Power generator members of PJM are asking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)—the independent agency that oversees the…
The December storm that brought extreme cold to much of the nation demonstrated—yet again—that fossil fuels fail when electricity is…
A proposal from grid operator PJM Interconnection is designed to start working through the backlog of wind and…
Consumers across the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest will pay less next year after PJM’s latest capacity auction showed that markets can…
Cutting emissions from our power grid is going to require a lot more transmission lines. And, I mean, a lot. Long distance…
How to Save Four Billion without Really Trying
June 8, 2021Plan ahead, they always say. Turns out that might not always be the best advice: thanks in part…
Power grid operator PJM will soon hold an auction to line up electricity supply for 2022 and 2023. In that…
A Hopeful Sign for PJM Capacity Reform
February 1, 2021PJM Interconnection, which coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in all or parts of 13 states and the…
Transforming PJM is the key to a clean energy grid
July 14, 2020Voters and consumers from the Mid-Atlantic to the Great Lakes are demanding clean energy. State governments have answered with policies and goals calling for…
FERC’s Power Grab
April 21, 2020A coalition of environmental groups is suing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in court to reverse FERC’s…
New CEO Faces Old Problems in the PJM Market
November 21, 2019Manu Asthana’s new job will not be easy. PJM’s new CEO inherits an organization recovering from financial scandal, at odds with…
To Green the Grid, Take a Lesson from the Auto Industry
July 15, 2019Consider for a moment why hybrid cars are so efficient: most of the time, when you’re cruising, the…
For Demand Response, Second Best Isn’t Good Enough
January 9, 2019A major cost to the power grid is handling peak load—making sure that there is enough power available…
The Coal/Nuke Plant Bailout: We Must Remain Vigilant
October 16, 2018Recent media reports suggest that the White House has tabled its plan to bail out costly coal and nuclear plants. While…
By Miles Farmer, NRDC Alum NRDC and the Sustainable FERC Project, together with a coalition of clean energy and…
Trump Officials Pressured National Lab to Help Coal Agenda
August 9, 2018Trump administration officials pressured the Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) to write their March…
By Miles Farmer, NRDC Alum A coalition of clean energy organizations is strongly pushing back on a recent…
The Coal/Nuke Bailout, or DOE’s Game of Whack-A-Mole
June 21, 2018June 21, 2018 by Gillian Giannetti, Staff Attorney, Sustainable FERC Project, Climate & Clean Energy Program If it feels like…
What’s Resilience? It’s Not More Fuel or Higher Prices, PJM
May 9, 2018By Jennifer Chen, NRDC Alum The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) early this year rejected the Department of…
Worried About Grid Resilience? Don’t—You Can Sleep Well
May 9, 2018May 9, 2018 by Gillian Giannetti, Staff Attorney, Sustainable FERC Project Secretary of Energy Rick Perry has warned of an energy…
By Jennifer Chen, NRDC Alum PJM, the transmission grid operator for parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest, filed…
FirstEnergy Attempts An Illegal Power Plant Bailout Scheme
March 30, 2018Increasingly desperate to keep its failing coal and nuclear plants afloat, FirstEnergy just asked the U.S. Department of Energy…
Electric Grid Resilience and FERC: What Happens Next?
