CA Current

A California Public Utilities Commission proposal seeks 7,500 MW of additional resources starting in 2024. Of that amount, 2,000 MW would be non-fossil. The resources are to make up for the closing Diablo nuclear plant and old inefficient gas-powered plants. But it is much more than meets the eye. East Bay Community Energy and OhmConnect […]

A California Public Utilities Commission proposal calls for 7,500 MW of new power in California, with less than one-third of that carbon free. The recalculation of needed resources covering 2024-26 is intended to address demand for electricity on the hottest days.  The proposal by Administrative Law Judge Julie Fitch seeks to address a resource gap […]

East Bay Community Energy signed a deal with home energy management company OhmConnect to apply 25 MW in aggregated energy reductions to EBCE’s peak load during evening hours as solar power diminishes. It’s a novel demand response arrangement. The transaction does not sign up EBCE customer into the ‘negawatt’ program but instead taps into the […]

The Department of Water Resources’ March 2 snow survey found that California’s snowpack was below average. Overall, it’s 61% of the average for this time of year, and 86% of the average at Phillips Station in South Lake Tahoe. At the latter station, a snow depth of 56 inches was measured with a snow water […]

Offshore wind power is heading the Golden State’s way, first to serve the Redwood Coast Energy Authority, a panel of energy experts at a California Community Choice Association webinar said Feb. 26. This renewable technology has already gained favor in Europe, Asia, and on the East Coast of the U.S. The Redwood Coast authority project […]

The ever-growing tab from months of unpaid utility bills will soon come due. Who gets saddled with that debt, currently $1.15 billion, remains to be seen? The California Public Utilities Commission will look at repayment options. Unpaid bills of $1 billion and climbing gets dwarfed by the $15 billion in additional spending the private utilities […]

Eight community energy organizations have joined forces to purchase clean power in an effort to lower costs through economies of scale. Realized savings would in turn be viewed favorably by credit rating agencies, potentially further improving community aggregators’ bottom lines. Several northern and central coast aggregators representing 6.6 million people and 32,600 GW hours of […]

State regulatory staff propose further crimping demand response, much to the dismay of advocates of these behind-the-meter resources. Making matters worse for them is the disparity in treatment between DR and fossil power plants. The City of San Diego plans to issue a second request for bids for electricity and gas services because the long-time […]

updated Feb. 4 A federal judge handling Pacific Gas & Electric’s probation called the utility “criminally reckless” for failing to take out a tree that may have caused last fall’s Zoff fire, which killed four people, the Courthouse News Service reported Feb. 3. Judge Alsup, who is overseeing the utility’s probation following the 2010 San […]

The big storm that began Jan. 27 that sent high winds, snow, and heavy rain across Northern California knocked out power to about 575,000 Pacific Gas & Electric customers and 50,000 Sacramento Municipal Utilities District customers. As of late Tuesday afternoon, PG&E restored power to about 434,000 customers. “Hazardous conditions exist in many locations within […]

Updated Jan. 21 Highly unusual winds for this time of year prompted preventive power shutoffs and warnings to more than 300,000 utility customers early this week, nearly all in Southern California Edison territory. About 78,546 SCE customers across six counties had their power cut by Tuesday afternoon. Most were in Los Angeles, Riverside and Ventura […]

Details on the key causes of the mid-August blackouts are out, and consistent with an earlier analysis. They highlight market and planning flaws and a system thin on the cushion of extra power, or resource adequacy, the grid requires. The final analysis also points to an acute concern over two scenarios: a sudden loss of […]

Three is not a charm for Pacific Gas & Electric. Its problematic 1,150 MW Unit 2 at its Diablo nuclear plant is down for a third time because of a new issue. The soonest it will be back online is the end of May. A quintet of community energy agencies receive solid credit ratings, which […]

Community energy organizations in California continue to do well on their early investment credit ratings, with five of the entities now rated. Two Bay Area community energy organizations, which supply energy to former private utility ratepayers, are the most recent to receive solid grades. Silicon Valley Clean Energy received an “A” from S&P Global Ratings […]

The California Public Utilities Commission named a new executive director to replace the former chief Alice Stebbins, who was fired in August. Rachel Peterson, who has been the Acting Executive Director, became the new director Jan. 5. “It is a great move for the CPUC,” Arthur O’Donnell, energy analyst and journalist, and former CPUC staffer, […]

Updated Dec. 17 President-elect Joe Biden announced Dec. 17 he will nominate former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm as the new Secretary of Energy. He also plans to name former U.S. EPA chief Gina McCarthy National Climate Advisor. The appointed Deputy National Climate Advisor is Ali Zaidi. Zaidi is currently New York’s Deputy Secretary to the […]

The California Independent System Operator is charged with operating 80% of the state’s massive electric highway. The first board of this semi-public entity launched in May 1997. It had 25 directors, five of them women. It included a range of representatives, from private utilities, to independent generation companies, which thrived temporarily, to environmentalists. The first […]

As Californians pay higher electric bills because work and other activities are confined to home, the California Public Utilities Commission unanimously approved a request from Pacific Gas & Electric to increase its revenue this year by $9.1 billion, a nearly 7% increase over last year. In 2021, there will be an additional $316 million rise […]

San Jose, Oakland, plus two Silicon Valley cities—Los Altos and Sunnyvale—voted to restrict natural gas use in new construction. San Jose and Oakland both voted Dec. 1 that beginning next June and August respectively, most new residential and commercial construction will be all-electric. Both city councils are expected to cast their final vote on the […]

East Bay Community Energy pulled from its Nov. 18 board agenda the issue of a whether to use the nuclear power from Diablo Canyon. “The item was pulled due to lack of interest among the largest Brilliant 100 customer base and it won’t be reconsidered in 2020,” Melissa Brandt, EBCE spokesperson, said. Local power activists have objected […]