Public Utility Commissions Archives

Carrots and Sticks for Utilities

Utilities control a lot of the power system. How can we get their support for the energy transition?

Investor-owned utilities supply almost three-quarters of U.S. electricity. With some notable exceptions, they’ve tended to drag their feet on the energy transition. In order to push the transition forward, we need to get them on board. This post will try to diagnose the problem and sketch some possible remedies. The proposed Clean Energy Standard is …

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Institutional Capacity Building for the Energy Transition

State agencies will need help to deal with a fast-changing energy system.

The COVID pandemic has provided a vivid picture of what happens when ill-prepared governments are suddenly hit with huge responsibilities. Underfunded state and local public health agencies were overwhelmed, while governors and local officials found themselves struggling to obtain and distribute vital supplies, from respirators to vaccines. Efforts to accelerate the transition away from carbon, …

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Funny, It Doesn’t Look Bluish

Strong Push for Renewables in the Land of Enchantment – But Is It a Bailout?

Although it reliably votes for Democratic Presidential candidates, has two Democratic United States Senators, and a trifecta of Democratic control in the state house, blue-state New Mexico is not usually thought of as a progressive environmental leader. The State Public Regulation Commission — one of only 13 directly elected by voters — has been plagued …

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The Politics of State Energy Deregulation: A Hypothesis

If you are interested in environmental policy, state public utility commissions might be the important agencies you’ve never heard of. PUCs determine how much power capacity there will be and even more importantly, what the mix of energy sources will generate it. Sometimes pundits will speak of “national energy policy”, but that is essentially a null set: …

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Public Utility Commissions

Utilities control a lot of the power system. How can we get their support for the energy transition?

State agencies will need help to deal with a fast-changing energy system.

Strong Push for Renewables in the Land of Enchantment – But Is It a Bailout?

TRENDING

Updating the state’s landmark biodiversity law for the twenty-first century

Even if we miss our targets, simply shaving or flattening the carbon curve would be worth fighting for.

Is climate change itself a form of colonialism?

Help, our energy system screwed up our planet!

The continent will face vast challenges. Dealing with them is a global priority.

Forty years ago, the legal academia was getting its first glimmering about climate change.

UCLA Wells Clinic provides legal support.

Court order freezing UC Berkeley enrollment raises critical questions about how California provides for equitable growth in the state

Lives can be lost when agencies fall down on the job.

Welcome to law school. You’re just in time to help save the world.

A recent court order freezing UC Berkeley enrollment highlights key issues in CEQA

UCLA Wells Clinic provides legal support.

Forty years ago, the legal academia was getting its first glimmering about climate change.

Help, our energy system screwed up our planet!

Updating the state’s landmark biodiversity law for the twenty-first century