INSIDER
EXCLUSIVE: CenterPoint CEO Jason Wells to interview with KPRC 2 for first TV interview since derecho, Hurricane Beryl
Just days before Houstonians will be able to share their honest thoughts about CenterPoint Energy with the Texas Public Utilities Commission, the companyโs top man has agreed to interview exclusively with KPRC 2โฒs Gage Goulding.
CenterPoint CEO promises improvements as Texas scrutinizes companyโs Beryl response
Jason Wells told regulators the company will launch a new outage tracker by Aug. 1. It will also trim more tree limbs near power lines and hire an executive to focus on emergency response.
Attorney general investigating CenterPoint Energy after Hurricane Berylโs long-lasting power outages
The companyโs power outages in July have drawn the ire of state leaders. Hereโs what you need to know.
Two rival robotaxi services win approval to operate throughout San Francisco despite safety concerns
California regulators have approved an expansion that will allow two rival robotaxi service to operate throughout San Francisco at all hours.
Judge Hidalgo provides update on countyโs preparation for hurricane season, extreme summer weather
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo discussed the countyโs extreme heat preparedness following a meeting with officials from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the Public Utilities Commission of Texas and Harris County Emergency Management.
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PUC votes to not disconnect power service, but customers could begin seeing late fees on water and energy bills soon
The meeting started by detouring a bit and, instead of taking public comments, the PUC answered some questions from callers which included billing questions. Second, PUC representatives said they will likely not re-price the energy market like some senators and independent market monitors had suggested. ERCOTโs vice president Kenan Ogelman explained to state senators those storm-related prices are why it is owed more than $2 billion from energy companies that cannot pay their bill. He said the storm was causing fluctuating prices, which can inadvertently put a power producer in reserve status. ERCOTโs Technical Advisory Committee has scheduled a special meeting at 1 p.m. to review the cold weather event.
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CEO of ERCOT โterminatedโ in aftermath of winter storm
The decision is the latest of several recently announced departures from the ERCOT board, which also included Magness. Magness's absence leaves a mix of vacancies and temporary members on the 16-member ERCOT board. She had come under sharp criticism by lawmakers after largely pointing blame for Texasโ power outages to ERCOT, the entity her agency oversees. Magness also defended ERCOT as an entity that carries out what state lawmakers and the PUC direct. Magness worked at ERCOT for more than a decade and became its CEO and president in 2016 after working as its general counsel.
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Utility: Winds too weak to cut power before California fire
(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)LOS ANGELES โ Facing extreme wildfire conditions this week that included hurricane-level winds, the main utility in Northern California cut power to nearly 1 million people while its counterpart in Southern California pulled the plug on just 30 customers to prevent power lines and other electrical equipment from sparking a blaze. Red flag warnings of extreme fire danger expired and easing winds allowed PG&E to begin restoring power after the largest of five safety shutoffs this year. At its peak, PG&E cut power to about 345,000 customers โ nearly 1 million people โ in 34 counties. As of Tuesday night, only about 2,000 of Edison's 5 million customers were without power, according to an outage website. โObviously, you can say in retrospect that it would have been better if SCE cut power where the line was.
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PG&E tells regulators upcoming outages will go more smoothly
If mishandled, the outages could also endanger the lives of people being supported by medical devices after contracting COVID-19. Critics now worry PG&E will lean on deliberate blackouts to reduce the chances its equipment starts more wildfires that saddle it with staggering losses. Batjer emphasized that PG&E can only use the outages as a last resort." Despite all its recent work on its grid, PG&E expects to be making further improvements for years to come in a process known as hardening." But that is only a fraction of the 7,100 miles (11,400 kilometres) of distribution circuits that the utility believes needs to be hardened.