October 15, 2024
RTO Insider
PG&E Gets Mixed FERC Decision on Tx Rates
FERC denied the CPUC's request that PG&E remove from its rates costs related to 2019 Kincade Fire and 2020 Zogg Fire (pictured above).
California Conservation Corps
FERC granted and denied in part challenges to Pacific Gas and Electric’s 2022 transmission rates, finding that PG&E must remove certain costs from its rate base while also denying a request to pause the utility’s ability to recover costs stemming from two fires.
RTO Insider
ERCOT's Chad Seely explains the options for extending the life of three CPS Energy coal-fired units.
ERCOT
ERCOT, CPS Energy Negotiating RMR, MRA Options for Retiring Units
ERCOT staff and CPS Energy continue to work “very closely” in negotiating reliability must-run contracts for three aging coal-fired units the grid operator says are necessary for reliability.
RTO Insider
Line in Williston, N.D.
Western Area Power Administration
MISO Argues to FERC for 2nd Look at Crypto-stressed Flowgate Management
MISO wants FERC to reconsider its decision to let a jointly managed flowgate with SPP stand, with the RTO arguing the North Dakota cryptomining facility burdening the line is SPP’s responsibility alone.
NetZero Insider
Location of buildings identified as potentially covered by BEPS
Maryland Department of the Environment
Maryland Building Emission Rules Face Owner Opposition
Proposed regulations to create a benchmarking system and strict carbon emissions levels from buildings of more than 35,000 square feet in Maryland face tough criticism from real estate interests.
RTO Insider
ISO-NE headquarters in Holyoke, Mass.
ISO-NE
ISO-NE Outlines 2025 Annual Work Plan
The RTO will next year focus on capacity auction reforms, establishing a regional energy shortfall threshold, complying with FERC orders 1920 and 2023, and implementing market and technology improvements.
RTO Insider
Seasonal temperature outlook from the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center.
NOAA
Batteries, Energy Transfers Support ‘Uneventful’ Summer in West
The growth of battery storage resources in the West largely contributed to an "uneventful" summer on the grid, despite record-breaking peak loads and temperatures.
MISO Demand Response Under Increasing Scrutiny; IMM Warns of More Potential Schemes
Demand response in MISO is poised to be subject to more rigorous standards as the Independent Market Monitor warns of more potential bad actors.
Stakeholders Reject Granting PJM Authority to Revise Capacity Auction Rules
The Market Implementation Committee rejected a PJM issue charge that envisioned adding notice that Base Residual Auction rules are subject to change, with two-thirds of stakeholders opposed.
ERO Insider
Soo Jin Kim, NERC
NERC
NERC Examining Lessons from IBR Standard Development
NERC's Board of Trustees voted to accept five new standards aimed at satisfying FERC's directive on inverter-based resources.
IBR Ride-through Standard Passes Industry Ballot
NERC's Board of Trustees is set to vote on a tranche of five proposed standards covering inverter-based resources, after PRC-029-1 passed its industry ballot last week.
Re-ballot Underway for IBR Ride-through Standard
NERC’s proposed reliability standard addressing IBR ride-through protection is undergoing a re-ballot in hopes of gaining enough industry support for passage as the ERO’s Board of Trustees prepares to meet.
NetZero Insider
Location of buildings identified as potentially covered by BEPS
Maryland Department of the Environment
Maryland Building Emission Rules Face Owner Opposition
Proposed regulations to create a benchmarking system and strict carbon emissions levels from buildings of more than 35,000 square feet in Maryland face tough criticism from real estate interests.
NARUC Offers Guidance to States on Advanced Nuclear
Advanced nuclear is gaining momentum as part of federal, state and corporate energy strategies, and a new report lays out many of the potential use cases.
RMI, VP3 Report Lays out Growth Case for Virtual Power Plants
Virtual power plants can help the power grid deal with some of its most pressing issues, such as meeting rising demand and helping to integrate more renewables affordably. 
Want us to be your eyes and ears?
Let us put you "inside the room."
RTO Insider
EMC Enineering Services
New England Clean Energy Developers Struggle with Order 2023 Uncertainty
The suspension of ISO-NE's Order 2023 implementation due to FERC's inaction has caused uncertainty and stress for some clean energy developers in New England.
PJM OC Briefs: Oct. 10, 2024
The annual winter study conducted by the Operations Assessment Task Force found no identified reliability risks for the 2024/25 season.
