CA Current

Updated Oct. 15 Pacific Gas & Electric’s equipment could have sparked the recent 56,000-acre wildfire in Shasta County that took the lives of four people and destroyed 204 buildings. The Shasta County District Attorney announced Oct. 12 that she and CalFire officials were analyzing whether PG&E was responsible for the Zogg Fire, which began on […]

California can achieve a zero-emissions economy by 2045 with existing technologies, but only if the state adds a lot more solar, wind, and battery storage each year. It specifically requires that over the next 25 years, annual build outs of these resources exceed their single biggest growth year to date, according to a draft joint […]

California has been a leader in hydrogen-fueled transportation and today is home to nearly all the hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles in the United States. There are about 7,000 of these vehicles on state roads, and only another 600 spread across the whole country. Seven thousand vehicles is very few, but hydrogen vehicles are likely […]

California policymakers are talking about legislation to fund a green recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic-clobbered economy. The need for economic stimulus in the next legislative session is “beyond paramount” and it should include “a comprehensive suite of ideas, including investing in advanced technologies,” said Sen. Robert Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys). The just-signed AB 841, which streamlines energy […]

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order Sept. 23 directing the sale of gasoline-fueled cars and small trucks to end within 15 years. This year’s worsening climate-exacerbated wildfires across the state was a key motivator. “We had to do more to make a big difference,” Mary Nichols, California Air Resources Board chair, said during the […]

Northern San Diegans vigorously protest San Diego’s plan to upgrade and extend a big power line from San Marcos to Escondido. After listening to concerns about fire and financial dangers, as well as visual blight, the California Public Utilities Commission pulls the item from this week’s business meeting. In other news, the utility regulators learn […]

The governor should direct the overhauling of resource adequacy rules to help mitigate future supply and demand disparities, the California Community Choice Association head stated in a letter to Gavin Newsom. The recent rolling blackouts “reveal an urgent need to reform the existing resource adequacy rules administered by the California Public Utilities Commission and the […]

Today marks the 10-year anniversary of the explosion of a Pacific Gas & Electric gas pipeline that killed eight people and destroyed three dozen homes in San Bruno. The Sept. 9 disaster happened along a corroded stretch of 30-inch-wide pipe near San Francisco that burst and sent flames high into the sky. Among the dead […]

Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered the heads of the California Public Utilities Commission, Independent System Operator and California Energy Commission to immediately determine why they failed to anticipate the mid-August squeeze on electricity resources and the cause of the rolling outages. In a letter sent early this week, the governor also demanded to know how the […]

Temperatures are expected to spike across California Friday through Sunday, driving up peak demand. To avoid overloading the grid and causing possible blackouts, the California Independent System Operator asked customers to reduce their power consumption from 3PM to 10PM on Friday. “California will be experiencing near-record or record-breaking heat, up to 10-20 degrees above normal […]

Legislation to create a California Green New Deal, along with other clean energy measures propelled forward by the pandemic, have been sidelined by the state budget crisis. AB 1839 by Assemblymember Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) would set an intent to attain clean energy, and environmental, housing and job equity goals similar to those in last year’s […]

When power is deliberately shut off to avoid fires amid high wind in Pacific Gas & Electric territory, 20 cities along the North Coast won’t have to worry. That is because PG&E reconfigured its 163 MW natural gas fired power plant in Humboldt County so it can disconnect from the grid and continue supplying the […]

Falling sun and wind resources occurring as demand rises, particularly in the evenings, has created a worsening supply gap. It grew 50% this year, California Independent System Operator Chief Executive Officer and President Steve Berberich said. This gap or ramp is now 15,000 MW over a three-hour stretch.  It is expected to reach 20,000 MW. […]

As part of the fallout of the 2000-01 energy crisis, the Department of Water Resource’s California Energy Resources Scheduling issued $11 billion in bonds to cover the cost of the pricey long-term energy contracts the state signed when wholesale power prices soared. The money to payback CERS’ energy bonds has appeared as a charge in […]

Updated April 16 To ease the financial hardship caused by the pandemic, the Monterey Bay community aggregator broke new ground April 13 when it voted 13-0 to cut in half generation charges to all 300,000 of its customers in May and June. The rate discount will be funded by higher bills starting in July and […]

It is with much sadness that we learned that Rick Ferguson, who wrote natural gas columns for this publication for several years, passed away suddenly earlier this year. “He was our spirit warrior,” said V. John White, the Center for Energy Efficiency & Renewable Technology executive director. Rich was a cornerstone of CEERT. While retired, […]

The pandemic and the fast approaching wildfire season increases the urgency of getting Pacific Gas & Electric out of bankruptcy by June 30, California Public Utilities Commission Marybel Batjer said. “We want to clear the regulatory landscape for PG&E’s exit from Chapter 11” to allow it to access the legislatively created $20 billion wildfire fund. […]

The California Public Utilities Commission March 12 gave tentative approval to Pacific Gas & Electric’s request for interest rate hedging to reduce the cost of financing its $5.82 billion in new debt needed to exit bankruptcy court. The approved decision on the CPUC’s consent calendar does not include a reasonableness finding. Costs PG&E incurs for […]

Shareholders of three of the four investor-owned utilities were awarded more than $43 million for efficiency program savings funded by ratepayers, in a resolution passed by the California Public Utilities Commission. The awards, approved Feb 27 on a 4-1 vote, cover the 2017 to 2018 period. The lone opponent was Commissioner Marta Guzman Aceves, who […]

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Feb. 20 tentatively voted 2-1 against approving what would be the first LNG project on the West Coast. Commissioner Bernard McNamee voted against the export project at Coos Bay in Oregon along with Commissioner Rich Glick. New information about the Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas project was submitted by the […]