Becerra's Free Power Happy Hour: "...the Democrat announced an initiative he called his 'power hour' that would give lower-income families two hours of free electricity per day...Andrew Campbell, executive director of the UC Berkeley Energy Institute at Haas, was also intrigued by the concept. 'It’s not a crazy idea,' he said. 'There’s free electricity on the grid at certain times, and having a mechanism to share that with consumers makes sense.'" POLITICO
BHE Montana Commits to Join EDAM in 2028: "BHE Montana said it will join CAISO’s Extended Day-Ahead Market in 2028, increasing the number of participants committed to the new market to eight. BHE Montana (also known as PowerWatch) is a generation-only balancing authority and will add to EDAM more than 370 MW of wind power, 75 MW of battery storage capacity, and other resources in development. Controlled by Berkshire Hathaway Energy, the BA launched in 2022 with its headquarters in Great Falls, Mont." RTO INSIDER
California's Gas Crisis is a Policy Failure at Every Level: "California passed a refinery profit margin cap under a 2023 statute, AB X2-1, but regulators delayed implementation for five years, leaving the mechanism dormant at precisely the moment for which it was designed. The conflict in Iran shows no sign of resolution: As recently as June 1, the U.S. and Iran exchanged fire in the Strait, and Iran asserted sovereignty over the waterway, proposing tolls of approximately $1 per barrel as a condition of any long-term reopening. The direct price impact of such a toll is modest, roughly two cents per gallon, but legitimizing Iranian control of the world’s most critical energy chokepoint carries geopolitical risks that markets are pricing far more seriously." REGULATORY REVIEW
California Energy Regulator Says He's Open to Working with Trump on Oil Refineries: "California is 'very focused' on maintaining refinery capacity, said California Energy Commission chair David Hochschild...signaling rare alignment with the Trump administration on energy policy." POLITICO
California Reopened Non-Residential Rate Design, and Utility Billing Systems Will Set the Timeline: "Whatever the Commission approves, the date it reaches a customer bill is set by infrastructure that rate proceedings rarely discuss. Writing in Utility Dive on August 7, GridX Chief Commercial Officer Scott Engstrom argued that legacy customer information systems built for analog meters, not regulatory appetite, are what actually gate rate design. The number of approved US electricity rates has grown roughly an order of magnitude in five years to more than 50,000. Moving a complex rate into production routinely takes 18 to 36 months." ENERGY STORAGE WIRE
California Surpasses 21,000 Megawatts of Battery Resources Supporting the State's Electric Grid: "When Governor Gavin Newsom took office in 2019, less than 700 MW of battery storage served the grid. Today, total battery storage capacity is 21,112 MW, an increase of more than 2,500% in just seven and a half years. That’s equivalent to roughly one-third of the statewide peak demand, which exceeded 63,000 MW during the September 2022 heat wave." CEC
FERC Approves CASO Start-Up Funding Plan for ROWE: "FERC's approval of CAISO's funding plan for the ROWE allows the latter to obtain the financing it will need to prepare to assume governance of the EDAM and WEIM in 2028." RTO INSIDER
FERC OKs CAISO Interconnection Payment and Schedule Revisions: "CAISO is tweaking its generator interconnection procedures and processes after years of being inundated with interconnection applications." RTO INSIDER
Fewer Pipelines, Mo Problems: "Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a high-profile bill last year to increase drilling in oil-rich Kern County. Now, two things — a pipeline problem and an offshore oil operation — are throwing a wrench into that plan. Though it’s become easier to score a permit to drill in oil-rich parts of the state, it’s become more difficult for producers to secure space for their oil in one of the shared pipelines that transport product to the coastal refineries." POLITICO
Recurrent Energy Closes $695 Million Financing for 330 MW California Solar Project: "The Cobalt Solar facility in Riverside County is under construction and is scheduled to reach commercial operation by late 2027." PV MAGAZINE
Steve Hilton's Populist Energy Message: "The conservative commentator wants California to 'break up [Pacific Gas & Electric’s] monopoly,' according to a policy proposal on his website titled 'Ending the PG&E nightmare.' The bold proposal, which would upend the state’s electricity system, evokes immediate comparison to [Tom] Steyer, who launched his campaign for governor by promising to 'break up the monopolistic power of utilities,' and turned the power companies into one of his main foils." POLITICO
The Wildfire Fight Newsom Can't Quit: "Gavin Newsom has picked one of the wonkiest, most contentious issues to be his legislative capstone this month: a proposal protecting utilities like Pacific Gas & Electric from catastrophic wildfire liability. Wildfire victims and counties are calling the developing deal to reform the state’s existing back-up fund for utilities that spark wildfires a utility and corporate 'bailout.' Insurance companies are spending tens of thousands of dollars on advertisements attacking it, starting Monday. And environmental groups are urging lawmakers to reject any 'last minute, closed door deal.'" POLITICO