The Water Values Podcast: Rolling Out AMI in San Francisco with Alison Kastama and Heather Pohl (Part 1)
On August 29, 2024, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (“DPU”) issued a highly anticipated order approving the Electric Sector Modernization Plans (“ESMPs”) filed by the three Massachusetts electric distribution...more
Following the initial public release of private letter ruling (PLR) 20242002 as part of a state rate proceeding, on June 28, 2024, the IRS publicly released that ruling, as well as two companion rulings obtained by other...more
Welcome to Dorsey’s Energy Law: Month in Review. We provide this update to our clients to identify significant developments in the previous month. ...more
Since the issuance of Revenue Procedure (Rev. Proc.) 2005-62, many utilities have used securitizations authorized by state law to secure collections of stranded costs upon the retirement of certain generation plants or costs...more
The Georgia Court of Appeals has affirmed Georgia Power Company’s “grandfather” rights to provide electric service to a manufacturing/warehouse facility that had been expanded and renovated over the years, but not...more
The Alberta Utilities Commission's (AUC) government-directed inquiry regarding the key issues of concern with renewable power projects in Alberta (the Inquiry) is underway. The focus of this post is Module A....more
On August 16, 2023, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities issued an order setting forth the new Community Solar program that is replacing the prior Pilot Program. This Community Solar Energy Program (“CSEP”) continues upon...more
On February 17, 2023, Georgetown Broadband LLC (GBLLC) became the latest community broadband entity to receive pole attachment authorization from the Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to deploy a fiber broadband...more
The Maine Public Utilities Commission is currently considering whether to commence a formal emergency rulemaking process to amend Chapter 324 of its rules governing generator interconnections. The purpose of the rulemaking...more
On or before May 2, 2022, the Maine Public Utilities Commission has requested bids for proposed transmission and generation resources that would boost energy exports from northern Maine. The northern Maine region has long...more
On March 2, 2022, the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) issued a decision exempting Calgary District Energy Inc. (CDHI) and the Downtown District Energy Centre (DDEC) from certain provisions of the Public Utilities Act and...more
As explained in our earlier post, we expect the substantial pace of regulatory developments related to communications infrastructure in California to continue in 2022. Additionally, changes at the California Public Utilities...more
On October 21, 2021, the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) approved a rule that creates requirements for power companies to better prepare for winter weather. The rule stems from the Texas Legislature’s passage of...more
In the aftermath of Winter Storm Uri, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 3, which, among other things, required the Public Utility Commission of Texas (“the Commission”) to adopt certain market-related rules. A key...more
The buyer of a business obviously must do its due diligence. Part of this due diligence is identifying any permits, licenses, or certificates that must be transferred to the buyer (or otherwise obtained by the buyer) at or...more
On May 24, Governor Janet Mills nominated attorney Patrick Scully, who was most recently the Chief Executive Officer of Bernstein Shur, to serve a six-year term on the Maine Public Utilities Commission. For over 36 years,...more
Pennsylvania’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act (AEPS Act) requires that a certain percentage of the electric energy that electric distribution companies (EDCs) and electric generation suppliers (EGSs) sell to...more
On March 11, 2021, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission voted to take additional steps toward returning to pre-COVID-19 pandemic procedures for collecting amounts due for public utility service in Pennsylvania. ...more
On March 8, 2021, Commissioner Shelly Botkin resigned immediately from the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), leaving the PUCT with only one sitting commissioner. Somewhat unusually, under Texas’ Public Utility...more
On March 1, 2021, Potomac Economics, the Independent Market Monitor (IMM) for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), filed a report with the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) that certain payments were...more
One of the traditional reasons for government intervention in the marketplace is market failure. A classic example of a market failure is a natural monopoly such as a public utility. Most economists agree that government...more
In a recent case in the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC), a party filed a petition for issuance of an interim emergency order pursuant to 52 Pa. Code § 3.6. ...more
On October 22, the Massachusetts DPU issued an Order opening a new docket (DPU 20-75) that seeks comments on a proposal to shake up the way the electric distribution system is planned and paid for in Massachusetts. As I see...more
In March, 2020, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) unanimously issued an emergency order that generally prohibited Pennsylvania electric, natural gas, water, wastewater, telecommunications, and steam utilities...more
In what we understand to be the first state law to do so, California’s Assembly Bill 913 (AB913), which was enrolled on September 4, 2020, amends Section 850 of the Public Utilities Code to allow electrical corporations to...more