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November 20, 2024
RTO Insider
Texas Now Wants to be No. 1 in Nuclear Power
PUC Commissioner Jimmy Glotfelty (right), with Texas Nuclear Alliance President Reed Clay, details the report's recommendations during the Texas Nuclear Summit.
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Texas officials have released a report that lays out a path for the state to become a “global nuclear energy hub.”  
RTO Insider
John Moura, NERC
NERC
NERC Files ITCS to FERC, Meeting Congress’ Deadline
NERC filed the completed Interregional Transfer Capability Study to FERC ahead of the December deadline set by Congress in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.
RTO Insider
The sixth "issue alert" from Markets+ supporters contends, among other things, that CAISO engages in a practice of biasing its WEIM load forecasts sharply upward in ways not matched by other market participants.
Markets+ Joint Authors using CAISO data
Markets+ ‘Alert’ Covers CAISO’s Dual Roles as Market Operator, BA

CAISO will be inherently compromised in its role as an operator of a deeper Western market because of its conflicting responsibilities as BA within that market, a group of entities that support SPP’s Markets+ argue in their latest “issue alert.”

NetZero Insider
NYPA President Justin Driscoll walks through a 1.9-MW rooftop solar array the authority developed at the University at Albany in 2022. NYPA is gearing up to develop larger renewables projects than those it traditionally has undertaken.
New York Power Authority
NYPA Urged to Do More in New Renewables Role
Clean energy advocates want NYPA to shoot for 15 GW of renewables rather than the 3.5 GW target in its draft plan.
ERO Insider
A BGE substation in Maryland
Tonyglen14, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Exelon Leader Discusses Physical Security Programs
An Exelon manager discussed the utility's physical security approach in light of the growing threat to the grid from both foreign and domestic actors.
RTO Insider
ISO-NE headquarters in Holyoke, Mass.
ISO-NE
ISO-NE Details Regional Energy Shortfall Threshold Metrics
ISO-NE’s regional energy shortfall threshold will rely on a pair of metrics intended to capture the intensity and duration of energy shortfall risks in extreme weather scenarios, the RTO told the NEPOOL Reliability Committee.
OMS Survey: Another 1-GW Jump in DERs in MISO Footprint
By the Organization of MISO States’ count, MISO is up to nearly 13.6 GW of distributed energy resources in the footprint.
NYISO Board Approves RNA, 2025 Budget
The NYISO Board of Directors announced that it approved the ISO’s 2025 budget and incentive goals, along with the 2025-2029 Demand Curve Reset and the 2024 Reliability Needs Assessment.
ERO Insider
Todd Bennett, AECI
NERC
NERC Standards Committee Briefs: Nov. 13, 2024
NERC's Standards Committee passed a slate of actions in its monthly meeting.
NERC: Board’s 321 Authority on the Table for Cold Weather Standard
NERC leadership is considering using its authority to streamline the development process on another standard, a member of the ERO's management said.
NAGF Takes on Cold-weather Standard’s Revision
The North American Generator Forum, an independent, member-driven organization designed to provide a “united voice” to NERC, is providing comments on NERC's Cold Weather Standard.
NetZero Insider
IRA funding will help decarbonize the operations of two operating Nevada gold mines, creating a model for other mines to follow.
Nevada Gold Mines
Not Waiting for Trump, DOE Sends More IRA, IIJA Funds to Red States
The best way to Trump-proof the IRA funds is to get them out the door as quickly as possible, some advocates are saying. Unspent money could be at risk of never being spent.
EIA: Distribution, Transmission Led to Higher Utility Capital Spending
EIA data on utility capital spending over the past 20 years shows that an increase in distribution and transmission spending outweighed declines in generation spending.
Mass. Energy Leaders Talk Barriers to Innovation at NECA Conference
Massachusetts lawmakers and industry members must double down on efforts to rapidly scale up new renewable technologies to meet the needs of the energy transition, speakers at the Northeast Energy and Commerce Association’s Energy Innovation Forum emphasized.
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RTO Insider
Average annual total of electric power interruptions (2013-2022)
EIA
Counterflow: Grid Apocalypse Not
"Chicken Little" claims about power outages being caused by the transmission grid being overtaxed do not stand up to scrutiny, says columnist Steve Huntoon.
‘Holistic’ Approach Needed for Tx Planning, NARUC Panelists Say
To ensure a cost-effective energy transition, stakeholders must approach transmission planning holistically and avoid piecemeal investments, panelists argued during the NARUC Annual Meeting.
