The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) has unanimously decided to shelve the proposed $1 billion Performance Credit Mechanism (PCM) for power generators, concluding that it would not deliver the anticipated grid reliability benefits.
The PCM was conceived as a means to incentivize power generators within the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) market to be available during periods of grid stress. This initiative emerged in the aftermath of Winter Storm Uri in February 2021,...
Moving utilities toward a modern energy system BY RONNY SANDOVAL, Environmental Defense Fund The need to build a smarter energy infrastructure has never been greater. Storms and other extreme weather events such as Hurricane Sandy continue to test the limits of the existing, century-old electric...
How Smart Grid technologies can transform the power industry BY DANIEL PÉLOQUIN, Schneider Electric Energy customers—both consumers and businesses—depend on reliable, affordable power. In North America, consumers take this privilege for granted. However, both the reliable and affordable...
Exploring communications for real-time network visibility BY DONALD POLLOCK, Ambient Corporation In August 2013, a report entitled “Economic Benefits of Increasing Electric Grid Resilience to Weather Outages” prepared by the White House Council of Economic Advisors and the U.S. Department of...
Ben Franklin famously said, “If you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail”. This saying certainly holds true for Smart Grid deployments, which can cost utilities several hundred million dollars. Given these high stakes, effective planning is essential. Many North American electric utilities...
A Smart substation digitizes protection and control, enabling utilities to detect faults faster, manage DER volatility, and reduce outage risk. The payoff depends on architecture, cybersecurity, and edge analytics, not just new relays. The shift toward smart substations is inseparable from broader...
A coalition of large energy consumers and ratepayer advocates has filed a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), urging the agency to prohibit transmission owners from independently planning "local" transmission projects exceeding 100 kilovolts (kV). The coalition argues...
The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) has unanimously decided to shelve the proposed $1 billion Performance Credit Mechanism (PCM) for power generators, concluding that it would not deliver the anticipated grid reliability benefits. The PCM was conceived as a means to incentivize power...
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has rejected a proposal from PJM Interconnection, one of the United States' largest regional transmission organizations, to alter its transmission planning protocol. The decision represents a significant victory for state regulators who had expressed...
In a significant move that underscores the growing demand for reliable and sustainable energy to power the expanding digital infrastructure, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved an interconnection agreement between Talen Energy, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Exelon. This...
In a significant move for the renewable energy landscape, RWE, a leading global energy company, has announced the addition of 450 megawatts (MW) of battery energy storage capacity in Texas. This expansion underscores the growing importance of energy storage solutions in enhancing grid reliability...
