CA Current

The Los Angeles Department of Water & Power is preparing to kick off a community solar program early next year that could involve installing up to 5 MW of photovoltaic panels within its distribution system to serve up to 6,600 customers. In other developments, the muni’s board heard that installing 100 MW of battery storage […]

Federal energy regulators last week agreed to examine how to streamline the permit process for building natural gas pipeline projects. The review comes at a time when gas production has outstripped tepid national demand and turned the U.S. into a gas exporter for the first time since Dwight D. Eisenhower lived at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. […]

Carbon dioxide present in raw biogas has been successfully turned into burnable methane in a process that can be powered by renewable electricity. “This groundbreaking innovation holds the potential to simplify storing renewable electricity in the form of zero-carbon renewable natural gas that can be used for home heating, water heaters, or clean trucks to […]

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission April 19 unanimously approved rules to increase transparency on above market payments grid operators make to resources needed for reliability and to speed up interconnection agreements for generating resources 20 MW and larger. The regulators also launched a review of the agency’s 1999 intrastate gas pipeline project certification process. “Uplift […]

After debating sticky measures to change fire liability parameters for utilities, the Senate Energy, Utilities & Communications Committee approved less controversial measures. That includes ones to restore community and employee mitigation funds linked to the Diablo nuclear plant closure and to increase accessibility of public electric vehicle chargers. SB 1090 by Sen. Bill Monning (D-Carmel) […]

I am exploring how to make a granny flat my wife and I plan to build all-electric. We want to eliminate emissions from burning natural gas and take advantage of our solar rooftop. Part of the plan may include upsizing our solar system to cover the additional square footage we’ll add. So with a few […]

Gaining ground this week were bills to electrify home water and space heating, mandate that private utilities report potential safety violations, and allow select munis to continue operating young gas-fired power plants they’re paying off. Over objections April 3, the Senate Energy, Utilities & Communications Committee approved SB 1477 by Sen. Henry Stern (D-Canoga Park). […]

SoCal Gas is under a state regulatory order to accelerate the storage of natural gas to prepare for summer demand because company pipelines remain out of service. The closed pipelines, which have been offline for months, hamper import capacity into the Los Angeles metro area. California Public Utilities Commission Executive Director Alice Stebbins called the […]

Key legislation would deal with how and when private utilities can recover from ratepayers the cost of wildfires, prohibit state energy regulators from halting natural gas hookups and safeguard select gas-fired power plants. But, the talk of the town is the revised measure to allow California’s grid operator to expand. Closed door negotiations are ongoing […]

The grid operator’s board adopted big time reforms to increase gas power plant generator revenues and curb speculation in the transmission congestion market. Pacific Gas & Electric was chastised for balking at complying with the CPUC’s order to sign contracts for biomass projects to help reduce the huge number of dead trees. Biomass got  a […]

The grid operator’s board adopted significant reforms to its wholesale power market March 22 to bolster revenues for natural gas power plant generators and curtail speculative profits stemming from transmission congestion. In a decision that will change the way gas generators offer their power in the California Independent System Operator’s market, the operator’s board adopted […]

As California lawmakers hear warnings that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission could pre-empt the state’s climate change policies if the California Independent System Operator creates a unified power market, federal regulators this week gave short shrift to the full climate change impacts of new natural gas pipelines. Meeting in Washington March 15, FERC approved a […]

A sizable midweek natural gas leak in San Diego shuts down a freeway, a huge mall and requires evacuations. As bad is the accompanying lack of a quick and easy shut off. Hours before, information leaked out that natural gas withdrawals from Aliso Canyon by SoCal Gas were quietly okayed over the weekend, riling a […]

Updated March 9. A  March 7 gas leak in the Mission Valley area of San Diego closed down a major freeway and the city’s largest shopping mall. In addition, it forced the evacuation of some 3,300 people. San Diego Gas & Electric issued a statement saying that the leak was caused when a “third-party contractor” […]

The California Public Utilities Commission held an all-day meeting March 7 to review how safety management systems are working at the state’s electric and gas utilities. Utility executives noted that safety requires ongoing training and continuous improvement based on data feedback loops in how utilities operate their facilities. The en banc meeting, said CPUC Executive […]

During a March 6 hearing by the Senate Energy, Utilities & Communications Committee, the California Public Utilities president was questioned about a closed-door decision to allow SoCal Gas to withdraw natural gas from Aliso Canyon. Sen. Henry Stern (D-Canoga Park) was highly critical of a decision made the previous Saturday by CPUC Energy Division Director […]

by Fereidoon Sioshansi It is broadly accepted that automation and artificial intelligence (AI) will make many of today’s jobs redundant – think of automated bank machines, driverless cars, cashier-less supermarkets and drones dropping packages at your doorstep. Travel agents and hordes of other professions have been virtually wiped out of market while robots now assist […]

Legislators in Sacramento continued introducing energy-related measures through the end of last week, including perennial bills that to make large hydropower a qualified source of renewable energy and to promote electric vehicles. While some are largely statements of intent at this juncture—with the substance to be developed later—two of the more developed measures introduced in […]

Updated Feb. 22. Edison International reported a fourth quarter 2017 net loss of $545 million compared to net income of $329 million in the fourth quarter of 2016 on Feb. 22. Earnings at its utility, Southern California Edison, declined $437 million from those in the fourth quarter of 2016. Meanwhile, earnings also slowed at Pacific […]

Updated Feb. 15. The Los Angeles Department of Water & Power is purchasing biomass power from the American Renewable Power-Loyalton Biomass project in Sierra County. LADWP will get 8.9 MW of biomass energy from American Renewable for five years under the deal at a cost of $97.50 per MWh. The deal helps satisfy an obligation […]