March 7, 2018On March 9, the nation’s regional grid operators are poised to tell their regulator—the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission…
No Love for Grid Operator’s Latest Costly Market Proposal
February 14, 2018By Jennifer Chen, NRDC Alum PJM, the electricity grid operator serving 65 million customers in 13 Mid-Atlantic and…
Federal Judges Hear Arguments Against PJM Market Rules
February 21, 2017By Jennifer Chen, NRDC Alum The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments this week on the various challenges to the…
As Clean Energy Grows, Electricity Markets Must Evolve
January 5, 2017Part of NRDC’s Year-End Series Reviewing 2016 Energy Developments As 2016 fades away in the rear-view mirror, we…
Highlights from the June FERC Open Meeting
June 24, 2016By John Bullock, NRDC Summer Intern FERC finalizes updates to price formation, removing barriers for flexible energy resources.…
More Recent FERC Decisions: Week of May 30th, 2016
June 17, 2016By John Bullock and Taylor Jones, NRDC Summer Interns FERC rejects PJM’s proposed tariff revisions, ensuring that the…
PJM’s New Rules Skew Against Clean Energy; Silver Lining in a Lower Forecast
May 25, 2016By Jennifer Chen, NRDC Alum At a time when countries around the world have committed to cutting climate-warming…
More Recent FERC Decisions: Week of May 9th, 2016
May 13, 2016By Tim Murphy, Program Assistant, Sustainable FERC Project & John Moore, Senior Attorney, Sustainable FERC Project FERC approves…
Highlights from the April FERC Open Meeting
May 5, 2016By Jennifer Chen, NRDC Alum FERC Upholds PJM’s Treatment of Demand Response In the wake of the U.S.…
PJM Report Indicates That the Most Expensive Power Plants Tend To Be the Most Polluting
March 24, 2016By Jennifer Chen, Attorney, NRDC Alum PJM, the regional grid operator serving 61 million energy customers in the…
Highlights from the November FERC Open Meeting
December 9, 2015By Miles Farmer, NRDC Alum Promoting Competitive Provision of Primary Frequency Response Service (RM15-2). In February 2015, FERC…
What’s the (Demand) Forecast? More Energy Efficiency on the Radar
October 15, 2015By Jennifer Chen, NRDC Alum Accurately forecasting electricity demand is critical to ensuring that grid operators plan for…
Highlights from the September FERC Open Meeting
September 25, 2015By Miles Farmer, NRDC Alum Improving Price Formation: Settlement Intervals and Shortage Pricing in Markets Operated by Regional…
Auction Shows Mid-Atlantic/Midwest Consumers Will Pay More and For Dirtier Electricity Under New Rule
August 27, 2015By Jennifer Chen, NRDC Alum PJM, the grid operator serving 61 million energy customers in the Mid-Atlantic and…
Good & Bad News in Continuing Fight for Equal Treatment of Clean Energy Resources in Mid-Atlantic and Midwest Power Markets
July 30, 2015By Jennifer Chen, NRDC Alum Some of the proposed wholesale capacity market rule changes that are projected to…
FERC June Open Meeting Decisions of Interest
June 23, 2015By Eric DeBellis, NRDC Legal Intern ISO New England, Inc., Docket No. ER15-1137-000 FERC accepted ISO New England’s…
Do Pay-for-Performance Capacity Markets Deliver the Grid Resiliency Outcomes We Need?
April 28, 2015This post originally appeared on Green Tech Media here. How to design capacity markets to ensure a flexible…
PJM Well-Prepared to Lower Carbon Pollution Without Reliability Problems
March 25, 2015A new Analysis Group study has found that PJM, the RTO servicing the nation’s largest wholesale electricity market…
Wind and Solar Power: Transforming the Grid with Clean Energy – Reliably – Every Day
December 17, 2014Despite years of successful experience, dozens of studies, and increasing utility support for clean energy, urban myth holds…
Which do you like better: Clean Energy & Your Money or PJM’s Proposed Capacity Market Reforms?
November 6, 2014By Jennifer Chen, NRDC Alum In response to last winter’s Polar Vortex, which stressed much of our nation’s…
Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, Citizens Utility Board, Sierra Club, ENE (Environment Northeast) and PennFuture Support Parties’ Requests for Rehearing of Order 745 Decision
July 3, 2014Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Citizens Utility Board (CUB), Sierra Club, ENE (Environment Northeast),…
Building NTAs into Power System Plans, Engaging Customers, and Evaluating Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards
June 24, 2014By Sonia Aggarwal, Eric Gimon, and the experts of America’s Power Plan This post originally appeared here, and…
Nation’s Largest Electricity Market Has Enough Power Through (at least) 2018
May 27, 2014By Stacey Steep, Legal Fellow with the Sierra Club This month, PJM, the largest grid operator in the country,…
The Polar Vortex and the Power Grid: What really happened and why the grid will remain reliable without soon-to-retire coal plants
April 29, 2014Apr 29, 2014 by John Moore and Allison Clements In the grip of the “Polar Vortex,” much of…
Grid Planning for Extreme Weather Events
April 29, 2014Many of the nation’s major high power electric transmission owners have formed entities called regional transmission organizations (RTOs)…
Demand Response- An Underutilized Asset in the Midwest
March 17, 2014By Steve Dahlke, Policy Associate for the Great Plains Institute Imagine yourself lying on a warm beach, maybe…
Nation’s Largest Grid Operator: Huge Renewables Expansion Won’t Be a Problem
March 10, 2014PJM Interconnection, the nation’s largest power transmission grid organization, announced last week that wind and solar power could…
Looking to Reduce CO2 Emissions 40% from the Power Plant Sector?
March 4, 2014By Mike Jacobs, Senior Energy Analyst for the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Climate & Energy Program Power grid…