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November 23, 2024
RTO Insider
FERC Order 1920-A Wins Approval with Accommodations to States
FERC holds its monthly open meeting Nov. 21, 2024.
FERC
FERC approved Order 1920-A, addressing rehearing arguments from the previous order by granting states more guarantees that their views on cost allocation would be considered, among other changes.
RTO Insider
NOAA's seasonal temperature outlook for December 2024-February 2025, issued Nov. 21.
NOAA
FERC Outlines Reliability Impacts from Colder Winter
A colder winter is likely to bring higher electricity demand and drive up natural gas prices, FERC staff said in the commission's annual winter energy market assessment.
RTO Insider
Powerex estimates that utilities participating in CAISO's EDAM could put tens of millions of dollars in transmission revenue at risk if they adopt tariff revisions PacifiCorp is expected to propose.
Powerex
Powerex to Cancel Rights on PacifiCorp Tx System over EDAM Changes
Powerex intends to terminate a large portion of its rights on PacifiCorp’s transmission system in response to the utility’s plans to update its transmission tariff to align with CAISO’s EDAM.
NetZero Insider
The just-launched Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen hub includes proposed production sites in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Michigan.
Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations
DOE Commits to Funding Gulf Coast, Midwest Hydrogen Hubs

DOE has announced $2.2 billion in funding commitments to two hydrogen hubs: the HyVelocity hub on the Gulf Coast and the Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen hub in four Midwestern states.

ERO Insider
FERC headquarters in D.C.
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FERC Approves Adoption of Latest NAESB Standards
FERC said the North American Energy Standards Board's new standards will improve security and efficiency of public utilities.
RTO Insider
The Launch Committee met Nov. 22 to vote on the Step 2 proposal.
RTO Insider LLC
Pathways Initiative Approves ‘Step 2’ Plan, Wins $1M in Federal Funding

The West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative received a significant financial boost when DOE awarded nearly $1 million to underwrite its efforts to establish a Western “regional organization” to oversee CAISO’s WEIM and EDAM.

MISO Outlines Plan on Fast-track Queue for Resource Adequacy
MISO hopes to file a proposal in February to create an exclusive, faster route through its interconnection queue for generation projects that are key to maintaining resource adequacy.
La. PSC Reviewing Entergy Request for $5B Data Center with Gas Gen
The Louisiana Public Service has taken first steps to consider Entergy’s request to power a proposed $5 billion AI data center in north Louisiana with $3.2 billion in mostly natural gas generation.
ERO 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.
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.
NERC Standards Committee Briefs: Nov. 13, 2024
NERC's Standards Committee passed a slate of actions in its monthly meeting.
NetZero Insider
Contractors break ground on Kairos Power's Hermes demonstration reactor in Oak Ridge, Tenn., earlier this year.
Kairos Power
Kairos Power Cleared to Build Demonstration SMRs
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved construction of Kairos Power’s Hermes 2 demonstration plant in Oak Ridge, Tenn. 
AEU Report Shows Major Economic Benefits from Quicker Queues
Advanced Energy United released a report finding major economic benefits from speeding up the queues, which will lead to more investments in generation and associated jobs across the country.
Corporate Solar Development Continues to Grow
In its latest “Solar Means Business” report, the Solar Energy Industries Association reports nearly 40 GW of on-site and off-site corporate capacity installed by March 2024.
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Lori Cobos with then-PUC Chair Peter Lake during a 2023 open meeting.
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Texas PUC’s Cobos to Leave Commission
Texas regulatory commissioner Lori Cobos plans to step down from the Public Utility Commission at the end of 2024.
CAISO Kicks off ‘Workshop’ to Update RA Mechanisms
CAISO's Resource Adequacy Modeling and Design "workshop" is designed to reevaluate and refine several mechanisms the ISO uses to ensure resource adequacy.
Consumer Advocates File Wide-ranging Complaint on PJM Capacity Market
Several state consumer advocates filed a complaint at FERC alleging PJM’s capacity market is failing to mitigate market power, overestimating future load and producing high clearing prices that generation owners cannot act on. 
Most Stakeholders Support Special Interconnection Rules for Tribes
Most stakeholders support a proposal before FERC to exempt energy projects developed by federally recognized Native American tribes from deposits and other fees in the generator interconnection process.
SPP says its expects to have enough generation to dispatch and meet demand in its 14-state footprint this winter.
SPP
SPP Has ‘Positive Outlook’ Heading into Winter
SPP expects to have enough generation to meet demand this winter following an assessment that indicated an increase in operational certainty over the previous two assessments.
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 Now Wants to be No. 1 in Nuclear Power
Texas officials have released a report that lays out a path for the state to become a “global nuclear energy hub.”  
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: 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.
The standards are intended to satisfy the second milestone of FERC's Order 901 relating to inverter-based resources like solar and wind generation.
BLM
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.
A photo released by the FBI shows Philippi taking the drone that he planned to use to destroy a substation for a test flight. The shirt he is wearing reads "Toten fur Wotan," a German phrase meaning "Death for Odin."
FBI
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.
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Solar array at the Workforce Training Center at Raritan Community College in North Branch, N.J.
Raritan Valley Community College
NJ Scrutinizes Solar Net Metering Strategy
New Jersey has launched a yearlong process to evaluate the effectiveness of its solar net-metering system and generate possible alternatives.
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.
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.
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.
A graph EIA produced shows the trends in electric industry spending over the past couple of decades between transmission, distribution, production (generation) and other spending.
EIA
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.
From left: Colorado PUC Commissioner Tom Plant; Doug Vine, director of energy analysis at the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions; Priya Barua, senior director of market and policy innovation at the Clean Energy Buyers Association; and Sara Baldwin, senior director of electrification at Energy Innovation.
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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.