CALIFORNIA
Poway City Council Approves Battery Storage Facility
The Poway City Council last week unanimously approved a land use designation change that will pave the way for a battery storage facility.
The Nighthawk battery storage facility drew heavy opposition from residents, who have recently dealt with storage facility fires.
More: KNSD
GEORGIA
PSC Approves Georgia Power’s Biomass Plan
The Public Service Commission last week voted 4-1 to approve a Georgia Power plan to source more energy from burning wood known as “biomass,” despite criticisms about its cost.
An independent evaluator found the three contracts Georgia Power was seeking approval for would cost customers two to three times more than other sources. While the regulators acknowledged the high cost, they said they were motivated to give an economic boost to rural parts of the state that rely on the timber industry.
The costs could add about $45 to the average customer’s monthly bill by next year.
More: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
LOUISIANA
PSC Awards APTIM Energy Efficiency Contract
The Public Service Commission last week voted unanimously to contract with APTIM as the administrator of its energy efficiency program through 2029 for $24.5 million.
Commissioners issued a request for proposals in May to build and oversee the state’s new energy efficiency program. Nine companies responded, with three submitting formal proposals. APTIM was both the lowest bidder and the only company headquartered in Louisiana.
More: Louisiana Illuminator
MAINE
PUC Says CMP Can Skip Review of Acquisition Deal
The Public Utilities Commission last week voted 2-1 to allow Central Maine Power (CMP) to skip a state review of a $2.5 billion deal that puts its parent company, Avangrid, under full control of Spanish energy giant Iberdrola.
Chairman Phillip Bartlett II and Commissioner Patrick Scully followed a hearing examiner’s report that said CMP’s request for a waiver of state law calling for a review is warranted based on regulators’ previous approval of the corporate structure. The utility argued that regulators already authorized Iberdrola’s indirect ownership of CMP and Maine Natural Gas in 2008 when Iberdrola acquired Energy East Corp., a predecessor of Avangrid.
Iberdrola will acquire the remaining 18.4% of shares of Avangrid it does not currently own.
More: Portland Press Herald
Trenton Extends Solar Moratorium
Trenton last week extended its moratorium on medium- and large-scale solar development by 180 days.
The current moratorium expires Oct. 5 but will be extended another 180 days or until an amendment dealing with solar developments in the town is adopted.
More: Bar Harbor Story
NEVADA
PUC Denies NV Energy’s Proposed Rate Change
The Public Utilities Commission last week denied a NV Energy request to raise its Northern Nevada customers’ rates by 175%.
The request would have increased Northern Nevada’s basic service charge from $16.50 to $45.30 per month and made it the highest in the U.S. Instead, the PUC approved a $2 per month increase that will take effect in October.
In its draft order, the commission stated the proposed increase was “inordinately large and not in the public interest.”
More: The Nevada Independent
NORTH CAROLINA
Appeals Court Upholds Duke Energy’s Lower Net Metering Rates
The Court of Appeals in North Carolina last week upheld Duke Energy’s reduced net metering payments.
NC WARN, Environmental Working Group and others opposed to an earlier compromise made between Duke and solar installers argued the Utilities Commission adopted it without conducting their own analysis of the costs and benefits of net metering, a requirement of a 2017 statute.
While Judge Hunter Murphy said commission “erred in concluding that it was not required to perform an investigation of the costs and benefits of customer-sited generation,” “the record reveals the commission performed such an investigation when it opened an investigation docket in response to [Duke’s] proposed revised net energy metering rates.” He went on to say the commission “properly considered the evidence before it and made appropriate findings of fact and conclusions of law.”
More: Energy News Network
TEXAS
Pipeline Fire Burns Near Houston After Vehicle Strikes Valve
A towering flame gradually subsided last week in the aftermath of a massive pipeline explosion after a vehicle drove through a fence and struck an above-ground valve, officials said.
Firefighters initially were dispatched at 9:55 a.m. on Sept. 16 for an explosion at a valve station in Deer Park. Operators shut off the flow of natural gas liquids in the pipeline, but so much remained that firefighters could do nothing but watch. The fire eventually went out on Thursday. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said 20 miles of pipeline between the two closed valves had to burn off before the fire would stop. An evacuation area included nearly 1,000 homes, and initial shelter orders included schools.
Deer Park officials said police and local FBI agents found no preliminary reports that would suggest a coordinated or “terrorist” attack, and it appeared to be an isolated incident.
More: The Associated Press; The Associated Press; The Associated Press
WEST VIRGINIA
PSC Dismisses AEP Rate Hike Because of Incomplete Filing
The Public Service Commission last week dismissed a rate increase request from Appalachian Power and Wheeling Power for failing to include crucial financial information.
PSC staff offered the companies the chance to submit the information and avoid a dismissal, but the companies refused, saying they filed all the necessary information. On Sept. 12, PSC staff reiterated that the application was incomplete and that the information provided was not properly presented.
The request would have raised rates nearly 18% ($28.72/month) for residential customers.
More: West Virginia Watch