PJM PC/TEAC Briefs: Oct. 8, 2024
LS Power presented the third in a “trilogy” of issues charges seeking changes to PJM’s effective load carrying capability accreditation paradigm.
PJM MIC Briefs: Oct. 9, 2024
PJM has proposed changes to the demand response availability window, which determines when the curtailment capability is evaluated as accredited capacity and expected to be online for dispatch.
Tonja Wicks, of Elevate Renewables, presents a stakeholder coalition package regarding CIR transfers.
© RTO Insider LLC
PJM Stakeholders Endorse Coalition Proposal on CIR Transfers
The PJM Planning Committee endorsed a coalition proposal to rework how generation owners can transfer capacity interconnection rights from a deactivating unit to a new resource.
PJM Vice President of Planning Paul McGlynn
© RTO Insider LLC
PJM Proposes Expedited Interconnection Studies for High-capacity Factor Generation
PJM has presented an overview of a concept it is developing to allow high-capacity factor resources to be accelerated into the Phase 1 study period of Transmission Cycle 2.
ERO Insider
Lew Folkerth, ReliabilityFirst
SERC
SERC Speaker Warns of Challenges in Cloud Transition
A speaker at SERC Reliability's Fall Reliability and Security Seminar discussed some of the emerging challenges with the transition to cloud computing.
Regulators Worry Data Centers Consume Too Much Clean Energy
Pairing power-hungry data centers with clean energy resources is sparking mixed feelings among regulators, who say the grid already is straining with increased electrification and connecting new energy sources.
FERC Rejects Mabee’s 2021 Supply Chain Complaint
FERC said the activist's request for a grid-wide audit of Chinese-manufactured equipment is unnecessary in light of existing standards.
FERC Approves $490K in Penalties for NERC Violations
FERC last week approved settlements by NPCC and ReliabilityFirst leveraging $490,000 in penalties for violations of NERC reliability standards.
NERC CEO Jim Robb at the 2023 Reliability Technical Conference
FERC
FERC Reliability Conference to Highlight Resource Adequacy
FERC's annual Reliability Technical Conference will feature discussions on resource adequacy and other pressing grid reliability concerns.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas at a summit in March.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
DHS Offers $280M in Grants for Cyber Investments
The Department of Homeland Security announced a new block of grants for U.S. states and territories to invest in cybersecurity improvements to critical infrastructure.
MOTUWETHFRSASU
Stakeholder Meetings
Industry Gatherings
Upcoming Event
Want us to be your eyes and ears?
Let us put you "inside the room."
NetZero Insider
American Clean Power CEO Jason Grumet and FERC Commissioner David Rosner at the trade group's headquarters in Washington, D.C.
© RTO Insider LLC 
FERC’s Rosner Talks Priorities at American Clean Power Association
FERC Commissioner David Rosner told members of the American Clean Power Association that one of his main goals is to successfully manage the energy industry’s transition.
Maryland: The State Where ‘Transmission Has Come to Die’
Debating the impact of FERC's Rule 1920, Abe Silverman of Johns Hopkins told states to "codify, codify, codify" their energy policy goals and policies to ensure PJM has to take them into account in compliance.
NYPA Enters Renewable Development with 3.5-GW Plan
NYPA issued a draft of its first Renewables Strategic Plan, which lays out 40 potential projects, 30 of which would be collaborations with private sector entities.
Panel Calls for Greater Interregional Planning Across the Northeast
Unlocking the full potential of Quebec hydropower to balance renewables through the Northeast will require major efforts to overcome barriers to transmission planning, according to speakers at a webinar led by the Acadia Center.
An EIA graph showing its forecasts for average residential utility bills this winter by fuel type; the darker color represents the portion of the bill paying for space heating.
EIA
EIA: Colder Weather and Lower Fuel Prices Likely Mean Flat Bills This Winter
While customers spend more on electric bills overall, the home heating portion of EIA’s electricity estimates is almost the same as those for natural gas.
Mingyang’s Ocean X, the world’s largest floating wind platform, launches from Guangzhou earlier this year. The International Energy Agency in its Renewables 2024 report highlights China as the global renewable energy leader.
Mingyang Smart Energy
IEA Expects 5.5 TW of New Renewables by 2030
The 5,500 GW of added capacity is enough to outpace the national goals of many countries but not quite enough to meet the target established at COP28: tripling the capacity by 2030.