Stakeholders Push for More Interconnection Rule Changes at FERC
Stakeholders are split on whether FERC should adopt additional changes to its generator interconnection rules, or focus on implementing Order 2023 while letting specific regions go further on their own, according to comments filed after a September technical conference.
Trump Stokes Concern for Clean Energy, but also Hope for Opportunities
Clean energy experts at this year’s NARUC Annual Meeting expressed confidence in the U.S.’ progress toward decarbonizing the grid. But some also wonder about potential cuts to Inflation Reduction Act funding.
Paul McGlynn, PJM
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PJM Planning VP Announces Retirement
Paul McGlynn, vice president of planning, will retire in 2025 and his role will be filled by Jason Connell, executive director of transmission and resource adequacy planning.
NECEC project map
Avangrid
Avangrid Sues NextEra over ‘Scorched-earth Scheme’ to Stop NECEC
In an antitrust lawsuit filed in federal court, Avangrid accused NextEra Energy of conducting an “exclusionary and anticompetitive scheme” to stop a major transmission project connecting New England to Quebec.
ERO Insider
The Texas PUC discusses a management audit of CenterPoint Energy, as requested by the state's lieutenant governor.
Admin Monitor
Texas PUC Approves 1st System Resiliency Plan
Texas regulators approved the state’s first utility resiliency plan, a $3 billion proposal from Oncor to bulk up its distribution system over the next four years to better withstand and more quickly recover extreme weather and other events.
NERC Sees ‘Reasons for Optimism’ as Winter Approaches
NERC staff said they see both signs of progress and looming challenges in the ERO's winter reliability assessment.
NERC Submits IBR Standards to FERC
NERC submitted five reliability standards to FERC this week as the first tranche of rules governing inverter-based resources mandated in an order last year.
Feds Accuse Tenn. Man of Substation Attack Plot
The FBI accused a Tennessee man of attempting to damage an electric substation using a drone loaded with explosives.
Parts 2 and 3 of the ITCS include recommendations for prudent additions to transfer capability across North America's transmission planning regions based on the projected resource mix in 2033.
NERC
NERC Releases Final ITCS Draft Installments
NERC released the final draft installments of the ITCS this week, identifying 35 GW of prudent transfer capability additions.
Entergy services parts of Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas and Louisiana.
Entergy
Entergy to Pay SERC $141K for Standard Violations
FERC approved a settlement between Entergy and SERC Reliability that will see the utility pay $141,000 for violating NERC's reliability standards.
MOTUWETHFRSASU
Stakeholder Meetings
Industry Gatherings
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NetZero Insider
A file image shows Constellation Energy’s Nine Mile Point nuclear generating station near Oswego, N.Y. As they try to build emissions-free generation capacity within state borders, New York officials are exploring the concept of adding new nuclear power facilities.
Constellation Energy
NY Gauging Industry Interest in Advanced Nuclear
The move comes two months after NYSERDA issued a draft blueprint for consideration of advanced nuclear technologies at a summit convened to discuss the state’s future energy economy.
Court Nullifies Sale of NY Peaker to Crypto Miner
Environmental advocates won a round in their long-running court battle over conversion of a New York peaker plant to a cryptocurrency mining operation 
Trump Picks Burgum to Head Interior, Fracking Exec Wright to Lead DOE
President-elect Donald Trump intendeds to nominate North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum as secretary of the interior and Chris Wright, CEO of Liberty Energy, as secretary of energy.
Compromise Climate Bill Finally Approved by Mass. Legislature
The Massachusetts legislature finally has sent a wide-ranging climate bill to the desk of Gov. Maura Healey, who has indicated she will sign the legislation.
American Electric Power and Bloom Energy announced an agreement for AEP to buy up to 1 GW of Bloom’s fuel cell systems, shown in this undated photo.
Bloom Energy
AEP Adding Fuel Cells as Temporary Data Center Power
American Electric Power will meet data center power demand with what it calls the largest utility initiative of its kind in the nation, buying up to 1 GW of Bloom Energy’s solid oxide fuel cells. 
Heatmap Executive Editor Robinson Meyer (left) talks post-election politics with former FERC Chair Neil Chatterjee on Nov. 13.
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Lame Duck Congress Could be Last, Best Chance for Permitting Reform
To move forward in the second Trump administration, both Democrats and Republicans will need to depoliticize the debate around climate and energy issues as they face the impacts of increasingly frequent and severe extreme weather, while meeting growing power demand from artificial intelligence, data centers and new manufacturing.