and distribution grid improvements, headlines tend to use the word smart. However, following a range of natural disasters, from hurricanes to floods to wildfires, many utilities also are pursuing...
The California utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) filed for bankruptcy protection on Jan. 29, raising some immediate, and financially critical, questions for its customers, suppliers and investors. Answers to those...
Thanks to a climate that is growing both warmer and drier, California’s investor-owned utilities are facing an existential crisis. As the state sets new records for fire damage with each passing year, utility transmission...
The term “smart meter” has been used for a couple decades now. Such devices have been promised to boost grid responsiveness and enable customer participation in time-of-use rate plans that can reduce peak demand. However, as...
The little island of Isle au Haut lies about six miles off the coast of Maine, and a single power cable strung across the ocean floor is its electrical lifeline. With that cable already 15 years past its anticipated 20-year...
In their efforts to incorporate more wind and solar into their resource portfolios, one of the biggest challenges electric utilities face is meeting demand during a single three- to five-hour period every day, especially...
As commercial-scale marijuana cultivators gain popularity in states that have legalized medical and recreational use, there are fears they may begin to leave some of their neighbors in the dark. The high electricity demand of...
It’s not really surprising when a utility in California or Massachusetts announces plans to up its game in the renewable-energy marketplace—air pollution and greenhouse-gas concerns long have been at the forefront for utility...
In the fall of 2017, Nicaragua and Syria joined the Paris climate agreement, leaving the United States as the only U.N. member nation opting not to formally participate in the accord’s efforts to reduce the carbon emissions...
Another storm on the horizon and another image of electric utility trucks heading off to help with recovery efforts. That seemed to be an almost-nightly occurrence in late August through mid-September, as hurricanes Harvey...
With recent intrusions into corporate computer systems of companies that own nuclear facilities, the threat of cyber attacks against U.S. nuclear power plants is more urgent. Though hackers do not appear to have made their...
If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. That seems to be the attitude of electric utilities these days, as growing numbers of large energy users negotiate agreements to buy electricity directly from new wind and solar developments...
While President Trump campaigned on a promise to boost opportunities for fossil fuels and revitalize the coal industry, market forces might already have limited his opportunities for fulfilling that pledge. A recent survey...
For proof that electric utilities have been hardening their systems, consider two recent weather events: Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and Hurricane Matthew in 2016. While many New Jersey and New York homes and businesses remained...
