CA Current

Cannabis cultivation is and will continue to drive up electricity consumption in California. It is expected to add 1,600 GWh of new load over the next decade, according to the California Energy Commission. Demand from pot growth, largely energy-intensive indoor cultivation, is estimated to increase energy use in Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California […]

Pressure is mounting for energy policy makers to meld building decarbonization and energy efficiency programs and funding to ensure California reaches a zero carbon energy sector by 2045. Part and parcel of that considerable challenge for the California Energy Commission and Public Utilities Commission is whether to substitute a single emissions reduction metric in place […]

A study on electrifying the 1,350 mile route from Mexico to Canada for medium- and heavy-duty trucks is being launched by a coalition of nearly three dozen West Coast private and public utilities and organizations. The study by this West Coast Clean Transit Corridor Initiative, announced April 18, is to evaluate how, where and the […]

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District last week became a fully operational member of the grid operator’s energy imbalance market. SMUD is the first municipal utility to join the short-term market, which the California Independent System Operator created in 2014 to better integrate renewable power into the grid and to lower the overall cost of power. […]

Energy utilities in general are lagging behind other business sectors in offering their customers effective digital interfaces on the internet, according to a ranking by J.D. Power released March 21. California utilities are near the bottom of the industry. “Consumers have grown accustomed to receiving up-to-the-minute alerts on the status of at-home deliveries and being […]

Greening the grid is the talk of the town. At the CAISO’s annual confab held this week, most bets are that a westward grid expansion will happen. Why? Because proponents insist it will promote renewables, which will decarbonize both the grid and economy, near and far. Achieving that goal, however, requires paying new alternative resources […]

Triple digit temperatures caused Southern California Edison and the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power to set new peak load records last week. The blistering heat drove up electricity demand in and outside Southern California even though the high loads were tamped down somewhat by demand response programs. Edison’s new peak load reached 23,508 […]

After the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power boosted customer charges last month, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District is planning to follow suit. It’s proposing a 1.5 percent rate boost for residential customers next year and a 1.5 percent increase for non-residential customers in both 2018 and 2019. The state’s second largest municipal utility […]

Reliance on renewable power is increasing in California, but retail power providers are all over the map when it comes to their respective levels of carbon-free energy, 2015 data show. (more…)

California’s dearth of hydropower the past several drought-plagued years appears to be ending. Hydropower production in California has surged 107 percent this year through August compared to the first eight months of 2015, Energy Information Agency data show. Power production at dams rose in northern California due to increased precipitation this year and could continue […]

Nov. 8: Los Angeles Dept. of Water & Power regular board meeting. Agenda is expected to be available 72 hours prior to meeting. More information. Time: 10 a.m. Place: LADWP, Room 1555-H, 111 North Hope St., Los Angeles. (more…)

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District Board Oct. 20 voted to participate in the expanding western Energy Imbalance Market launched by California’s grid operator and PacifiCorp Nov. 1, 2014. The net annual savings to SMUD is estimated at $2.8 million, according to board member Gregg Fishman. “More importantly,” he said, “it enables SMUD to partner with […]

SMUD’s board Oct. 20 voted unanimously to adopt the California Environmental Quality Act Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration for the Franklin Electric Transmission Project. The proposal seeks to increase electric system capacity to meet expected customer electrical load growth due to planned land development in southwest Sacramento County. As part of the project, SMUD […]

Nov. 1: California Public Utilities Commission workshop on regionalization to hear from stakeholders and members of the public re: options for locating additional facilities in areas of California, such as Sacramento, which would allow the CPUC to collaborate with other agencies. More information and agenda.   Time: 9:15 a.m. – 4:15 p.m. Place: CPUC Auditorium, […]

  Electrifying transportation reduces California’s greenhouse gases, but the state needs to pick up the pace to meet its emissions reduction targets, an official with a nonprofit that conducts research on electric power industry issues said this week. (more…)

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District board unanimously approved about $7 million in service contracts during its most recent business meeting, which include support for relicensing of a spent nuclear fuel facility. The agreements also include the commission of an auxiliary boiler. (more…)

Aug. 29: The California Energy Commission workshop to review efforts to ensure electricity reliability in Southern California after the closure of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, and impending retirement of several fossil generating units using once-through cooling technologies. (more…)

July 19: Sempra Energy’s second quarter earnings and call with analysts. Time: 1:30 Eastern time Where: live webcast at www.sempra.com. (more…)

July 11: Joint agency workshop on analytical data, tools and approaches that could help establish energy efficiency targets, evaluate energy savings and integrate data into the periodic energy demand forecast. Details and attendance instructions. (more…)

June 20: Regional grid operator and governance workshop. The second of two workshops led by the CEC and governor’s office regarding considerations for the development of a governance structure for a regional grid operator. More information. (more…)