utilities

IREC’s Clean Energy Consumer Bill of Rights

Based on reactions from the COVID-19 survey, specifically the question regarding energy rights, I was curious to see what the discussion was around them, I was intrigued to find an organization I had never heard of the IREC (Interstate Renewable Energy Council) and their proposed Renewable...Read more

“Deflect, Delay, Defer”: Decade of Pacific Gas & Electric Wildfire Safety Pushback Preceded Disasters

The fires ravaging through California began as an electrical output started from PG&E, who stated they would take all necessary action to improve their equipment in other to avoid future outbreaks. However, their statement does not account for the past fires caused by faulty wiring and...Read more

A tidal wave of utility shutoffs is coming: 34.5 millionhouseholds will lose shutoff protections in the next month: An impact analysis of changing utility shutoff moratoriums

This report was created by Carbon Switch, an energy efficiency investment company, that collected information on household energy bill accumulation and unemployment rates. Predictions made by the firm estimate a whooping 76 million households will be shut off or will be threatened with shutoffs...Read more

NYS Senate & Assembly to hold joint legislative hearing on utilities' 'failure' during recent storm

This article talks about the repercussions felt in New York as tropical storm Isaias hit the Northeast region. Discussions of payments made to and investments made by utilities question the nature of the improvements made as told by energy providers. Utilities also defend their strategies by...Read more

In Maine, pandemic hasn’t stopped push for a publicly owned electric grid

Maine calls for a publicly-owned utility, Maine Power Delivery Authority, given the unreliable service and high rates from other local utilities. However, there is a lot of uncertainty that surrounds the consumer-owned utility. The proposed amendment also institutes a task force to consider...Read more

Connecticut needs to make big changes in ‘who does what’ in the electric power industry

Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) Chair Gillet said she is not interested in utilities' excuses in not providing reliable service. Eversource has to deal with electricity service and other services it provides, many calling it a monopoly of services. In a 2018 grid-...Read more

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

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

Interview Excerpt with Margaret Clark

Margaret: As a homeowner, you got water, taxes, electric, if I need the roof fixed I have to call somebody. You got the whole thing. And I get a water bill every month now. Back in the day, I used to get a water bill once every three months. They'd bill every three months. Not every month like...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

The historical–geographical construction of power: electricity in Eastern North Carolina

The attached paper analyzes the creation of the uneven distribution of electricity throughout Eastern North Carolina, tracing the history of the energy distribution from the introduction of utilities to now. The author dives into the different organizational structures of energy utilities, how...Read more

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