Smart building design can play a central role in California’s drive to decarbonize, according to a panel convened by the Energy Commission.

PG&E turned off power for nearly half a million residents to prevent line-sparked wildfires, two minutes after CAISO ended its four-day blackout watch.

Portland General Electric pre-emptively cut power to about 5,000 customers in the first public safety power shutoffs to affect Oregon.

The fall season when utility equipment tends to start fires is coming and regulators and reliability coordinators want utilities to be ready.

WECC waded into California’s wildfire troubles in an effort to understand how catastrophic blazes could affect reliability and how to protect the grid.

California is moving to adopt microgrids to store wind and solar energy and to provide electricity during public safety power shutoffs in wildfire season.

The California PUC adopted measures to prepare for this year’s fire season by accelerating deployment of microgrids and approving IOU prevention plans.

A California PUC proposal would speed the interconnection of microgrids to utility distribution systems in anticipation of the state’s upcoming fire season.

WECC should zero in on issues specific to the Western system when it sets near-term priorities for 2021 and 2022, stakeholders said at a workshop.

California lawmakers have drafted a spate of bills since early January aimed at correcting perceived wrongs by PG&E and other investor-owned utilities.