With another triple-digit heat wave scorching the Southwest this week, fears of widespread outages are back. California’s grid operator has urged homes and businesses to crank up thermostats and avoid running power-hungry appliances during evening peak hours – all in an effort to avoid disruptions like the ones we saw earlier this month. The dangerous… Keep reading →
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, signed into law at the end of last year, features a number of provisions that will impact the energy sector.
Earlier this month marked the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) annual convention, which was held this year in New Orleans and hosted 800 utility executives from June 7-10. The 2015 convention was an unusual one. In the past, the electrical utility industry has not always been especially interested in discussing alternative forms of energy. This year’s… Keep reading →
NEW ORLEANS — Today, during a speech at the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) Annual Convention in New Orleans, LA, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Department and EEI, strengthening collaborative action to accelerate plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) and charging infrastructure deployment. Building on the President’s goal and the Department’s EV… Keep reading →
Since 2004, the year of the first major revision of Germany’s Renewable Energy Act (EEG), the country has added at least 35 gigawatts (GW) of solar and 35 GW of wind to its electric grid – enough to offset upwards of 35 coal plants. What’s more impressive is during the first half of 2014, close to 29 percent of Germany’s… Keep reading →
Last year, the trade association for the utility industry, the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), published a whitepaper on the disruptive challenges facing the utility industry. In summary, EEI’s thesis was that the existing utility business model (centralized, fossil-fuel based generation) is under threat from on-site, distributed generation as more customers switch to cleaner, and often cheaper, solar power. The… Keep reading →
Opinions vary on how serious are the challenges facing the industry. For some time now, everybody and his brother, as the saying goes, is talking about the rapid changes taking place within the electric power sector and the potential impact of these on the future of the industry. This newsletter has had its own share… Keep reading →
Edison Electric Institute, an industry group representing investor-owned utilities, has taken the net metering debate – which pits utilities against the residential solar industry – to the airwaves. Residential solar installations have grown rapidly over the past few years. “Arguably the most severe threat to the traditional utility business model is the advent of rooftop solar systems, which could… Keep reading →
The Environmental Protection Agency unveiled its proposal for Clean Air Act standards to limit carbon dioxide emissions from new power plants on Friday. The agency also announced that it has begun coordinating with state and local governments, industries and non-profit organizations to establish carbon dioxide emissions standards for existing power plants. “Power plants are the… Keep reading →
State level regulators, like politicians, read the newspaper headlines, notice what is in their in-box and have a good sense of what their constituents like and dislike. This, more than anything else, explains why they seem reluctant to modify or nullify prevailing net energy metering (NEM) laws even when they realize that the status quo may be unsustainable… Keep reading →
