ratepayers

Workers install solar power modules for producing electricity on the roof of a house in Wessling, Germany. The German government introduced a feed-in tariff with its Renewable Energy Act in 2000 that guarantees homeowners a minimum rate for selling electricity from renewable energy sources into the nation's electricity grid. (Photo by Alexandra Beier/Getty Images)

Legislation threatens to hamstring Arkansas’ rooftop solar expansion

BY: - February 9, 2023

Arkansas’ major electricity companies favor proposed legislation that likely would end the state’s boom in rooftop solar generation.  Renewable energy advocates counter that such efforts will dismantle consumer-friendly policies put in place by the Legislature only four years ago. Introduced Wednesday by Rep. Lanny Fite, R-Benton, House Bill 1370 would end the state’s current policy […]

LAKE CHARLES, LOUISIANA - AUGUST 27: Utility employees work on downed power lines after Hurricane Laura passed through the area on August 27, 2020 in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Laura made landfall in low-lying Louisiana with a top wind speed of 150 mph, putting it among the most powerful storms ever to strike the U.S. The expected catastrophic storm surge however wound up being 9-12 feet, far from the worst forecast of 15-20 feet, though still destructive. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Affordable, reliable and sustainable: report compares utility performance 

BY: - January 23, 2023

A nationwide comparison of electric utility performance by an Illinois consumer advocacy group found that customers in states that are heavily reliant on fuel oil and natural gas, as in the Northeast and South, tend to pay more than those with larger amounts of carbon-free generation, among other findings.  The report by the Illinois-based Citizens […]

As utilities spend billions on transmission, support builds for independent monitoring  

BY: - November 21, 2022

An aging electric grid, fossil fuel power plant retirements and a massive renewable electricity buildout are all contributing to a boom in transmission and distribution wire projects by electric utilities across the country.  In 2020, investor-owned electric utilities spent $25 billion on transmission, up from $23.7 billion in 2019, figures that the Edison Electric Institute, […]