LATEST BLOG POSTS

The Energy Cloud represents a SaaS structure for electricity, and will offer not only electric power, but also intelligent management of power consumption.

Hawaii’s Public Utilities Commission recently approved two new tariffs to cover future rooftop solar installations, including an option that’s gaining favor with consumers: Solar “Self-Supply.” Also known as “PV self-consumption”, it’s an option where a home consumes all the solar energy produced by its PV system, rather than pushing a portion of that power out […]

A recent story in The Wall Street Journal highlighted the conundrum facing many electricity generating companies and PUCs today: How to pay for aging, mostly coal-fired power plants whose only function is as backup power for peak demand? In Ohio, two owners of seven such plants have proposed that consumers pick up the tab and […]

The Hawaii PUC’s recently proposed alternatives to net metering, particularly the “self-supply” tariff, represent a significant change in the rules for solar customers. Similar to a tariff in Queensland, Australia today, this could indicate a new direction nationwide that will place new demands on customer installations. Given the importance of this for consumers and the […]

One of the most significant reliability challenges utilities face is the growing frequency of grid outages. Not only are they becoming more frequent, they are lasting longer. A recent study conducted by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Stanford University reveals that the number of outages is growing by 1% a year, and the average duration […]

A pretty remarkable story appeared in The Wall Street Journal on Monday. Instead of another headline about utilities battling against the administration’s new rules on carbon reduction – the news is that many utilities are embracing a new path that includes significant reliance on renewable power. Just a couple of years ago that would have […]

Over the coming weeks, the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) will be reviewing proposals by utilities, solar providers and others about how to modify net metering (NEM) regulations. These are the rules that determine how to compensate customers who have installed solar panels on their homes and generate excess electric power that flows back onto […]

In Australia, spring has sprung and the days are getting longer and warmer. For residential solar households, this means one thing – more energy production. Only in the state of New South Wales, solar users will no longer be getting paid as much for it. Earlier this month, the NSW Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal […]