2026 Summer Loads and Resources Assessment: "2,127 MW of resource adequacy eligible nameplate capacity have been added to the CAISO grid from September 1, 2025 through April 1, 2026 and an additional 6,194 MW of new resources are expected through June 30, 2026, which includes CAISO’s share (3,167 MW) of SunZia Wind project in New Mexico." CAISO
A New Bill Would Help VPPs Replace Peaker Plants in California: "Senate Bill 913, introduced by state Sen. Josh Becker, a Democrat, would allow VPPs to 'compete on a level playing field with traditional power sources to provide grid reliability at the lowest cost.' The bill, which lays out a slew of policy changes, passed out of the California Senate Energy, Utilities, and Communications Committee earlier this month, a first step on the way to a potential vote before the full state Senate and Assembly." CANARY MEDIA
A Stress Test for California Carbon Pricing: "California is trying to finalize a major redesign of its carbon market. The timing is not great. Gasoline prices are pushing $6 a gallon. Two refineries have now closed. And the federal government has shifted from subsidizing clean energy investment to openly undermining state-level climate action. Into this fraught territory steps the California Air Resources Board, the agency tasked with translating a sweeping legislative mandate into workable regulations." ENERGY at HAAS
California's Electric Bills Would Be Much Lower Without State's Program Fees: "A study released last summer found these fees add nearly 37% to the average Californian’s electricity bill. In addition to paying for power generation and delivery to households, electricity customers foot the bill for a collection of hidden “public purpose” programs and state mandates. Customers who get their power from investor-owned utilities such as Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric and San Diego Gas & Electric pay about $820 a year for these programs." CAL MATTERS
California's Energy Evolution: "PG&E has a goal to serve 3 million EVs by 2030. We’re on our way with about 775,000 now. If we time their charging right, they can use affordable, excess solar energy during the day. In fact, with the next million EVs connecting to the grid, we see a potential reduction in customers’ bills of 2 to 3 percent, simply by making more efficient use of the grid." POLITICO
California's Self-Destructive War on Oil: "According to the Statistical Review of World Energy, in 2024, oil, natural gas, and coal contributed 87 percent of the world’s primary energy supply. Two years ago, that number was quietly revised upwards by the Review from the more commonly cited 82 percent, because they decided to start converting terawatt-hour electricity production from non-combustible sources to the actual exajoules of primary energy they represented. This new method abandons their previous misleading practice of grossing that number up artificially, under the assumption more energy would have been expended if natural gas or coal had been utilized to generate the electricity." CALIFORNIA GLOBE
California Sets Precedent by Overriding Local Blockade for Soda Mountain: "The California Energy Commission has approved the 300 MW Soda Mountain Solar Project, marking the first time a major solar development has successfully used a state-level 'opt-in' procedure to bypass local opposition to an energy project. The decision provides a roadmap for utility-scale developers to overcome local land-use restrictions that have historically stalled the project and others like it." PV MAGAZINE
I Have a Confession: "... there are examples in a state like California where expressing unease with a results-oriented approach to regulation is not acceptable. Most recently this came when many of my member companies considered whether to spend significant money to challenge a California Public Service Commission’s decision that did not (in our view) follow the law on a procurement standard. Every law firm we approached told us not to waste our money. There was no chance of successfully challenging the CPUC. It must be bad if law firms are turning down legal fees. The zeitgeist in California has been decidedly anti-competition for many years. One gets the feeling this is mostly a staff preference for central planning over competition but a point on the general direction of CPUC seems a waste of breath and won’t make the next filing for those who express such a view very welcome. In both these instances – both in federal and state venues – one is left with a feeling of ennui that due process was being undermined. But what to do?"WESTERN POWER TRADING FORM
Phillips 66 – Renewable Fuel Segment Currently Producing at Above Nameplate Capacity: "During a first quarter earnings call, Brian Mandell, executive vice president of marketing and commercial at Phillips 66, said the company profited from a long renewable identification number position during the quarter, including RINs that were generated at the Rodeo complex. The company was also able to roll some lower-cost RINs from prior year into this year, he added. Mendall noted that current RIN values are more than twice what they were during the same time last year. The credit value alone is boosting margins right now, he indicated." BIOMASS MAGAZINE
Pipeline Construction Will Follow Natural Gas Demand Growth: "Saguaro Connector Pipeline LLC has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a three-year extension to complete a cross-border pipeline segment that would feed an LNG project in Mexico. The project, which was originally to be completed by February 15, 2027, under FERC’s 2024 authorization, was to construct and place into service a 1,000-foot, 48-inch-diameter pipeline crossing the Rio Grande in Hudspeth County, Texas. The pipeline is to supply natural gas from the Permian Basin to a proposed LNG export terminal in Mexico. The delay was caused by prolonged litigation, ongoing commercial negotiations, and the timing of a planned LNG export facility on Mexico’s west coast." INSTITUTE for ENERGY RESEARCH
SoCalGas Customers Spared Paying $266M for Hydrogen Pipeline Project: "...it’s far from clear that hydrogen can provide an environmentally or economically viable route to meeting those goals — either in California or across the country. Over the past three years, a boom in clean hydrogen investment has largely evaporated in the U.S. Billions of dollars meant to spur projects to generate, store, and transport hydrogen have been canceled or put on hold." CANARY MEDIA
Trump Directs Federal Financial Support to Increase Energy Production: "President Donald Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to direct federal support toward oil, gas, coal, and electric grid infrastructure through a series of presidential determinations on April 20, 2026." CALIFORNIA ENERGY JOURNAL
Two California Bills Would Push Utilities to Get More Out of Their Grids: "Could California’s major utilities control their rapidly rising electricity rates by using their power grids more efficiently? State lawmakers want to find out. A set of bills introduced this year would order Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric to measure and improve how they’re utilizing the hundreds of thousands of miles of power lines that carry electricity to customers." CANARY MEDIA
Understanding California Refineries – the "Turnaround": "Refineries are very complex operations. They are the backbone of our economy; indeed, our very survival as a society depends on them." CALIFORNIA GLOBE
Wildfires Weigh on PG&E as California Sees Modest Large Load Demand: "California must spread the word that it is 'open for business,' CEO Patti Poppe said of recent interactions with data center developers. State officials expect just 1.8 GW of data center load by 2030...The utility continues to reckon the significant financial impact of past wildfires. It assigned an aggregate liability estimate of $1.325 billion for the 2019 Kincade fire; $2.15 billion for the 2021 Dixie fire; and $400 million for the 2022 Mosquito fire, according to its quarterly report to the Securities and Exchange Commission." UTILITY DIVE
Without Wildfire Reform, California Utilities Could See Credit Impacts – Edison International: "SCE announced on Wednesday that it has so far offered more than $500 million to nearly 3,800 parties that have filed claims under the company’s Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program, set up to provide those affected by the 2025 Eaton Fire with an alternative to litigation. Claimants have accepted about 1,000 of those offers, according to a company news release. The company has to date received 3,200 claims from more than 9,500 individuals, trusts and other entities." UTILITY DIVE
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