By Rory D. Sweeney AUSTIN, Texas — Wind energy is quickly becoming a dominant force in ERCOT’s resource mix, and the grid operator is making changes to address it. Speaking to a packed house at a Gulf Coast Power Association luncheon last week, Kenan Ögelman, ERCOT’s vice president of commercial...

By Rory D. Sweeney HOUSTON — Texas, which ranks 10th in installed solar capacity among the states, boasts two assets that could see it rise in the rankings. “We have a lot of sun and a lot of land,” Christine Wright, SolarCity’s deputy director of policy and electricity markets, told...

Regulators OK APS Battery Storage Program The Corporation Commission approved Arizona Public Service’s demand-side management plan, which includes $4 million to incentivize the use of battery storage systems for residential customers. The plan’s aim is to reduce peak load on the utility’s distribution system and includes programs to encourage the use...

By Tom Kleckner NextEra Energy is said to have offered Energy Future Holdings a combination of cash and debt for its Oncor subsidiary and leads the list of potential suitors for Texas’ largest transmission and distribution utility, according to a Bloomberg report. Bloomberg quoted “people familiar with the talks” as...

By Tom Kleckner The Public Utility Commission of Texas said it will invite stakeholder comments as it takes a cautious approach to Lubbock Power & Light’s planned integration into the ERCOT grid. “I think this is an incredibly complicated situation. I’m not sure it’s even clear how … we evaluate...

Govs. Speak Against Artificial Island Cost Allocation Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Delaware Gov. Jack Markell stepped up their complaints that the cost allocation for New Jersey’s Artificial Island nuclear project disproportionately affects customers in their states. The two held a news conference at a waterfront restaurant on their states’ border,...

By Rory D. Sweeney AUSTIN, Texas — To address the Defense Department’s frustrations over Texas’ lack of regulation for siting new generation, the governor’s office is working with ERCOT to require notifying the department of proposed projects that might impact military operations. DeAnn Walker, a senior policy adviser in Gov.

Study Shows Snowpack Deficit Could Last 3 Years Snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountains, depleted after four years of drought, will likely remain in deficit until 2019, according to a University of California, Los Angeles study. The research debunks the notion that the recent El Niño, which increased snowpack levels to...

By Tom Kleckner Hunt Consolidated’s bid for Texas utility Oncor may not be over after all. The Hunt group filed a lawsuit Thursday in state court against the Public Utility Commission of Texas, seeking a review of its March order that accepted the proposed acquisition but imposed restrictions that led to...

By Tom Kleckner ERCOT’s Board of Directors last week unanimously approved two transmission projects intended to ease congestion and reliability concerns in South Texas, where proposed LNG plants are expected to increase the region’s load. The Regional Planning Group’s Valley Import Project will add a static VAR compensator at two...