Environmentalists Oppose Proposed Gas Plants Environmental groups are appealing the Public Utilities Commission’s approval of a 558-MW natural gas-fired power plant in the seaside town of Carlsbad on the grounds that power could be supplied more cleanly and cheaply by renewable resources. A state appellate court will soon decide whether to...

Electric Rates Drop to ‘Near Historic Lows’ The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority approved “near historic” low rates starting July 1 for the standard offers from the state’s two electric utilities, thanks to depressed natural gas prices. The standard rate for Eversource Energy customers will drop from the current 9.555 cents/kWh to...

Some Alternate Supplier Electric Customers Paying More The state’s Office of Consumer Counsel says thousands of residential customers who signed up with competitive electric suppliers paid more for power than customers who stayed with the standard offers from Eversource Energy or United Illuminating. In Eversource’s territory, customers with 18 of...

Model to Simulate Distributed Energy’s Impact Avangrid is working with the MIT Energy Initiative to create a model to simulate the integration of distributed energy resources into the grid. The model could support New York’s Reforming the Energy Vision plan by simulating how distributed resources, such as solar arrays and battery...

GSA: Reject Exelon Path to Merger The General Services Administration, Pepco Holdings Inc.’s biggest customer in the district, joined the chorus opposing Exelon’s revised merger proposal last week while the two companies continued their advertising campaign seeking approval. In a filing Thursday, the GSA urged the Public Service Commission to...

RGGI Auctions Competitive, Potomac Economics Says The Independent Market Monitor for the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative found no evidence of anti-competitive behavior in the secondary market for CO2 allowances in the fourth quarter of 2015, according to a recent report. Part of Potomac Economics’ ongoing monitoring of RGGI auctions and the secondary...

NIPSCO Settles for Lower Dollar Amount in Fixed Rate Hike Agreement Northern Indiana Public Service Co. and the Office of Utility Consumer Counselor reached a settlement on a 5.4% rate increase, less than half the 11% boost that the utility sought in its initial filing. The settlement would set the monthly...

By Ted Caddell Dynegy and private equity firm Energy Capital Partners announced Thursday they are buying the U.S. fossil fuel generation portfolio of French utility ENGIE, a total of 8,731 MW in PJM, ISO-NE and — in a first for Dynegy — ERCOT. The deal is valued at $3.3 billion.

Md. Enters Fray over Dominion’s Coal Ash Water Release Plan Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s administration said it intends to appeal a permit approved by Virginia regulators that would allow Dominion Virginia Power to release 215 million gallons of treated coal ash water into Quantico Creek, which empties into the Potomac River.

Reports: Solar Jobs Increased in 2015 The Solar Foundation, a D.C. solar power advocacy nonprofit, has released its annual Solar Jobs Census for 2015. The report details the number of people working in the solar industry in each state. Overall, the workforce experienced rapid growth over the past year, increasing...