Legal & Regulatory

California utility Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Jan. 29, as the company faces as much as $30 billion in potential liabilities for its role in a series of wildfires in the state. The filing was expected after the company notified its workers two weeks ago it was preparing a […]

A final rule the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) plans to publish this spring to replace pivotal actions it issued after the Fukushima accident will require U.S. nuclear generators to ensure they can mitigate severe events at reactors within a two-year compliance timeframe. More than three years after it was proposed, the NRC’s five commissioners on […]

Shares of beleaguered California utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) soared on Jan. 24 after a state agency said the company bore no responsibility for a 2017 wildfire in the state. A statement from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) on Thursday said, “After an extensive and thorough investigation, Cal Fire […]

Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) has again told New Jersey officials it needs subsidies to continue operating its three nuclear power units in the state, reiterating that without financial help it will begin closing its Hope Creek Generating Station and Salem Nuclear Power Plant as early as 2022. The three reactors are the only remaining […]

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) on Jan. 23 said a federal judge’s proposal that the utility mitigate fire danger in its service territory by trimming trees, along with inspecting and repairing thousands of miles of power lines, could cost the company as much as $150 billion this year. William Alsup, a judge in the U.S. […]

Hydro One, Ontario’s largest transmission and distribution provider, and Spokane, Washington–based U.S. utility Avista Corp., have dropped their merger, citing separate denials of the $5.3 billion deal by regulators in Washington and Idaho. The companies said on Jan. 23 they “mutually agreed” to terminate a merger agreement they announced in July 2017. As required by […]

Community solar will begin serving NJ renters, low-income families, businesses within two years January 17, 2019 (Trenton, N.J.) – Today the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) approved rules for a new community solar pilot program that will give many renters, low-income families, businesses, and others an easy and affordable way to go solar […]

California utility PG&E Corp. on Jan. 14 gave its workers the state-required 15-day advance notice of its intent to file a Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company on Monday said its electric and natural gas service to customers should not be impacted during its reorganization, which comes as PG&E faces billions of dollars in liabilities related […]

Reports on Jan. 13 said giant California utility PG&E Corp. could notify its workers as soon as Jan. 14 that it’s preparing to file for bankruptcy. Bloomberg on Sunday said the San Francisco-based utility, which faces billions of dollars in liabilities as investigations into its role in a series of deadly wildfires continues, will notify […]

While the Republican-led U.S. House and Senate in the 115th Congress was mainly focused on reviewing, for modification or repeal, several environmental rules issued under the Clean Air Act (CAA), the new Democrat majority in the House could focus on a slew of different measures, a new report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) suggests.  […]