Wildfires
Shorts
Pacific Gas & Electric seeks $1.47 billion from ratepayers for wildfire liability costs detailed in its 2021 Wildfire Mitigation Plan. PG&E’s Sept. 16 application to the California Public Utilities Commission seeks to recover $1.4 billion in expenses and $197 in capital expenditures over two years. The costs are to cover its wildfire risk mitigation […]
SCE Wins $7.7 Billion Rate Case
The California Public Utilities Commission approved a 19% increase in Southern California Edison’s triennial rate case. Its revenue requirement will rise from the current authorized rate of $6.4 billion to $7.7 billion by 2023.
Much of the revenue and big rate hike—close to $4 billion over the three years—is attributable to the cost to insulate […]
CEC Waives Air Pollution Rules in a Rush for New Diesel and Natural Gas Power
Reversing years of clean power priorities, the California Energy Commission is waiving air quality protections and rushing permits for new diesel-burning generators and gas-fired power plants in a desperate push to get more generation online by the end of October. The vote came on Aug. 17 and was unanimous.
The expedited process applies to new […]
PG&E Shuts Off Power to 51,000 in Northern California and Mountains
Updated Aug. 19
Powerful dry winds that started blowing the afternoon of Tuesday, Aug 17, caused Pacific Gas & Electric to cut off power to 51,000 customers in 18 counties to prevent power equipment from igniting fires. It was the utility’s first preventative power outage this summer.
The utility blacked out 23,000 customers in Shasta and […]
SCE Won’t Face Criminal Charges for Woolsey Fire
Southern California Edison has dodged a bullet with the announcement by the California Attorney General that there will be no criminal charges for the 2018 Woolsey Fire in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. The massive blaze resulted in the death of three people, torched nearly 100,000 acres, destroyed 1,643 buildings, and forced the evacuation of 295,000 people.
5,000 MW Shortage Possible Next Summer
If drought and extreme heat continue into next year, the shortfall on the California grid from high summer heat could escalate to 5.2 GW, up from this summer’s projected shortfall of 3.5 GW. That is according to preliminary results of the California Energy Commission’s expanded planning model released Aug. 11.