CA Current

At is first-ever remote hearing in the 45-year history, the California Energy Commission took further steps to curb the use of natural gas in buildings. The five commissioners April 7 approved seven city building ordinances reducing or eliminating natural gas use, increasing renewable use and/or energy savings in new and remodeled construction. The ordinances exceed […]

California has successfully decoupled economic growth from energy consumption, a fact highlighted in the new Integrated Energy Policy Report by the California Energy Commission. That’s an indicator that California can attain carbon neutrality before midcentury. But the report says much more work is needed to get there. Between 2000 and 2018, California’s gross state product […]

San Francisco, San Diego and Irvine ranked first, second and third respectively among U.S. cities at the forefront of promoting sustainable communities. That includes via the creation of green jobs and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, according to WalletHub.  It released its findings Oct. 8. Wallethub compared the 100 largest U.S. cities across 28 critical […]

Trump’s claim that California’s Clean Air Act waiver is preempted by federal law drives state air regulators to look at other ways to slash climate pollution from the transportation sector. Two Republican federal energy regulators approve a proposal to alter the 40-year old law protecting small renewable projects and co-generation. The dissenting Democratic commissioner says […]

The North American Electric Reliability Corp. early this week approved the California Independent System Operator as the West’s new reliability coordinator. With NERC certification in hand, CAISO will begin offering reliability coordinator services to electricity balancing authorities across the western states and in part of Mexico on July 1. “The NERC certification is an important […]

With the New Year comes the sad news of the death of Federal Energy Regulatory Commissioner, and former chair, Kevin McIntyre. The exit fee slapped on former PG&E customers is estimated to add $100 million. But, the exact tab for community choice customers should be known at the end of next week. CA’s Attorney General […]

Pasadena Water & Power rolled out its first integrated resources plan under SB 350 to a standing room only crowd Aug. 23. It promises to cut greenhouse gases 91 percent from their 1990 level and provide customers with power that’s at least 63 percent renewable by 2039. Under the draft plan, the muni will not […]

State and local agencies and SoCal Gas Aug. 8 agreed to a $119.5 million settlement to resolve the public claims arising from the massive methane leak that occurred at the utility’s Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility in Los Angeles in 2015. Attorney General Javier Becerra emphasized, however, that the company still faces hundreds of […]

Federal energy regulators July 18 approved a final rule requiring interstate pipeline companies to pass along to customers their savings under the 2017 Tax Cuts & Jobs Act. Companies will have to file a form outlining their savings with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. It acted this week on the matter. While FERC will have […]

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 […]

Creating a natural gas imbalance market in the state is to be explored at the California Energy Commission. Implementing a real time gas market would “transform” the current California market by allowing the price of gas to vary on a “sub-day basis,” Greg Lander, Skipping Stone president, told the commission Oct. 9. He said doing […]

U.C. Irvine could dramatically increase use of renewable energy with power to gas technology using excess solar energy to make hydrogen from water in an electrolyzer. “With power-to-gas technology, you don’t need to stop renewable power generation when demand is low,” said Jack Brouwer, associate professor of mechanical & aerospace engineering and civil & environmental […]

A split in Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration over a controversial power plant project proposed in Oxnard widened this week when the California Coastal Conservancy recommended that NRG build the facility at an alternate location. The next day, a group of state lawmakers raised questions about the need for the plant and its impacts on the […]

Angry Porter Ranch residents in Los Angeles commandeered a state meeting on whether to allow SoCal Gas to reopen its Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facilities. They took over the stage Feb. 1 in the San Fernando Valley to announce that the evening public hearing would follow their agenda, not the one developed by state […]

Over the last nine months, urban water agencies cut their water by just an overall 24 percent below 2013 levels, or 1.19 million acre feet, which is just short of Gov. Jerry Brown’s 25 percent reduction mandate. However, conservation in February dropped to 12 percent, meeting less than half of Brown’s mandate, which does not […]

A new emphasis on controlling methane.

Retail gas.

New regulations.

Critical.

Supply constraints.