On December 31, 2015, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an order directing the Midcontinent System Operator (MISO) to make changes to the capacity auction rules, including requirements to stop relying on PJM Interconnection prices to set maximum bids and increase the amount of electricity available in the Illinois market area. FERC found that… Keep reading →
Constant rainfall in recent weeks across Texas and Oklahoma resulting in extreme flooding is a result of global warming which is affecting the jet stream, according to meteorologists. “The waterlogged landscape is partly to blame for the weather-related destruction in Central Texas, where fierce storms and tornadoes have dumped record amounts of rain, swelling rivers… Keep reading →
FirstEnergy, the giant Ohio-based company that owns power plants and transmission lines in several midwestern and northeastern states, is ready to raise electricity prices for its customers. This is in part because three of its oldest coal-fired power plants are set to close, but also because of a few bad business bets. Though finally shuttered… Keep reading →
Insight for Industry – PJM Capacity Market Faces Continued Uncertainty Despite ongoing efforts by PJM Interconnection (PJM) to address system reliability issues, regulatory impacts to its capacity market continue to increase uncertainty. The March 31 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) ruling that requires PJM to provide additional information on its Capacity Performance (CP) proposal could… Keep reading →
EnerKnol Research reports that demand response resources will continue to thrive under an upheld FERC Order 745 vacatur, despite concerns over wholesale energy market and electric system reliability impacts. EnerKnol Research recently released a report analyzing the implications of an upheld FERC Order 745 on demand response across the nation. The report finds the future… Keep reading →
A defining moment in the ongoing shift in the US’ energy landscape occurred in April 2012, when natural gas accounted for as big a share of electricity generation as coal for the first time since the Energy Information Administration began collecting that data. Abundant, cheap natural gas had edged a good deal of coal out… Keep reading →
A deep Arctic freeze socks in the Northeast, and every home’s furnace is working overtime. The surge of natural gas use for furnaces means power plants can’t get enough fuel. Power fails, and furnaces can’t start. Gas pipeline compressors lose power, and natural gas flow stops.
What then? Keep reading →
Grid operator PJM Interconnection said its staff will recommend dropping the Potomac Appalachian Transmission Highline (PATH) and the Mid Atlantic Power Pathway (MAPP) from its regional transmission projects.
PJM’s planning process looks 15 years ahead to identify transmission upgrades needed to maintain stable power systems. Keep reading →
Residents and businesses in the 13-state region covered by PJM Interconnect have now installed more than a gigawatt of solar power, enough to power between 800,000 and 1 million homes, and more than doubled solar capacity last year, the grid operator said.
The milestone, announced in mid-May, continues the trend of solar growth in the northeastern and mid-Atlantic territory in the last two years, and reflects a range of incentives offered by states that are striving to reach renewable-energy goals. Keep reading →
Plans to build the first US undersea transmission system for offshore wind farms advanced on Monday when the federal government said there was no competition for the proposed project, which can now be subject to an environmental review without being delayed by an auction.
The US Department of the Interior issued a finding of no competitive interest on the plan by Atlantic Grid Holdings to build the $5 billion Atlantic Wind Connection, a 300-mile transmission line off five mid-Atlantic states to take as much as 7,000 megawatts of wind-turbine capacity from yet-to-be-built offshore wind farms. Keep reading →
