Energy and Policy Institute: "Maine becomes third state this year to pass legislation prohibiting utilities for charging ratepayers for political activities." An enlightened Maine legislature passed a bill this wk prohibiting investor-owned utilities from charging customers for 'lobbying, trade association + chambers of commerce dues, charitable contributions + public relations expenses.' Those activities work to the benefit of the management + shareholders, who should therefore pay, not the ratepayors. "The bill also includes a provision to prohibit utilities from recovering contributions or gifts to political candidates, political parties, political or legislative committees, or any committee or organization working to influence referendum petitions or elections." The legislation in Maine followed similar bills passed in Connecticut and Colorado last month. All 3 states now require annual detailed disclosure filings to ensure transparency + compliance. Lousiana and Michigan are considering similar legislation. Why is this sort of legislation necessary? Let me serve up just 1 example. "Firstenergy, an Ohio utility, paid $60 million in bribes to the Ohio House speaker’s political organization. In return the utility secured a $1 billion ratepayer-funded bailout for several of its unprofitable nuclear and coal plants, and another lucrative provision that guaranteed the profits of FirstEnergy’s Ohio utilities at ratepayers’ expense." Go read the whole article [no paywall] to see other chicanery + bribery carried out by these powerful private corporations. Take home lesson: don't trust the smiling face of the robber baron in the photo. #electricutilities #bribery

“The biggest problem we have with utility #regulation in this country is the capture of #independent #agencies by #utilities,” Stokes told me. “Electric rates are higher than they should be. We have way more polluting infrastructure than we need.”

Stokes wrote a book about utility #industry #lobbying. A study she co-authored last year finding that during the 1990s, #electricutilities joined #fossilfuel #companies in promoting #climatedenial and #doubt.

UtilityDive: "PG&E Corp mitigation measures prepare it for upcoming wildfire season regardless of weather: CEO" California's largest electric utility is installing mitigation measures to de-risk its system + 'be prepared for the upcoming wildfire season regardless of weather conditions.' These mitigation technologies provide real-time information on fuel moisture levels, wind, temperature + other data in 2 km blocks over its entire service territory. “It gives me a lot of confidence heading into wildfire season that we are prepared,” says PG&E Corp CEO Patti Poppe." In March, PG&E filed its wildfire mitigation plan with California’s Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety, outlining plans to invest $18 billion on these efforts through 2025. These measures comprise pruning vegetation impinging on its infrastucture, installing covered conductors + stronger poles in its service territory. 'PG&E estimates that the “layers of protection” it has implemented have mitigated over 90% of wildfire risk in its service area, through a combination of inspection, “hardening” the system, enhanced power line safety settings, improved situational awareness and proactive power shutoffs when fire risk is high.' A story to follow in what is projected to likely be an El Niño season. #electricutilities #wildfires #climatechange

#Hackers #Data #ElectricUtilities #Ransomware

https://share.newsbreak.com/2nn11yij

Hackers stole data belonging to multiple electric utilities in an October ransomware attack on a US government contractor that handles critical infrastructure projects across the country, according to a memo describing the hack obtained by CNN. https://amp-cnn-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2022/12/27/politics/hackers-data-utilities-ransomware-sargent-lundy/index.html #CyberSecurity #ransomware #US #ElectricUtilities #CriticalInfrastructure

France's Restart of Nuclear Reactors Eases Blackout Fears https://www.wsj.com/articles/frances-restart-of-nuclear-reactors-eases-blackout-fears-11671102996 #Politics/InternationalRelations #Accidents/Man-madeDisasters #Electricity/GasUtilities #ElectricPowerGeneration #electricpowergeneration #NuclearPowerGeneration #internationalrelations #nuclearpowergeneration #Political/GeneralNews #Disasters/Accidents #ElectricitedeFrance #ElectricUtilities #man-madedisasters #electricutilities #generalnews

Quebec Shuns Bitcoin Mining in Bid to Conserve Power https://www.wsj.com/articles/quebec-shuns-bitcoin-mining-in-bid-to-conserve-power-11670514921 #VirtualCurrencies/Cryptocurrencies #Regulation/GovernmentPolicy #RenewableEnergyGeneration #renewableenergygeneration #Electricity/GasUtilities #Corporate/IndustrialNews #ElectricPowerGeneration #electricpowergeneration #C&EIndustryNewsFilter #c&eindustrynewsfilter #FinancialTechnology #financialtechnology #ElectricUtilities #FinancialServices #synd