CA Current

Overriding opposition, the California Public Utilities Commission gives Pacific Gas & Electric the green light to sign deals for more than 500 MW of electricity storage capacity at Moss Landing along the central coast. This week’s election brings more California Democrats who back clean energy into the House. Changes coming in the House leadership in […]

The California Public Utilities Commission on a 4-to-5 vote approved Pacific Gas & Electric’s contracts for 567.5 MW of storage in the South Bay area near Moss Landing over consumer advocates’ and community choice program operators’ objections. Last month, they challenged the cost and need for the four lithium ion battery storage deals, including because […]

When the new Congress convenes in January, the Trump Administration will face increased heat from the House over its pro-fossil fuel policies and attempts to rollback climate change rules and other environmental regulations. That’s the word from the likely new chair of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, the key panel that oversees federal energy […]

State energy regulators are striving to make their complex energy, water and telecommunication proceedings more user friendly. The California Public Utilities Commission launched a series of pilot projects earlier this year to get a better feel for how to increase public participation in the commission’s meetings and workshops. Key barriers to greater public participation include […]

California’s Governor-elect Gavin Newsom will be able to appoint a new member to the California Public Utilities Commission in the new year. He also has the authority to name a new commission president. Energy regulator Carla Peterman will be leaving her post when her term expires at the end of this year. “I’m not seeking […]

Nov. 8 Editor’s Note: We will update the results when they are final, but California Democrats may have won up to six Republican House seats. Voters in California and neighboring states provided mixed messages on promoting and funding climate protection this midterm election. As of press time, Golden State voters may have replaced up to […]

Updated Nov. 8. Three of the handful of independent generators’ operating in California saw a rise in their latest earnings, while the others saw them fall. AES: This giant global power company had net earnings during the third quarter of 2018 of $101 million, or 15 cents a share, compared to $152 million, or 23 […]

Updated Nov. 7. California’s three major investor-owned utilities were profitable during the third quarter of this year. That includes Pacific Gas & Electric, which lost money last quarter and faces ongoing uncertainties over wildfire liability. Here’s a breakdown of the third quarter results. Edison International: Edison reported third quarter earnings this year of $513 million, […]

Updated Nov. 8. San Diego Gas & Electric filed a proposed settlement agreement at the California Public Utilities Commission Nov. 5 to try and bolster its involvement in electric vehicle charging. Under it, the utility would spend $107.4 million on make-ready infrastructure to support installation of 300 electric vehicle chargers for 3,000 to 6,068 medium […]

EDF Renewable’s proposed 500 MW photovoltaic project slated for public land in the desert of Riverside County was approved by the Bureau of Land Management. “The Palen Solar Project will provide benefits to the local community and the region both now and in the future, demonstrating the critical role multiple-use public lands play for the […]

The California Public Utilities Commission advanced its Draft Environmental & Social Justice Plan, which seeks to serve as a path for incorporating social equity in its programs and policies. The plan, released Nov. 2, outlines the commission’s “vision” for making sure that disadvantaged communities up and down the state have “meaningful participation” in commission proceedings […]

California appears to have no problem meeting the state’s 33 percent renewable portfolio standard, finds the California Public Utilities Commission. But, regulators warn that community choice aggregators and direct access providers need to up their renewable procurement. While the utilities have lined up more storage than needed in 2020, only a fourth of that energy […]

California is on target to meet that state’s 33 percent renewable portfolio standard, according to a California Public Utilities Commission report to the Legislature on Nov. 1. However, community choice aggregators and direct access providers will have to pick up their pace in procuring renewable energy. “California continues on its path to a 100 percent […]

Only one-fourth of the 1,325 MW of energy storage investor-owned utilities are required to have in place in little more than two years is currently operational, according the California Public Utilities Commission. The utilities have lined up a total 1,650 MW of storage deals and 1,047 MW worth of those projects have been approved. Currently, […]

Southern California Edison said its electrical equipment appears to have been an ignition source at one and possibly two key points of last year’s devastating Thomas Fire. “Edison International and SCE expect to incur a material loss in connection with the Thomas Fire,” the company stated in a 10-Q Securities & Exchange Commission filing made […]

Higher exit fees payable to investor-owned utilities authorized last month by regulators are apparently no showstopper to community choice aggregation in San Diego. Neither the city, nor San Diego Gas & Electric take issue with the level of fee increases the California Public Utilities Commission is requiring community choice aggregators to pay to utilities. Initially, […]

California regulators and friends continue to claim that the surge in community energy and shrinkage of private utility customers in California creates conditions similar to those that led to the energy crisis after the 1996 deregulation law. “We will be right back where we were 22 years ago if we don’t get it right,” said […]

California’s increasing number of electric cars presents a major opportunity for storing excess electric power from the grid and then feeding the grid in times of need, say state officials and clean energy policy advocates. Yet, much work remains to turn the idea into a reality. Storing excess power in electric vehicles and then dispatching […]

San Diego Gas & Electric’s new synchrophasor sensors can turn off power on lines that break before they hit the ground, thereby averting sparks that could start a fire. SDG&E highlighted the new system late last month, which works by detecting voltage changes. Sensors along circuits report conditions up to 60 times a second through […]

Using the California Energy Commission’ s 2016 power content label, Current mistakenly reported last week that Alameda Municipal Power did not meet the state’s 25 percent renewable portfolio standard  by 2016. The power content label and RPS measure different aspects of an entity’s renewable generation. The former provides an annual snapshot of an entity’s entire generation mix, including the percentages of renewable electricity […]