Legal & Regulatory

The future of energy in Mexico is being shaped by the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who wants state-owned energy companies to have more influence over the country’s power

On Dec. 19, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) directed PJM Interconnection to dramatically expand its Minimum Offer Price Rule (MOPR) to nearly all state-subsidized capacity resources, including renewables backed by state portfolio standards. It’s the latest of a series of dramatic revisions to the grid operator’s rule, which essentially functions to provide a minimum […]

A divided Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a long-awaited order on Dec. 19 in which it directed PJM Interconnection to dramatically expand its Minimum Offer Price Rule (MOPR) to nearly all state-subsidized capacity resources. The order will have a significant impact on PJM’s capacity market. While it was no surprise that the decision immediately […]

Only “high hazard” CCR units will be subject to immediate compliance deadlines under a newly proposed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule that revises federal permit requirements for the management of coal combustion residuals (CCRs) at power plants. If finalized, the rule will apply to all coal facilities in Indian country and the 48 U.S. states […]

The past year has been filled with firsts for the nuclear power industry. Three power plants sporting first-of-a-kind reactors entered commercial operation, while the first U.S. AP1000 nuclear project reached key milestones on its path to completion. Furthermore, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) granted the first early site permit for a utility to construct […]

A Minnesota court on Dec. 23 said a proposed natural gas-fired power plant in neighboring Wisconsin needs more environmental review before construction can proceed, reversing an earlier decision by the state’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC) that approved the facility. The state Court of Appeals on Monday said state regulators must look at whether the Nemadji […]

Vineyard Wind’s 804-MW Park City project was given the go-ahead by Connecticut officials on Dec. 5, with regulators saying Vineyard’s bid in an offshore wind solicitation was “lower than any other publicly announced offshore wind project in North America.” Vineyard Wind competed against other groups in the bidding, including developers backed by Ørsted and Shell. […]

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized a change to a long-standing policy interpreting “ambient air”—a foundational concept under the Clean Air Act that applies to all types of air pollution, from ground-level ozone, particulate matter, and greenhouse gases. While the agency framed the change as part of a suite of actions to reform New Source […]

Power plant owners and operators have a range of systems available to help reduce pollutants at their facilities, depending on a number of factors. And industry experts agree—there is no “one size fits

A filing by Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) staff and consultants on Nov. 22 said Georgia Power’s expansion of the Vogtle nuclear power plant is falling further behind schedule. The filing Friday came the same day that the utility announced the sixth and last containment ring for the two-unit expansion was set in place. The […]

The last operating coal-fired power plant in New York state could close by mid-February. Somerset Operating Co. on Nov. 15 asked the New York State Public Service Commission to waive the state’s 180-day notice requirement to shutter the 675-MW plant, asking regulators to allow the facility to close as early as Feb. 15, 2020. Somerset […]

A nationwide survey of state utility commissions suggests regulators are increasingly grappling with issues that could “profoundly” alter energy delivery and utility business models. However, over the next decade, they expect central station generation will continue to dominate state portfolios, and utility-scale solar growth will surpass customer-owned photovoltaic (PV).  The survey to take the “regulatory […]

A project to build a 1-GW gas-fired power plant in Rhode Island has officially ended, after developer Invenergy took no action to appeal the project’s rejection by state regulators, who earlier this year voted unanimously against the plant’s construction. Invenergy had until Nov. 15 to challenge the formal denial of a construction license for the […]

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued long-awaited proposed revisions of two 2015 Obama-era rules that apply to effluent limitations guidelines (ELGs) for steam electric power plants and coal combustion residuals (CCR) management by electric utilities.  The agency coordinated the release of the two related revisions, which apply overwhelmingly to coal-fired steam power plants, after […]

Natural gas traders once spoke of the North American continent as a potential seamless natural gas trading market, where market synergies could be perfected and hydrocarbon molecules could flow freely to the

In the September issue of POWER , I wrote about a public utility (JEA) that is exploring privatization, and in October, I looked at a city (Boulder, Colorado) that is exploring municipalization. While I think

The closure of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in 2013 left a stranded coastal asset. However, the existing transmission infrastructure, site control, and geographic topology make it an ideal site

Attorneys general from 11 states ramped up pressure on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to recognize state policy goals as it makes decisions related to market design, siting of new gas pipelines and storage facilities, and grid reliability.  The measure is the latest in a string of recent pushes by states to ensure federally […]

Eskom, South Africa’s state-owned utility that produces nearly 90% of the African powerhouse’s electricity, is saddled with liabilities, unavoidable expenses, and stranded costs that exceed $113 billion, and for various reasons, it is “fundamentally insolvent, permanently impaired, and will never be a true going concern enterprise under its current legal, operational, and governance structure,” concludes […]

The energy storage market received a boost Oct. 17 when the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved the first two compliance filings implementing Order 841, a rule the commission said is designed to eliminate market barriers to electricity storage. Order 841 was enacted in February 2018. The measure directs regional power grid operators to establish […]

LOS ANGELES (October 17, 2019) — AECOM, the world’s premier infrastructure firm, announced today it will provide engineering, procurement and construction management services for the clean closure of the coal ash pond at A.B. Brown Generating Station located outside Evansville, Indiana. The project will remove up to 6,000,000 tons of coal combustion residuals (CCRs) from […]

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Rick Perry is headed to Brussels, Belgium, to promote small modular reactor (SMR) concepts to European Union (EU) prospects. Perry will be a featured speaker during the “1st U.S.-EU High-Level Industrial Forum on Small Modular Reactors,” which will be held Oct. 21. “The U.S. and the EU share a […]

The CEO of major U.S. energy company Exelon Utilities retired on Oct. 15, leaving the company as federal officials investigate Exelon’s lobbying activities at the Illinois State Capitol. The retirement of Anne Pramaggiore, 61, who became CEO of Exelon Utilities in 2018, comes less than a week after Exelon subsidiary Commonwealth Edison (ComEd), Illinois’ largest […]

A federal bankruptcy judge on Oct. 9 ruled that Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), California’s largest utility, does not have the sole right to determine the terms of its reorganization. Judge Dennis Montali said those who support a rival proposal, which was devised by a group of the utility’s creditors, can have their plan considered. […]

The PRB Coal Users’ Group is changing its name to the American Coal Users’ Group. The Board of Directors recognizes that times are changing for the coal industry, and the organization needs to change as well to be more inclusive with its membership, and spread the lessons beyond sub-bituminous coal users. HOUSTON (PRWEB) OCTOBER 01, […]

A substantial shift in implementation of distributed energy resources (DERs) is on the horizon with the collision of new technologies and higher energy demand. Innovation is spawning an abundance of potential

Foreign energy companies are investing in Africa as that continent builds out its power generation infrastructure. But there are risks to those investments, as some governments—Angola, Tanzania, and Libya

In my “Speaking of Power” column last month, I explained that JEA, a community-owned utility in northeast Florida, is contemplating privatization. One of the reasons JEA is considering the change is that

Power plants around the world are being tasked with reducing emissions. In China, Shenzhen Nanshan Power Plant installed an innovative dry low-NOx upgrade on its gas turbines, helping the units meet