NY utilities penalized for failing customers, performance targets

UTILITIES: New York’s utility commission and Central Hudson Gas & Electric come to a settlement over the utility’s failed billing system upgrade in 2021, deciding the utility can’t pass along almost $65 million in related costs to customers. (Times Union)

ALSO: Several New York utilities get hit with a collective $23.5 million in state regulatory penalties for failing to meet performance targets last year, with New York State Electric & Gas Corporation penalized $11.4 million alone. (WETM)

FOSSIL FUELS: A New York bill that blocks the use of captured carbon dioxide in fracking sits on the governor’s desk as observers and industry members consider other uses for the pollutant. (Politico, subscription)

RENEWABLE POWER: The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority kicks off the state’s eighth large-scale renewable energy solicitation, this time encouraging pitches for terrestrial projects that can come online before December 2026. (RTO Insider, subscription)

TRANSIT:

• A federal judge dismisses a case brought by several stakeholders claiming that New York City’s transit agency and federal partners didn’t study the impact of the Manhattan congestion pricing plan hard enough. (Streetsblog)
• New York grants $17 million in the state’s western communities to enhance access to public transportation, through projects like trail building, sidewalk improvements and new bike lanes. (WGRZ)

WIND: A developer upgrades the turbines at the Twin Ridges wind project in Pennsylvania’s Southampton Township, boosting generation capacity by 30%, from 139 MW to 181 MW. (Tribune-Democrat)

GRID:

• New York regulators approve a roadmap for reaching the state’s goal of 6 GW of energy storage capacity by 2030, roughly equal to a fifth of the state’s peak power demand. (news release)
• PSEG will hold several public meetings in July over its plans to build a $424 million, 70-mile transmission line across three Maryland counties to upgrade the PJM Interconnection grid. (Frederick News-Post)
• In Maryland, Fort Detrick flips the switch on a 6 MW battery energy storage project, which hooks up to an 18.6 MW solar project in use since 2016. (news release)

SOLAR:

• A Maine town signs off on a one-year lease of a capped landfill to an energy developer interested in studying the upgrades needed to build a solar project there. (Advertiser Democrat)

• New Britain, Connecticut, approves a zoning change that will allow an affordable housing project to add 850 kW of rooftop solar. (Hartford Business Journal)
• Johnstown, Pennsylvania, decides to preemptively block almost five square miles of land from becoming solar sites, although only one project has ever been pitched there. (Daily Gazette)
• Behind-the-meter solar helped Massachusetts avoid rolling blackouts or outages during this week’s intense heat. (Boston Globe)

POLICY:

• An environmental group’s report makes recommendations to reform several Pennsylvania state agencies to ensure its economic development tools are used to build a stable, decarbonized economy. (Pennsylvania Capital-Star)
• The Maryland Commission on Climate Change is working to come up with recommendations on who should pay for the projects needed to meet the state’s climate goals. (Maryland Matters)

HYDRO: A Maine town that voted not to remove its downtown dam begins studying the potential of restoring the site’s hydroelectric capability. (Piscataquis Observer)