News and Analysis
Energy Roundup: FERC Investigates U.S. Power System
January 6, 2023- 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- FERC has withdrawn the electric transmission billing “adder” it had earlier awarded to AEP, providing some relief to AEP transmission customers in Ohio.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
PUCO Issues Report on Last Summer’s AEP Outages
January 6, 2023The Public Utility Commission of Ohio (PUCO) has issued a report on a series of power outages last summer in the hours following a strong thunderstorm. The OMA was among the organizations calling for an investigation.
This story by the Ohio Capital Journal notes that PUCO’s report criticizes AEP Ohio’s preparation for the event and its customer communications. While the report “largely gives the company a pass,” PUCO staff did take aim at AEP’s tree-trimming program. 1/4/2023