Michigan regulators want better reliability — and transparency — from utilities

GRID: ​“Current reliability just isn’t adequate.” Michigan regulators order the state’s two largest utilities to detail plans for improving electric service reliability. (Energy News Network/​Planet Detroit)

SOLAR:
• Iowa’s second-most populous county is expected to approve a yearlong moratorium next month on utility-scale solar projects to give it time to further develop siting regulations. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
• A new solar array will save northeastern Ohio’s largest food pantry $64,000 in electricity costs over the next five years. (FreshWater)

COAL: NIPSCO will soon begin closing three coal ash ponds at a northwestern Indiana coal plant and detail corrective measures to protect groundwater from contamination. (Post News)

UTILITIES:
• Illinois’ attorney general is seeking a bigger refund for ComEd customers after the utility paid $38 million related to a corruption scandal involving former House Speaker Michael Madigan. (Chicago Tribune)
• A Nebraska utility warns customers of potentially rising bills because of delayed coal shipments and rising natural gas costs. (World-Herald)
• NIPSCO asks Indiana regulators for permission to increase rates by more than 16% to help pay for grid infrastructure upgrades, renewable energy projects and cybersecurity measures. (Chicago Tribune)

PIPELINES:
• More than five years after admitting to setting fire to heavy machinery building the Dakota Access pipeline, an activist is scheduled to be sentenced today in federal court in Iowa. (Grist)
• A carbon pipeline developer files for its first permits in Minnesota, where it would connect with six ethanol plants participating in the project. (AgWeek)
• Carbon pipeline developers say they would avoid difficult ground conditions when building projects through Iowa to prevent a potential rupture. (KTIV)

NUCLEAR: Michigan lawmakers consider legislation to study the feasibility of building small modular nuclear reactors in the state. (Michigan Radio)

RENEWABLES:
• A western Ohio county considers restricting areas for large-scale wind and solar projects as allowed under a recent state law. (Daily Citizen)
• A grocery chain will purchase renewable energy credits to offset power use at all of its central Ohio stores with renewable energy. (Ideastream)

OIL & GAS:
• Two people were injured after a large fire broke out Tuesday at a BP refinery near Toledo, Ohio. (NBC News)
• Natural gas utility Spire seeks a roughly $143 million rate increase in Missouri to cover rising business expenses, including employee salaries and gas distribution lines. (Kansas City Star)
• A large natural gas plant in southern Michigan came online this summer after more than 20 years of development. (ABC 57)

EFFICIENCY: A northern Michigan city will continue participating in an energy efficiency program through 2025 even though most utilities in the state are no longer legally required to offer them. (News-Review)

BIOGAS: Michigan regulators are reviewing a permit application for a proposed renewable natural gas production facility at a landfill near Ann Arbor. (MLive)