APPA

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) final energy efficiency standards for distribution transformers appear to strike a compromise with industry, softening the agency’s stance on steel requirements for essential transformer components and extending compliance deadlines to five years. The DOE’s final standards issued on April 4 seek to reduce losses in three types of distribution […]

Nine trade groups—including four representing the power sector—have urged the Biden administration to prioritize actions that support the domestic production of electrical steel, warning that shortages are contributing to “significant and persistent” supply chain challenges. The groups, which include the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the American Public Power Association (APPA), the National Rural Electric Cooperative […]

Three major electric power trade groups in a letter on Feb. 15 urged the Department of Energy (DOE) to reconsider proposed energy efficiency conservation standards for distribution transformers, citing “severe and ongoing supply chain challenges that have prolonged and complicated distribution transformer production and availability.” The letter was sent ahead of a public meeting scheduled […]

A nearly two-day-long boil water order that shuttered schools and businesses and affected as many as 2.2 million customers in Houston—the nation’s fourth-largest city—was caused by a power outage stemming from the failure of two city-owned transformers. The incident began on Nov. 27 at 10:30 a.m. when “a ground trip and current overload” tripped the […]

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) finalized a long-awaited rule revising regulations that govern qualifying small power producers and cogenerators under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA). While FERC said the rule was necessary to respond to significant market changes, the action drew mixed reactions from industry.  FERC’s final rule issued on […]

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to delay the implementation of seven reliability standards that relate to cybersecurity, training, disturbance monitoring and reporting, generator relay loadability, and coordination of protection systems for performance during faults. In an April 6 filing to FERC, NERC noted the rules […]

As part of POWER magazine’s in-depth coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic, its editors are curating a list of resources that may provide actionable information helpful to anyone involved in the world’s vast bulk power systems. Please write to editor@powermag.com if you know of additional resources that should be added to this page.  POWER Magazine’s Live […]

The U.S. power sector is rallying together to implore state and local governments to treat sector-wide “mission-essential employees” with higher priority and ensure they have top-level access to testing and personal protective equipment (PPE) amid the intensifying COVID-19 pandemic. In a four-page April 2 white paper presumably addressing federal leadership, the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council […]

WASHINGTON, March 23, 2020 — The nation’s investor-owned electric companies, public power utilities, and electric cooperatives are working together to protect the energy grid and ensure continued access to safe and reliable electricity during the COVID-19 global health crisis. The electric power industry has been planning for years for an emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic, as […]

On Dec. 19, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) directed PJM Interconnection to dramatically expand its Minimum Offer Price Rule (MOPR) to nearly all state-subsidized capacity resources, including renewables backed by state portfolio standards. It’s the latest of a series of dramatic revisions to the grid operator’s rule, which essentially functions to provide a minimum […]