Welcome to Grid Brief! Today, we’re looking at power generation in America’s traditional monopoly areas with relevant news items.

Monopoly Area Monday

Here’s a snapshot of generation nation-wide:

Natural gas and nuclear were the top generators nation-wide, while wind, coal, and solar swapped third place.

And here’s a map to orient you as we move through the areas:

Carolinas

Nuclear was the most prolific generator in the Carolinas, while natural gas, coal, and solar played musical chairs for the second and third spots. Total generation fell over the week.

A member of the South Carolina Public Service Commission has resigned in protest over energy legislation in the state.

“Tom Ervin, a former state judge from Greenville, said in a letter to the Legislature he will leave the commission March 31,” reports The State. “In an interview with The State, Ervin said the House bill ‘was hastily draw’ and needs more scrutiny. Ervin said the proposal for a huge natural gas plant has parallels to a bill approved about 15 years ago that allowed two energy companies to begin expanding the V.C. Summer nuclear plant. That bill gave utilities SCE&G and Santee Cooper substantial concessions to begin constructing two nuclear reactors to complement the existing reactor.”

TVA

Nuclear, natural gas, hydro, and coal were the main power producers in the TVA.

Southeast

Natural gas, nuclear, and coal kept the Southeast humming.

Florida

Natural gas, solar, and nuclear were the stars of the Sunshine State.

A Florida utility will credit customers for nuclear power plants’ outages.

“Florida Power & Light has agreed to credit its customers $5 million for replacement power costs due to nuclear plant shutdowns, Public Counsel Walt Trierweiler said Tuesday. The Office of Public Counsel told the Public Service Commission in a pre-hearing statement filed Tuesday that FPL had agreed to credit customers for power purchases due to plant outages between 2020 and 2022,” reports E&E News. “State regulators in February had recommended the PSC should refund more than $11 million, citing an agency audit that blamed mismanagement for some of the more than 40 shutdowns and fines at the Turkey Point and St. Lucie nuclear power plants.”

Northwest

The Northwest had its typical skirmish for the top three spots between hydro, wind, natural gas, coal, and solar.

An Oregonian citizens’ group opposed PGE’s rate hike.

“Portland General Electric (PGE) has filed for regulator approval to further increase customer rates by 7.2%, starting in 2025,” reports KGW TV Portland. “In response, the Oregon Citizens' Utility Board — a consumer advocacy organization — is taking the unusual step of asking the Oregon Public Utility Commission to immediately reject PGE's filing. PGE raised customer rates by 17% in January 2024, and between 7% and 20% for residential customers in 2023.”

Southwest

Natural gas and nuclear kept the lights on in the Southwest, while solar, wind, coal, and hydro all took their turns in the number three spot.

The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled in favor of community solar.

“More people could have access to solar power in New Mexico after a lawsuit filed against the state by a group of utility providers was thrown out this this week by the state Supreme Court,” reports the Carlsbad Current-Argus. “The New Mexico Supreme Court issued its ruling in the case brought by Southwestern Public Service Company against the State Public Regulation Commission (PRC) in June 2022, challenging proposed community solar regulations that were approved by the PRC in July 2022.”

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Conversation Starters

• EU issues warning about Somali piracy. “Commercial vessels face increased threats from Somali pirates off the coast of the East African country, the European Union’s Naval Force in the region said in an update. ‘Ships sailing off the Somalian coasts, in the Somali basin are urged to maintain a heightened state of vigilance in light of the recent escalation in piracy threats,’ the EU naval force said, noting a recent upsurge in reported incidents,” reports Oilprice.com. “The end of the monsoon period is expected to further facilitate piracy activities in the region, said the EU Naval force’s maritime security center for the Horn of Africa region.”  

• EU Energy Commissioner says that Russian pipeline imports need to be cut. “The European Union is ‘progressively’ putting more pressure on importers of Russian liquefied natural gas to cut purchases this year, according to Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson. The campaign is part of Europe’s push to shift supplies and undermine the financing of President Vladimir Putin’s war machine after his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022,” reports Utility Dive. “While pipeline flows of natural gas from Russia have dropped to record lows, LNG shipments have increased. Simson said she discussed the matter on Friday at a meeting on energy with the US, currently the EU’s biggest supplier of liquefied gas.”

• US electricity prices outstripped inflation. “U.S. electricity prices rose 3.6% over the last 12 months, outstripping the broader inflation rate of 3.2%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday. And experts say there is little chance for near-term consumer relief,” reports Utility Dive. “Transmission costs and volatile fuel prices are the primary drivers of higher power bills, according to Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizen’s Energy Program. While natural gas prices have declined, ‘I’m not seeing any evidence that today’s current low prices are going to result in utilities announcing rate decreases,’ he told Utility Dive. And federal policies aimed at electrifying end uses and reducing emissions could lead to even higher prices, Travis Fisher, director of energy and environmental policy studies at the Cato Institute, told a House subcommittee Wednesday. Energy and environmental policies ‘are creating predictable problems with grid reliability and affordability,’ he said.”

Crom’s Blessing

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