SALEM, Ore. — Climate, environmental justice, and community-led social justice organizations filed testimony yesterday detailing a litany of cost, climate, and equity objections to a proposed rate hike from NW Natural, Oregon’s largest gas utility.
ALBANY, NY -- Today, the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) declined to approve the 20-year long-term gas plan from National Fuel Gas Distribution Corporation of Western New York (NFG), requiring a number of modifications including ending incentives for gas expansion, proposing a gas demand response program, and developing pilot projects to compare cold-climate air-source heat pumps and hybrid heating systems. However, the order failed to rule on the appropriateness of numerous aspects of NFG’s plan including its limited contribution to the emission reductions required by New York’s climate law. The PSC also failed to rule on the outsized role of alternative fuels such as “renewable” natural gas and hydrogen in NFG’s plan and how to properly account for the emissions of these fuels.
Georgia Power filed a request with the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) for permission to build 30% more methane gas and oil beyond what the utility originally projected in last year’s integrated resource plan (IRP).
Denver -- The Colorado legislature introduced SB23-291 last night following a winter of record-breaking energy prices and calls for corporate accountability from the state’s largest public utilities.
Today, the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) made its final decision in Georgia Power’s 2022 rate case with a 4-1 vote, with Commissioner Bubba McDonald opposing.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Sierra Club launched a new version of their groundbreaking report and interactive tool, The Dirty Truth About Climate Pledges
Today, Xcel Energy filed a new proposal for its electric resource plan that will have the 750 megawatt, coal-fired Comanche 3 unit close no later than January 1, 2031. The Sierra Club and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) signed on to this new proposal as part of a settlement agreement, which the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) is expected to consider in May. According to this proposal, the precise date on which Comanche 3 will close will be set in 2024 as part of a Just Transition proceeding at the PUC.
Boston, MA — On Wednesday, Mayor Michelle Wu announced lower electricity rates for residents who are opted into the city’s Community Choice Electricity (CCE) program. With local utility provider Eversource increasing their rates for the winter, all CCE rates will cost less beginning on January 1, 2022, in addition to sourcing more local clean energy. The average Eversource Basic Service Residential Customer is expected to spend $27 per month more than a customer on the CCE Standard option.
Today, the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) submitted comments to the Department of Energy (DOE) urging the department to deny fossil fuel corporation Freeport LNG’s request to increase their export volumes
This evening, the Arizona Corporation Commission disallowed $215.5 million of Arizona Public Service’s requested costs for “selective catalytic reduction” pollution controls at its Four Corners coal-burning power plant. Despite evidence in APS’s own modeling indicating that continuing to operate Four Corners was a losing bet for ratepayers, the utility sunk hundreds of millions into this aging, dirty, and expensive coal plant.
Madison, WI -- Today, Sierra Club and Vote Solar filed a lawsuit appealing Madison Gas & Electric’s (MGE) regressive utility rates that impose high costs on low-income customers and discourage investments in energy efficiency and rooftop solar. The decision approving the rates in late December violated several laws, including Wisconsin’s landmark Energy Priorities Law, which requires maximizing energy conservation, efficiency and solar generation.