Blackouts are among the worst things that can happen to electric utilities, particularly when customers are freezing in the dark for long periods. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) recently observed, “Any blackout imposes profound effects upon industry, business, community, and life, which would be compounded during an extreme cold weather event.” Getting generating units… More FERC addresses electric blackstart problems

U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos in Manhattan Monday (Dec. 18) sentenced Trevor Milton, founder and former CEO of e-truck company Nikola Corp. (NKLA:NASDAQ) to four years in prison for defrauding investors. Prosecutors had sought a sentence of 11-years in the slammer. He will be out on bail pending an appeal. Ramos also ordered Milton to pay… More Trevor Milton, E-truck Nikola Corp. founder, headed to prison?

Call it deception. Nuclear power interests in the aftermath of the COP28 climate conference in Dubai this month crowed about a “recommendation” for a tripling of worldwide nuclear capacity to reduce carbon dioxide greenhouse gas emissions. The claim involves considerable slight-of-hand. The UN conference endorsed tripling non-CO2 generating technologies, specifically renewables such as wind and… More Commentary: The three-card nuclear monte

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday (Dec. 11) gave a green light to new, competitive high-voltage electric transmission in Texas, which could also increase the spread of renewables in the state that already has more wind and solar power than any other state. The court denied a request from Texas to consider an appeal from… More Supremes Support New Texas Electric Transmission

Massachusetts is moving away from natural gas as a home heating fuel on two regulatory fronts. Gas supplies the heat for 51% of the state’s homeowners and is a multi-billion-dollar business for the local gas distribution companies. Two state agencies are looking at how to diminish gas use. The Bay State move is part of… More Bay State Regulators Moving Away from Gas

A federal grand jury last month (Nov. 29) indicted former Ohio utility regulator and long-time player in a long-running electric utility scandal Sam Randazzo, 74, on charges of bribery and embezzlement. He appeared in court Dec. 4 and pleaded not guilty, refusing to comment to reporters. Randazzo is charged “with one count of conspiring to… More Sam Randazzo’s Criminal Fandango

By Henry Sokolski For decades, the Defense Department made little or no connection between China’s civilian nuclear power program and its military nuclear weapons buildup. No longer. With its latest annual assessment of China’s military power, the Pentagon identifies Beijing’s civilian fast reactor and plutonium reprocessing efforts as being ideal for producing significant quantities of… More Guest Commentary: Chinese Nuclear Weapons and Canada: An Uncivil-Military Connection

As winter approaches, vulnerable Texas dithers and grumbles. Weather resilience is important in the Lone Star State, where intense summer heat and deep winter freezes have often crippled the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the state-wide, autarkic electric grid. Winter Storm Uri in February 2021 caused many of dollars in economic damage and over… More Is Texas Ready for Winter?

Richmond, Virginia-based Dominion Energy, seeking to improve its winter reliability, is planning to go into the liquified natural gas business in the Old Dominion. Dominion Energy Virginia (still technically operating under its original moniker, Virginia Electric and Power Co.) is planning an LNG production, storage, and regasification facility serving two of its large gas-fired power… More Onsite LNG at Gas Power Plants?

A major coal strip mine in Montana has suffered two recent legal blows. The Montana Supreme Court Monday (Nov. 27) halted expansion of Denver-based Westmoreland Mining’s Rosebud mine, which supplies the two-unit, 1,480-MW Colstrip coal-fired power plant. Three days earlier, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco rejected a Westmoreland appeal of… More Montana Coal Mine Suffers Two Big Legal Defeats