utilities

Squatting for survival in Philadelphia: What it’s like to live in a ‘takeover house’

The article goes in-depth about the history of squatting in the city of Philadelphia and the situations that lead to squatting in cities like Philadelphia with high unemployment, homelessness, transient or intermittent housing, and high percentages of low-income households (Chicago for example...Read more

As End of Utility Shutoff Moratorium Nears, SNAP Fears Rush of Requests for Assistance

SNAP directors are urging those in crisis to apply right away whilst asking those who can cope to wait a little longer before applying. The question here is: is it ethical to ask anyone who needs help (regardless of critical or non-critical status) to wait to apply? Shouldn't it be the...Read more

Pa. to Lift Last Coronavirus-Induced Moratorium on Utility Shutoffs

As a year from the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic comes to a close, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission is deciding to lift the moratorium on disconnection it had put in place to protect the Commonwealth's residents. This decision comes from pressures exerted by the utilities on...Read more

Peco parent Exelon plans to separate into two firms: ‘Our customers expect us to continuously innovate’

This article describes Exelon's new plan to split its power generation operations from it's six utility companies; PECO is one of the six utilities. The utilities themselves are responsible for managing "the wires and networks to deliver power generated by competitive companies." The...Read more

Utilities Propose First Regional Grid-Balancing Market in Southeastern US

Duke Energy, Dominion, and Southern Company all plan to trade electricity across state, which would make energy costs lower. This plan would also improve reliance on non-carbon-emitting power sources. The article goes into more details about the way energy is distributed across the United States...Read more

Caught in a patchwork of policies and pledges, some utility customers may still be awaiting electricity restoration or racking up fees

This article reports on the state of disconnections across the United States in March 2020. One of the major points of the article is that, although many states have suspended utility shut-offs during the pandemic (sometimes for an unspecified length of time) there is little data on whether...Read more

Report: Black households spend almost 50 percent more on utilities than white households

Echoing the topics of discussions in the headlines, this article talks about the impending end of state moratoria. Citing studies like the American Housing Survey, the article discusses disproportionate impacts felt by low-income communities as COVID-19 has compounded their already-precarious...Read more

Utility customers owe up to $40B in COVID-19 debt, but who will pay it?

This article discusses the effects of the utility shutoff moratorium as a policy (an emergency policy) that had no vision for long term pay back. I did not count the number of times the phrase "keeing the lights on" was repeated, but I should have. The article also describes how different...Read more

New report finds Texas utility-scale solar growth may push remaining coal plants into retirement

This article talks about the vulnerability of coal plants across the country. An energy generation market powered by Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is set to be at risk by 2022, coal fleet is now going to be down by October. The viable option seen by many in the south is to...Read more

Performance incentive mechanisms can support broad policy goals, RMI finds

Performance Incentive Mechanisms (PIMs) are being considered to nudge utilities' behaviors and have been successful in states like New York and Rhode Island. Hawaii implemented shared savings mechanisms which include solar development and storage. Effective PIMs do require a move away from '...Read more

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