Quarter of North American Utilities Given Negative Credit
About 26% of all regulated North American utilities have a negative outlook or are on credit watch with negative implications, according to a recent S&P Global Ratings midyear report.
PG&E
Kaiser Permanente Focuses on Energy Resilience: Q&A with Seth Baruch
Seth Baruch, national director for energy and utilities at Kaiser Permanente, shares the health care system’s strategy around renewables, storage, and energy resiliency in a shifting market.
S&P Global Ratings: Second California Utility Bankruptcy Possible
S&P Global Ratings released a report responding to investors’ questions about PG&E Corporation’s voluntary bankruptcy filing last month. The report authors say they think it’s “entirely possible” that a second California electric utility could file for voluntary bankruptcy in 2019.
California Public Utilities Commission Mulls Ratepayer Costs for Wildfires
In the wake of last year’s historically destructive wildfires, the California Public Utilities Commission faces a difficult balancing act. Regulators opened proceedings yesterday to figure out the maximum PG&E could pay without harming ratepayers or service.
Wind, Rain, and Fire: The Year in American Power Outages
Wilder weather and historic natural disasters made their mark on the United States in 2018. Preparedness and recovery became crucial for communities, municipalities, and businesses from Hawaii to Puerto Rico. Here’s a look at a few of the most notable outages.
PG&E Faces Serious Financial Risk From Devastating California Wildfires
Pacific Gas and Electric Company published financial documents this week saying that the utility faces a potential liability of billions of dollars from wildfires currently raging in California.
California Lawmakers Pass 100% Carbon-Free Electricity Bill
The California Assembly passed Senate Bill 100 this week, setting a goal of supplying 100% of retail electricity in the state from carbon-free resources by 2045. On Wednesday, the Senate approved amendments to the bill and it’s expected to be signed by Governor Jerry Brown.
Sonoma Vineyard Seeks Self-Sufficiency with Multi-Renewable Microgrid and Storage
Stone Edge Farm, a spa and vineyard in Sonoma, California, announced the selection of Emerson Automation Solutions on January 24 to provide efficient and reliable operation of its new microgrid – which Stone Edge describes as “a self-sufficient energy production and distribution facility relying on diverse sources of electricity, including solar power, wind power, hydrogen power, and advanced storage battery
PG&E Is First Energy Company to Pilot Methane Detector Tool
Pacific Gas and Electric is piloting new methane detection technology developed for the Methane Detectors Challenge.
CDP Climate A List Revealed: Which Firms Lead in Reducing GHG Emissions?
General Motors, Johnson Controls, Apple and Microsoft are among the 193 companies on CDP’s Climate A List 2016, meaning they receive an “A” grade for their actions to mitigate climate change.
Utilities Have Their Guards Up to Protect Their Grids Against Physical Attacks
Whether they be cyber attacks or physical assaults on their assets, utilities have their guards up. The latest news on this front is that someone armed with a rifle caused $1 million dollars worth of damage to utility equipment in Utah, and knocked out power to 13,000 people there.
Three Amigos Work to Cut Carbon while California’s Amigos Work to Cut Carbon-Free Nuclear
While the "Three Amigos" are meeting in Ottawa to discuss ways to limit their carbon emissions, a different group of friends -- or shall we say 'adversaries' -- are meeting in California to ditch its remaining nuclear plant -- that provides 8 percent of the state's electricity and that is also carbon free.