By Christen Smith In a ruling that highlights growing rifts in Virginia’s electricity sector, the State Corporation Commission rejected Costco’s bid to buy power from utilities across state lines, saying that keeping the retail giant a customer of Dominion Energy best serves the public interest. The SCC ruling handed down...

By Christen Smith A newly minted energy policy group in Virginia has set its sights on busting up the commonwealth’s dominant utility companies — Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power — in favor of a deregulated electricity market. The Virginia Energy Reform Coalition (VERC) features policy experts from across the ideological...

By Rich Heidorn Jr. Dominion Energy announced Monday it will build the second offshore wind project in the U.S.: two 6-MW turbines about 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, which would be the first offshore project connecting to PJM, follows the 30-MW,...

By Rory D. Sweeney PJM on Monday secured U.S. Department of Energy approval to dispatch Dominion Energy’s recently shuttered Yorktown coal-fired plant to address potential reliability issues on Virginia’s Middle Peninsula. Dominion, which closed the plant in April to comply with an EPA mandate, said it anticipated the department’s order...

Don Pedro Reservoir Scheduled For Major Refurbishment in 2017 The Don Pedro Reservoir hydrofacility is scheduled for three major refurbishment projects in its Power Tunnel in 2017, costing an estimated $7 million. | Google The work will be completed in two phases, each taking about 45 days. The first phase,...

Democrats, Republican Call for Full Disclosure of APS Election Spending Two Democrats on November’s ballot for seats on the state’s Corporation Commission have aligned themselves with a Republican incumbent in calling for full disclosure by Arizona Public Service as to whether it spent money on the 2014 elections. Democrats Bill...

California and Massachusetts tied for first place in the 2016 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard published by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. This is the sixth consecutive year that Massachusetts led the nation. Missouri, Maine and Michigan were the most-improved states, according to the study. The study identified Louisiana,...

State Audit Reveals Faults In CPUC Contract Practices The Public Utilities Commission failed to follow state rules for awarding noncompetitive contracts, did not guard against the appearance of improper influence from utilities when making decisions and failed to fully disclose important communications, according to a new state audit. The audit focused...

ARKANSAS EPA Finalizes State’s Regional Haze Plan EPA has finalized a federal implementation plan for compliance with its Regional Haze Rule for the state, but regulators and at least one generator say they may appeal the decision. The final rule calls for increased emissions control at three coal-fired plants and...

By Rory D. Sweeney FERC accepted PJM’s cost responsibility assignments for 33 of 34 baseline upgrades, ordering the RTO to change the billing for one Dominion Resources project and revise its Operating Agreement to address inconsistencies (ER16-736, EL16-96). PJM’s Board of Managers approved the projects in December as additions to...