deregulation

The severe winter storm that knocked out Texas’ electricity grid in February, plunging millions of people into a cold, dark ordeal, has led to a number of takes about what went wrong. The state’s deregulated energy market has been frequently singled out as the root cause. But, while a contributing factor, it wasn’t the only […]

President Joe Biden just hours after his inauguration effected an immediate freeze on several Trump-era deregulatory actions that directly affect the power sector, and revoked a long list of rules and executive actions affecting the bulk power system. The president on Jan. 20 also kickstarted America’s return to the Paris Agreement, sending a brief letter […]

President Trump in a new executive order (EO) has directed federal agencies to rescind, modify, waive, or provide exemptions from regulatory requirements that may inhibit economic recovery.  The Executive Order on Regulatory Relief to Support Economic Recovery, issued May 19, is sweeping and extends beyond the administration’s previous efforts to scale down regulatory mandates—including the […]

Mexico’s energy reform began in 2013. It has opened up key parts of the country’s electricity sector to new market participants, foreign investors, and innovative technology. Prior to the reform, Mexico operated under a traditional, vertically integrated model with the state-owned Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) responsible for all power supply functions from generation to distribution. […]

Mexico’s energy reform, which began in 2013, has opened up key parts of the country’s electricity sector to new market participants, foreign investors, and innovative technology. Prior to the reform

The November 8 election yielded surprising results for controversial energy-related measures in three states. In Florida, voters rejected Amendment 1, a measure backed by utilities to curb the expansion of resident-owned solar rooftop installations. In Washington, the nation’s first state attempt to impose a carbon tax on fossil fuels and power generated from fossil fuels fell […]

Emerging energy technologies such as rooftop solar, microgrids, and distributed generation could adversely affect reliability of the nation’s grid, a new report from the Electric Markets Research Foundation (EMRF) warns.  The non-profit research entity whose mission it is to fund studies on significant electric market issues notes in its report, “Changing Uses of the Electric […]

As it decided in a February case involving American Electric Power (AEP), the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) has denied Duke Energy Ohio’s request to charge ratepayers for power from two aging coal plants owned by the Ohio Valley Electric Corp. (OVEC).  In an April 2 order, the state regulator approved the Duke Energy […]

American Electric Power’s (AEP’s) Ohio unit has asked the state’s Public Utilities Commission for permission to essentially charge customers for costs to operate nine unregulated coal-fired units, a move the company says will address market volatility and ensure the economic viability of Ohio’s generation.  AEP Ohio on Oct. 3 proposed an “expanded” power purchase agreement […]