Energy Roundup: FERC Investigates U.S. Power System

• The performance of the electric grid in Ohio and other states during December’s cold spell has spurred an investigation by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). On Christmas Eve, about 1.6 million U.S. customers were without power.
• Even one of the healthiest regional grids — that of Duke Energy and the Tennessee Valley Authority — struggled during the recent winter blast, reports say.
• FERC has withdrawn the electric transmission billing “adder” it had earlier awarded to AEP, providing some relief to AEP transmission customers in Ohio.
• FirstEnergy failed to disclose nearly $94 million in lobbying in its support of the scandal-plagued House Bill 6 and has agreed to pay a related $3.9 million fine, reports say.

Meanwhile, Russia’s war in Ukraine has sparked $500 billion in new spending for clean energy, according to the International Energy Agency. 1/5/2023