Monthly Archives: April 2016

It Ain’t Over ’til It’s Over: Ohio Bailout Battle Marches On

By John Finnigan / Published: April 12, 2016

case-law-pixabayIn extremely disappointing news, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) recently approved the AEP and FirstEnergy bailout cases. By keeping old, uneconomic coal and nuclear plants running for the next eight years, the bailouts are bad for customers, bad for the environment, and bad for the competitive electric market. Even worse, customers are forced to subsidize these plants, even if they buy their power from a different supplier.

A broad coalition of consumer, industrial, commercial, and environmental advocates opposed the bailouts, but the PUCO disregarded this strong public opposition. However, the battle over the bailouts is far from over.  Read More »

Posted in FirstEnergy, Ohio, Utility Business Models / Read 2 Responses

Transforming the Electric System to Reduce Costs and Pollution

By EDF Blogs / Published: April 8, 2016

electrical-power-linesBy: Beia Spiller and Kristina Mohlin

Electricity markets around the world are transforming from a model where electricity flows one way (from electricity-generating power plants to the customer) to one where customers actively participate as providers of electric services. But to speed this transformation and maximize its environmental and cost benefits, we need to understand how customer actions affect the three distinct parts of our electric system: generation, transmission, and distribution. Read More »

Posted in California, Electricity Pricing, Grid Modernization, New York, Texas, Utility Business Models / Read 7 Responses

Ohio Gov. Kasich Moves to Reduce Environmental Impact of Natural Gas Industry

By Andrew Williams / Published: April 7, 2016

The administration of Ohio Governor John Kasich announced today that the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) is taking another important step to reduce harmful air pollution from natural gas operations.

This isn’t the first time the Kasich administration has moved to address air pollution from the oil and gas industry. In 2014 Ohio joined Colorado and Wyoming in requiring operators to conduct quarterly inspections at well sites to find and fix emissions from leaking equipment. Today’s action extends these requirements upstream, and – notably — proposes to regulate both VOCs and methane, a move that helps cement Ohio’s position as one of the leading states on this issue.

Comprehensive methane rules are also under development in Pennsylvania (the nation’s second largest gas producer) and California (the nation’s third largest oil producer). Under both Republican and Democratic leadership, each of these states has recognized the benefits of keeping harmful emissions out of the air and valuable product in the pipeline. At the same time, they’re proving that these policies are highly cost-effective to implement. Read More »

Posted in Methane, Natural Gas / Comments are closed

A Successful Cleanup at Aliso Canyon Requires a Principled Approach

By Tim O'Connor / Published: April 7, 2016

aliso pic 2The leak in Southern California Gas Company’s Aliso Canyon Facility released a massive amount of methane – a powerful climate change pollutant. Like other catastrophes, now that the pollution release is stemmed, the focus shifts towards cleanup and mitigation (as well as establishing causation, preventing recurrence, and pursuing legal actions).

Last week California took a major step on the cleanup front with the release of the final Aliso Canyon mitigation plan, a plan to cut pollution equal to about 100,000 metric tons of methane. Its aims to achieve these reductions by focusing on the agriculture and waste sectors, increasing energy efficiency and decreasing use of fossil fuels, and reducing methane “hot spots.”

While the portfolio of strategies laid out within the finalized plan is strong, this is only the beginning of a lengthy process, and one in which pushback from SoCalGas is already palpable. As the critical details of the mitigation plan are put into action, adherence to core principles is necessary to ensure mitigation from the Aliso Canyon disaster is a success story for the climate and people of California. Read More »

Posted in Aliso Canyon, Methane, Natural Gas / Read 1 Response

Will AEP Subsidize Its Past or Modernize the Grid?

By John Finnigan / Published: April 7, 2016

AEP power lines unsplashOhio has been busy. On the one hand, it has been trying to keep its outdated, uneconomic coal plants afloat at a hefty cost to Ohioans. And as of last week, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) approved AEP’s requested subsidies to continue spewing pollution from dirty generators. This bailout is bad news for business, customers, and the environment – and the PUCO should have rejected it. Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) will continue to object to the income-guarantees at the state and federal level.

On the other hand, and in a separate regulatory case, AEP has been working with multiple parties – including EDF – to build a cleaner, smarter grid. Its recent grid modernization agreement is a step toward more efficient, reliable electricity that will help people reduce their energy usage, lower their electric bills, and breathe cleaner air.

These two concurrent cases show AEP needs to decide whether it will change for the future, or stay stuck in the past. And while EDF has been clear in our opposition to the subsidies, today we want to acknowledge AEP’s innovative, forward-looking grid modernization efforts. Read More »

Posted in Electricity Pricing, Grid Modernization, Ohio, Voltage Optimization / Comments are closed

Why Texas Leaders Should Maintain Clean Energy Tools

By John Hall / Published: April 7, 2016

wind turbines unsplashIn terms of clean energy, Texas is incredibly resource-rich. And as our wind progress shows, we have begun to maximize that potential: The Lone Star State currently produces nearly three times as much wind energy as the next highest state.

How did Texas arrive at the forefront of the wind energy economy? One factor that undoubtedly played a vital role: the creation of an ahead-of-its-time policy tool that required the identification of Competitive Renewable Energy Zones (CREZ), as well as the construction of transmission lines to move energy from the CREZ to electric customers.

Since West Texas has plentiful wind but not as many people, this initiative aimed to transport that wind energy to populous cities throughout the state. The rules allow the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) to designate an area with abundant renewable energy as a CREZ, and then approve new transmission lines or improvements to existing ones. In 2008, the PUCT exercised this authority and the resulting power lines – completed in 2014 – stretch nearly 3,600 miles, moving clean, renewable energy across the state while improving the overall reliability of the electric grid.

However, despite these successes, the PUCT recently proposed to dismantle the rules related to CREZ and the approval of new transmission lines, which would be a significant affront to the state’s thriving wind industry – including the revenue and jobs that come with it. Right now, there are no proposals to expand the designation of CREZ and develop additional power lines to those zones. But with the rapidly changing energy landscape, it makes more sense for state leaders to maintain CREZ capabilities in their toolkit, rather than undoing a successful energy development policy. Read More »

Posted in Renewable Energy, Solar Energy, Texas / Comments are closed