California regulators greenlight controversial fixed utility fee plan

UTILITIES: California regulators approve a plan aimed at lowering utility bills by reducing usage rates and implementing a fixed $24 monthly fee on all customers, but critics say it discourages energy conservation and punishes rooftop solar customers. (KPBS)

ALSO:

• California regulators reject Pacific Gas & Electric’s proposal to sell off a stake of its power generation fleet to an investment firm, saying the utility had failed to demonstrate the plan was the best way to fund its operations. (Power)
• Proponents of a plan to replace San Diego Gas & Electric with a public power agency say the utility’s $223 million first quarter profit bolsters its case. (San Diego Union-Tribune)

OIL & GAS: 

• The federal Bureau of Land Management proposes auctioning more than 1,000 acres of oil and gas leases in the Permian Basin next February. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
• An advocacy group credits more effective regulations for a decrease in oil- and gas-related spills in New Mexico and Colorado even as production increased. (news release)

COAL: Five Republican-led Western states join a lawsuit seeking to block the U.S. EPA’s new power plant pollution rule, saying the agency ​“intentionally sets impossible standards to destroy the coal industry.” (Utility Dive)

POLITICS: Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, suggests cutting Interior Department funding in retaliation for the administration’s heightened Arctic drilling regulations. (E&E News)

WIND: The 533 MW Cedar Springs wind facility in Wyoming proposes to add 73 turbines and 393 MW of generation capacity. (Casper Star-Tribune)

SOLAR:

• Colorado lawmakers pass a bill aimed at expediting solar permitting by helping local and tribal governments create renewable energy land use codes and siting ordinances. (news release)
• California regulators delay a vote on a controversial plan to alter community solar rules, giving advocates hope that the proposal will be strengthened. (Los Angeles Times)

CLEAN ENERGY: A California city votes to power its facilities with 100% renewable energy purchased from a community choice aggregator. (KEYT)

TRANSMISSION: Tesuque Pueblo fights to block a proposed transmission line that would provide power to Los Alamos national laboratory in New Mexico, saying it would harm cultural resources. (Searchlight New Mexico)

GRID:

• A California high school’s officials say grid interconnection delays have forced the facility to run on costly diesel generators without regulator permission since last August. (Ventura County Star) 
• California’s grid operator predicts an added 4,500 MW of capacity since September will allow it to meet power demand this summer. (RTO Insider, subscription)

MINING:

• The U.S. House passes a bill that would allow mining companies to utilize federal land without valuable minerals for support purposes such as waste rock disposal. (Nevada Current)
• The U.S. Forest Service launches its environmental review of a proposed manganese and zinc mine in southern Arizona. (Tucson Sentinel)