News | Energy Bar Association

FERC balks at PJM utilities' proposal to profit on network upgrades

Nov 24, 2021 01:22 PM

With a major transmission buildout looming, utilities have been looking for rule changes that would give them more opportunities to profit on the expansion. In PJM's footprint, which spans 13 Mid-Atlantic and Midwest states, plus Washington, D.C., generators pay for network upgrades needed to safely connect their facilities to the grid. Transmission owners, like Exelon's utility subsidiaries, recover their costs for operating and maintaining the upgrades.

Northeast grid rules could make or break clean energy

New England’s grid operator is considering an overhaul of regional power market rules that could determine whether Northeast states meet their clean energy goals, creating uncertainty in a region pivotal for reaching President Biden’s push for 100 percent clean electricity. With no fossil fuel production and broad interest among the states in advancing clean energy, New England could be a case study on how to develop a multistate carbon-free power market, observers say.

DOE undoes Trump era hurdles to setting appliance efficiency standards, finalizes process rule updates

Nov 24, 2021 01:10 PM

The federal government's Appliance and Equipment Standards Program reviews efficiency requirements every six years, but the agency has fallen behind, mostly under the Trump administration. According to ASAP, a program within the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, by the time President Joe Biden took office DOE had missed 28 deadlines to consider new product standards — and the clock continues to run.

North Carolina regulators give Duke 4 months to craft carbon reduction plan

Nov 24, 2021 01:06 PM

North Carolina and its major utilities, with input from stakeholders, are starting to draft plans to slash greenhouse gas emissions from the state’s power plant fleet. One of the key questions is what role natural gas-fired power plants will play in the state’s future. Duke Energy Progress and Duke Energy Carolinas, utilities with a total of about 4.3 million customers in North Carolina and South Carolina, filed biennial integrated resources plans last year with state regulators.

Glick Asserts FERC Authority to Mitigate GHG Emissions

Nov 24, 2021 01:04 PM

Concerns over FERC’s legal authority to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions came up throughout the commission’s technical conference on GHG mitigation Friday (PL21-3). The first panel featured Commissioner James Danly disagreeing with FERC Chair Richard Glick on the commission’s statutory responsibilities under the Natural Gas Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.

FERC orders GreenHat, traders to pay $243M for alleged PJM market manipulation

Nov 10, 2021 10:19 AM

FERC ordered GreenHat, which no longer operates, to pay $179.6 million and company founders John Bartholomew and Kevin Ziegenhorn to pay $25 million each in civil penalties. The agency also ordered GreenHat, the founders and the estate of Andrew Kittell, another founder, to return $13.1 million in unjust profits .Between 2015 and 2018, GreenHat acquired a massive FTR portfolio in PJM, according to FERC.

COP26: The energy transition is here to stay and battery storage is essential to it

Nov 10, 2021 10:16 AM

COP26 aside, financiers are being driven to invest in decarbonisation by the brute reality of the climate crisis, by public pressure, and by shifting market forces. Spooked by the risks of inaction, 45% of banks disclosing to CDP — the global environmental impact disclosure non-profit group — have aligned their portfolios with net zero. This empowers green technology companies.

Why the U.S. Didn’t Join 40 Other Countries in Pledge to End Coal

Nov 10, 2021 10:12 AM

The Biden administration arrived this month at international climate talks in Scotland with the intent to prove the United States was again ready to lead the fight against global warming. But when more than 40 countries signed a pledge to phase out coal in the coming decades, the United States was conspicuously absent. The White House’s reluctance to sign the pledge says a lot about coal's continued political influence in the face of declining fortunes.

Congress approves $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill with funding for transmission, hydrogen and EVs

Nov 10, 2021 10:05 AM

House Democratic leaders on Friday wanted to pass both the infrastructure bill and the budget reconciliation bill, called the Build Back Better Act. But moderate Democrats asked for more financial information about the Build Back Better bill, so a vote on that legislation was delayed. However, in a key procedural step, the House approved a "rule for consideration" for the reconciliation bill, setting the stage for the House to vote on the legislation next week,

Southeast utilities confront extreme weather, new peak demand patterns to avoid Texas-style blackouts

Nov 10, 2021 10:02 AM

This spring, as officials from the city of Memphis, Tenn., continued exploring whether to leave the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the city’s power provider for more than 80 years, TVA president Jeffrey Lyash issued a stern warning: Look at what happened in Texas. A winter storm a month earlier caused 4.5 million people to lose power across Texas. In Memphis, meanwhile, the power had stayed on even as temperatures dropped. Speaking to the Memphis City Council.