EnergyOnline
Services

RSS FEED

EnergyOnline.com rss

News

SPP and Member Utilities Successfully Achieve Western Expansion Milestone

LCG, April 2, 2026--Southwest Power Pool (SPP) today announced that the expansion of its service territory into the Western Interconnection has been a success. The milestone makes SPP the first regional transmission organization (RTO) with services spanning the Eastern and Western Interconnections. Its member organizations, which cover all or part of 17 states, can now benefit from a more operationally and geographically diverse integrated system.

Read more

Holtec Achieves Milestone towards Restarting Palisades Nuclear Facility and Advances Plans to Build Two SMRs at Palisades Site

LCG, March 31, 2026--Holtec International yesterday announced that it successfully completed a milestone test necessary to return Holtec's Palisades Nuclear Generating Station to service. The 805-MW pressurized water reactor (PWR) is located in Michigan and was shut down by Entergy in May 2022. Holtec acquired the facility in June 2022 and has pursued a path to return the plant to service.

Read more

Industry News

California PUC Limits Fees for Some Grid Users

LCG, Apr. 4, 2003--A decision by the California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday showed unanimous support for limiting fees charged to installers of solar panels for use of the power grid, while another showed sharp divisions on similar exemptions for builders of small gas turbines.

The fees are put toward the cost of state electricity purchase bonds, issued to reimburse California for emergency purchases made on behalf of California's major utilities. They also contribute to the costs of long-term electricity contracts. Recent arguments for the solar exemption put forth were that the charges would be a disincentive to further solar installation, and that the benefits of increased supplies and reduced demand on the grid from new power sources should be rewarded. By providing subsidies not only to solar users but also those installing gas turbines, the commission is causing costs to be borne more heavily by other users, some commissioners noted.

The PUC president, Michael Peevey, was in favor of the small number of "entities who are willing to put up capital for investment in generation, transmission or distribution" being given encouragement in a market lacking in investment. Commissioner Carl Wood and former commission president Loretta Lynch expressed opposition to giving subsidies to those using microturbines and cogeneration, with Lynch saying "I think that will reduce in the long term the ability of the renewable and ultra-clean vendors to increase their market share." Wood said the policy vote would benefit large businesses and industrial facilities most, and said he would not go along with "an inclination ... to promote cost shift for the benefeit of these large customers."

The subsidy given to smaller non-renewable generation was at a lower rate than that given to renewables. Nonetheless, a lawyer for the Utility Reform Network, Matt Freedman, told the Sacramento Bee, "Every dollar we exempt these customers from paying, somebody else has to eat."
Copyright © 2026 LCG Consulting. All rights reserved. Terms and Copyright
UPLAN-NPM
The Locational Marginal Price Model (LMP) Network Power Model
Uniform Storage Model
A Battery Simulation Model
UPLAN-ACE
Day Ahead and Real Time Market Simulation
UPLAN-G
The Gas Procurement and Competitive Analysis System
PLATO
Database of Plants, Loads, Assets, Transmission...
CAISO CRR Auctions
Monthly Price and Congestion Forecasting Service