Caiso

Sunny California will see its skies darken for about three hours in mid-October by a rare annular eclipse, and officials now are working overtime with regional authorities, as well as natural gas interstate and intrastate suppliers, to ensure there are adequate resources available to make up for the expected solar shortfall. An all-hands effort is…

The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) board has set a $7.3 billion plan in motion to advance the state’s energy transition and prepare the grid.  The plan, developed in coordination with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and California Energy Commission, expects 45 transmission projects would be needed. Reliability projects could amount to $1.76 billion,…

Electric grid operators said they are ready to meet power consumption this summer except in extreme circumstances, with natural gas-fired generation comprising the lion’s share of the sources expected to handle the peak loads. The largest U.S. grid operator, PJM Interconnection, said it has more than 186,000 MW of installed generating capacity, with reserve resources…

Natural gas futures fizzled midweek but held comfortably above $9 as bulls remained largely in control of the market. The September Nymex gas futures contract settled Wednesday at $9.244/MMBtu, off 8.5 cents day/day. October futures slid 8.3 cents to $9.228. At A Glance: Bullish supply/demand balances intact Storage injection seen below-average Spot gas prices continue…

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on Thursday approved a series of actions to reduce the risk of power outages during extreme heat events, including possible increased natural gas-fired generation from existing plants. Following prolonged heat waves across the western United States in 2020 and 2021, the measures aim to reduce energy demand and increase…

PJM Interconnection, the largest U.S. power grid operator, is forecasting adequate supply to meet the electricity needs of its 65 million customers this summer. PJM, which serves 13 states and the District of Columbia, expects peak demand of about 149,000 MW this summer, but it has performed reliability studies at loads in excess of 155,000…

FERC has authorized the California grid operator to make permanent its four-year-old natural gas maximum burn constraint to avoid future shortages from continuing limits on the state’s largest gas storage facility at Aliso Canyon.

California regulators have approved plans outlined late last year by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) to replace at least three Bay Area natural gas-fired peaking plants with battery storage and to add batteries at an existing gas-fired plant at Moss Landing, CA.

Among hundreds of new laws signed by Gov. Jerry Brown last month are two that continue California’s push away from natural gas-fired generation to support the state’s aggressive efforts to combat the ill effects of climate change.