By Hudson Sangree The California Public Utilities Commission launched an examination Thursday of the state’s natural gas infrastructure and the rules governing it for the first time in 16 years, citing accidents and declining demand as threats to the system’s safety and reliability. "California’s energy system is undergoing a period...

By Hudson Sangree The effort to prevent utility equipment from causing disasters was a major reason the California Public Utilities Commission decided Thursday to extend the general rate case cycle for the state’s investor-owned utilities from three years to four. After the 2010 San Bruno gas pipeline explosion and years...

By Hudson Sangree The California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday approved $830 million in incentives for self-generation with the goal of benefiting disadvantaged customers who live in fire-prone areas and have been subject to public safety power shutoffs (PSPS) by utilities trying to avoid starting wildfires. When added to unspent...

By Hudson Sangree Pacific Gas and Electric scored major wins Tuesday in its effort to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy with its shareholders still in control of the utility. In U.S. Bankruptcy Court in San Francisco, Judge Dennis Montali approved PG&E’s $13.5 billion settlement with wildfire victims, despite objections from...

By Hudson Sangree and Robert Mullin The California Public Utilities Commission opened an investigation Wednesday into the massive power shutoffs that placed millions of residents in the dark several times in October as part of efforts to prevent utility-sparked wildfires. The purpose of the inquiry is to determine "whether California’s...

By Hudson Sangree The California Public Utilities Commission voted unanimously Thursday to recommend that some older gas-fired plants, scheduled to close next year, remain open for up to three years to prevent reliability problems. The commission also ordered that all load-serving entities under its oversight collectively procure 3,300 MW of...

By Hudson Sangree PG&E Corp. officials told California regulators last week that its public safety power shutoffs (PSPS) could continue for another decade, and that it was making plans to turn off electricity to all its 5.4 million customers should circumstances warrant it. "The likelihood of an event of this...

By Robert Mullin California officials on Monday continued to heap criticism on Pacific Gas and Electric for initiating a massive blackout across much of its territory last week, with the state’s top regulator ordering "immediate corrective actions" to the company’s policies and Gov. Gavin Newsom calling for refunds to the...

By Hudson Sangree As roughly 600,000 Pacific Gas and Electric customers remained without power Thursday, the president of the California Public Utilities Commission called the situation "unacceptable." "The management and the response of the company, PG&E, to the [public safety power shutoffs] have been absolutely unacceptable," CPUC President Marybel Batjer...

FERC on Monday again upheld the RTO incentives it previously approved for Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric, rejecting rehearing requests by California regulators. Commissioner Richard Glick, who had dissented on the 50-basis-point adder to SCE’s return on equity in December 2017, joined with the majority this time...