On Jul 30, 2020, Governor Newsome issued a Proclamation of a State of Emergency. According to the Proclamation, “California currently faces an additional projected energy supply shortage of up to 3,500 megawatts during the afternoon-evening ‘net-peak’ period of high power demand on days when there are extreme weather conditions, which is even greater than projected...
Category: News
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Gov. Newsom Suspends Enviro Regs on Power Generation During Grid Strain Events
Twice so far in 2021, Governor Newsom has suspended *all* environmental regulations on CA electricity generators for at least three days at a time. On each of June 17 and July 9, the Governor issued State of Emergency proclamations covering separate “Extreme Heat Events” lasting several days. During each Extreme Heat Event, “[a]ny permit, regulation...
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2021 SPURR Annual Member Meeting Presentation
The slide presentation from the recent 2021 SPURR Joint Powers Authority Annual Member Meeting Presentation is linked below: SPURR Annual Member Meeting Presentation Agenda items include reports and discussion regarding SPURR’s programs and other topics: Solar Power and Energy Storage LED Lighting and Energy Conservation Natural Gas Supply Grid Power Electricity Supply Pending Legislation and...
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Important Update: Changes to Solar Net Energy Metering (NEM) Rules
If is considering commencing any solar energy projects in the next two years, please review this status report regarding impending revisions to net energy metering (NEM) rules. Executive Summary: Anyone planning new solar should strongly consider submitting interconnection applications prior to November 2021, to secure 20 years of grandfathering under current NEM rules that are more...
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The Texas Power Crisis
A recent article regarding the February 2021 Texas electricity crisis of makes some interesting points about Texas that are pertinent to California. The article is “The Texas Power Crisis, New Home Construction, and Electric Heating,” 2/22/2021, by Lucas Davis, a Professor at the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley, https://energyathaas.wordpress.com/2021/02/22/the-texas-power-crisis-new-home-construction-and-electric-heating/ Professor Davis points out that Texas...
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School Districts Investigate “Community Wi-Fi” to Improve Access
School districts and cities are laying down the fiber cable and installing Wi-Fi access points, complete with modems and routers on light poles and traffic lights. Some are even becoming internet service providers themselves (ISP) — efforts, they say, that will make it easier to provide internet access to those who can’t afford it. Learn...
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Wildfires led to PG&E bankruptcy and increased rates. Should customers of other utilities be worried?
In early 2019, PG&E filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after fires caused by its powerlines burned hundreds of thousands of acres in Northern California and led to more than 100 deaths. It paid out $25.5 billion to resolve its fire-related liabilities, and expects to spend $11.7 billion on strategies to mitigate wildfire risk. And now,...
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SPURR Winning Solar Vendor Signs Agreements with City of Fresno
The City of Fresno has signed agreements with ForeFront Power, a California-based solar and energy storage developer, to implement renewable energy projects across the city. The city selected ForeFront Power for the projects based on the selection of ForeFront as the winning vendor in SPURR’s Renewable Energy Aggregated Procurement (REAP) Program. The City used the REAP Program...
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CPUC imposes largest ever penalty of $1.9B on PG&E for Northern California wildfires
The CPUC opened an official investigation into PG&E’s role in sparking wildfires in Northern California in mid-2019, after the agency’s safety division identified numerous instances in which the utility’s operations violated rules and regulations. The fires collectively burned hundreds of thousands of acres and led to 129 fatalities. Read more…
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Judge calls PG&E vegetation work ‘sloppy and unreliable,’ imposes new conditions on the utility
Vegetation management is part of wider wildfire mitigation efforts by PG&E. The utility has pushed back on Alsup’s insistence that it provide more details of its plans to expand its vegetation efforts, last month telling the judge it could not commit to contracting a specific number of tree-workers by a future date. Alsup also quizzed PG&E’s...
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