Pacific Gas Electric

Work Crew Installs Solar Power Panels In Santa Monica

A look at customer ratings of SolarCity, Verengo Solar, Vivint Solar, REC Solar and Sungevity The solar industry term “customer acquisition” is a euphemism for “convincing people to spend money.” The top solar installers have tens of thousands of potential customers who have expressed interest in solar. But turning those leads into purchases can be… Keep reading →

Climate Change And Global Pollution To Be Discussed At Copenhagen Summit

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 →

California Continues To Lead U.S. In Green Technology

CPUC has proposed policies and mechanisms for its landmark energy storage procurement program that sets a 1,325 MW energy storage mandate.   On September 3, 2013, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued a proposed decision detailing policies and mechanisms for its energy storage procurement program established under the 2010 Assembly Bill 2514, the first… Keep reading →


California regulators will direct the state’s largest utilities to return 85% of cap-and-trade proceeds to ratepayers. The move, which comes about a month after the successful completion of California’s first carbon allowance auction, aims at offsetting higher electricity costs resulting from the cap-and-trade program, by providing a “climate dividend” on utility bills.

On December 20, 1012, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) unanimously approved a plan to distribute the utility sector’s carbon allowance revenues to ratepayers in the form of a biennial “climate dividend.” The plan directs three major investor-owned utilities – Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric – to return 85% of proceeds from the sale of carbon allowances to ratepayers as rebates through the life of the cap-and-trade program. The dividend, estimated to range from $20 to $40, will appear as an automatic credit on utility bills every six months starting July 2013. The amount of money that will go to ratepayers in the form of rebates from 2013 through 2020 ranges from $5.7 billion to $22.6 billion. Keep reading →

US President Barack Obama tours the General Electric Plant with GE Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt (L) and plant manager Kevin Sharkey January 21, 2011 in Schenectady, New York.

General Electric recently announced $1.2bn orders for its new FlexEfficiency 60 turbine, which the company claims is a step change for the industry in its ability to supply both baseload power and ramp quickly to smooth intermittent loads from solar and wind. Keep reading →

The electric utility industry needs to replace nearly half of its skilled workforce as a generation reaches retirement age in the next few years. Keep reading →

Startup Battlefield Finalists pose onstage at Day 3 of TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2011 held at the San Francisco Design Center Concourse on September 14, 2011 in San Francisco, California.

Low natural gas prices in the US have slowed momentum in the development of grid-level energy storage solutions, an expert panel gathered from venture capital, power generation and utility companies said last week. Keep reading →


With government incentives and long-term contracts, what is there not to like?

Billionaire investor Warren Buffet has turned into something of a sage. As a long-term value investor, his decisions are followed with great interest. So when MidAmerican Energy Holdings, the utility arm of Berkshire Hathaway, bought First Solar’s 550 MW Topaz Solar Farm Power Plant in San Luis Obispo, California for an undisclosed amount, everyone took note. Keep reading →