Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

“Mr. Rigby says there’s no conflict between shareholders wanting the highest price and ratepayers wanting the best service … His view is illogical.” – Scott Hempling, attorney, in opposition.

(November 2014) Our annual survey of rates of return on common equity authorized by state public utility commissions in recent rate cases for electric and gas retail distribution utilities.

The AEMA sees the self-help DR revolution as a key to America’s recent industrial renaissance: “If demand response is removed from wholesale markets,” the group says, then “the electric grid is back to the rotary phone.”

Pacific Gas & Electric makes organizational changes; Canadian Solar appoints new director; FERC commissioner submits letter of resignation; American Public Works Association elects new president.

Duke Energy Progress agreed to purchase $1.2 billion in generating assets from North Carolina Eastern Municipal Power Agency; ABB won a $400 million order that would create the first electricity link between Newfoundland and the North American power grid; Siemens Energy secured an order for a total capacity of 36 MW in Germany; NextEra Energy Partners’ Bluewater Wind Energy Center in Ontario began commercial operation; the Department of Energy took the first step toward issuing a $150 million loan guarantee to support construction of the Cape Wind offshore wind project; and others ...

Why the D.C. Circuit should rehear the appeal of FERC Order 745, and how it should rule.

Linda Blair, executive v.p. and chief business officer for grid giant ITC, discusses how ITC plans to navigate the new transmission landscape and where ITC might turn for its next major transmission project.

Florida Power & Light Company partners with PetroQuest Energy to develop natural gas production wells in southeastern Oklahoma; First Solar receives financing approval to build a 141-MW solar power plant in Chile; DTE Energy will deploy Tollgrade’s LightHouse MV smart grid sensors and predictive grid analytics platform within its distribution network in Detroit; US DOE chooses Abengoa, together with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Colorado School of Mines, to develop a new solar storage technology for thermoelectric plants.

Utility distribution lines increasingly are going underground, but costs are still prohibitive for replacing existing overhead lines.

An independent system operator for the distribution network could open more opportunities for distributed energy resources, including rooftop solar.