CA Current

Energy Secretary Rick Perry covered the water front of U.S. energy issues May 9 during a House Energy & Commerce Energy Subcommittee hearing on the Department of Energy’s proposed budget for 2020. Perry told lawmakers that the department’s $31.7 billion request for the coming federal fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 would help sustain “recent historic economic […]

The state’s three big investor-owned power utilities are launching an advertising campaign to let Californians know they’ll be routinely shutting off electrical service in fire-prone areas during wind storms. As part of their public information campaign, the utilities are urging the state’s 11 million residents who live in elevated fire risk areas to prepare emergency […]

Updated May 9. Renewable energy continued to grow as a source of electricity in California and its price continued to fall in 2018, according to a report by the California Public Utilities Commission released May 8. Among the state’s large investor-owned utilities, the level of renewable power increased from 36 percent to 40 percent from […]

The New Green Deal, a 14-page national resolution to clean up the environment and simultaneously address social inequity by creating new job opportunities and strengthening the social safety net, lacks the force of law. But, it is a powerful, timely idea and symbol that’s causing lots of people to cheer or chastise it. Its potency […]

The House Energy & Commerce Committee during an April 10 hearing discussed eight bills aimed at advancing energy efficiency in buildings and helping blue collar workers transition to green collar jobs. “Efficiency work supports thousands of good-paying jobs at small businesses in every state,” said Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ), who chairs the committee. “The eight […]

Updated April 4 State clean energy laws and policies, from renewable energy mandates to electric vehicles, along with community climate protection initiatives, were touted for increasing environmental and economic health during an April 2 hearing in the House Energy & Commerce Committee. A light was shined on these policies and practices also to put the […]

The Department of Energy’s delay in implementing energy efficiency standards for several products was heavily criticized by Democratic lawmakers, but largely defended by their Republican colleagues. That was in spite of the fact that both parties during a March 7 hearing by the House Energy & Commerce Committee insisted efficiency was a bipartisan issue. “DOE has […]

Updated Feb. 27. It was the yin and the yang in Congress Feb. 27 as a committee of the Republican-controlled Senate held a hearing on carbon capture and sequestration and a panel in the Democratically-dominated House focused on green collar renewable energy jobs. The Senate Environment & Public Works Committee held a hearing on the […]

The California Energy Commission approved its 2018 Integrated Energy Policy Report Update, which gives priority to building emissions reductions. The vote cast at the Feb. 20 business meeting, is “a bold—and necessary—shift in energy priorities,” according to Pierre Del Forge with the Natural Resources Defense Council. “In the push to boost energy efficiency, electricity from […]

A key U.S. Senate committee took a deep dive into the state of cyber security in the nation’s energy industry this week as increasing digitalization and automation open the nation’s power grid and pipelines to vulnerabilities. “While advances in technology are always welcome and can help us run things more efficiently,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski […]

The Green New Deal Resolution by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) seeks to beat California’s clean energy standard by 15 years. When comparing the two, there’s a slim to no chance it will be able to do that. The new federal proposal seeks to create socially just and emissions-free electricity, transportation, […]

State energy agencies are delving into natural gas and electricity price spikes in Southern California. One major SoCal Gas supply pipeline remains out of service after it burst in 2017, while two other major utility pipelines are operating at reduced capacity due to age deterioration. Lawmakers and the governor are not rushing to any conclusions […]

Andrew Wheeler, the controversial nominee to head the U.S Environmental Protection Agency, defended the agency’s weakening of vehicle and power plant emission standards during his confirmation hearing held on the 26th day of the federal government shut down. “No one is more qualified” for the job than Wheeler, Sen. James Inohe (R- OK) said during […]

The Department of Water Resources’ first snow survey of the new year revealed the water content of the snow is 80 percent of average at the standard measuring location, Phillips Station. The Jan. 3 survey recorded 25.5 inches of snow depth and a snow water equivalent of 9 inches. The Sierra snowpack is 67 percent […]

California’s public transit systems will gradually move to using electric- and fuel-cell- powered buses by 2040 under a rule the California Air Resources Board adopted Dec. 14. The regulation will eliminate almost 1.5 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions a year by the time it’s fully implemented, according to Air Board data. Smog-forming nitrogen oxide […]

As Gov. Jerry Brown passes the baton to Gavin Newsom, the octogenarian’s primary project—California’s world famous climate change program—is teetering. Sure, Californians can celebrate that they’ve already met the initial target under the now 12-year old AB 32 of cutting carbon emissions to their 1990 level by 2020. However, an increasing number of trend lines […]

A U.S. Senate subcommittee held a Nov. 29 hearing on 14 energy-related bills, spanning a wide gamut of topics, from promoting employment of veterans by the energy industry to bolstering research by the Department of Energy on energy storage and distributed energy resources. The hearing came during the lame duck session when federal lawmakers’ key […]

In spite of opposition to President Donald Trump’s nomination of Bernard McNamee to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by Democrats, the U.S. Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee recommended his approval to the post. On a 13-10 largely partisan vote cast Nov. 27, the committee forwarded his nomination to the full Senate. If confirmed, McNamee […]

The California Air Resources Board delayed endorsing use of tropical forest offsets for compliance with the state’s carbon cap-and-trade program. In the face of heavy pressure from indigenous groups and some environmentalists during a Nov. 16 hearing on the issue, air regulators decided to postpone a decision on the proposed use of tropical forest offsets […]

California air regulators take initial steps on cap-and-trade program revisions to double greenhouse gas cuts in the decade ahead. The same day, a report is released that pushes land management changes to slash greenhouse gases in California. That includes improved forestry and woodlands management, slower conversion of natural lands and greener agriculture. At the nation’s […]