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Articles on Electric utilities

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As more homes like these in Folsom, Calif., add solar power, electricity pricing becomes more complicated. AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

California is wrestling with electricity prices – here’s how to design a system that covers the cost of fixing the grid while keeping prices fair

California is considering a controversial proposal for utilities to charge customers for electricity based partly on household income. Two scholars explain how this approach could benefit everyone.
Central Maine Power Co. lineman John Baril works to restore electricity in Lewiston, Maine, on March 15, 2023, after a winter storm. AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty

Maine voters don’t like their electric utilities, but they balked at paying billions to buy them out

Power companies can be publicly or privately owned and may report to corporate boards, local governments or co-op members. But there’s no one best way to deliver electricity reliably and affordably.
A large-scale battery storage system in Long Beach, Calif., provides renewable electricity during peak demand periods. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

What is a virtual power plant? An energy expert explains

Some power plants don’t have massive smokestacks or cooling towers – or even a central site.
A Long Island Power Authority smart meter installed at a home in Suffolk County, N.Y. John Paraskevas/Newsday RM via Getty Images

Smart meters and dynamic pricing can help consumers use electricity when it’s less costly, saving money and reducing pollution

Most households pay a flat rate 24/7 for electricity although the cost of generating it fluctuates through the day. Wireless technologies are changing that system.
A new EV schoolbus from an all-electric fleet parked beside charging stations at South El Monte High School in California, Aug. 18, 2021. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Electric school buses are taking students back to school – bringing cleaner air and lower maintenance costs to school districts across the country

They look like conventional school buses, but electric versions are cleaner, quieter and cheaper to maintain. States, utilities and federal agencies are helping school districts make the switch.
The control room of the California Independent System Operator, which manages the flow of electricity on the state’s power grid. Rolf Schulten/ullstein bild via Getty Images

What is curtailment? An electricity market expert explains

Sometimes wind and solar power produce more electricity than the local grid can handle. Better energy storage and transmission could move extra energy to where it’s needed instead of shutting it off.
Aerial view of the 6-megawatt Stanton Solar Farm near Orlando, Fla. Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Who pays and who benefits from a massive expansion of solar power?

President Biden’s proposed solar power expansion would cost $350 billion in federal support over the coming decade. An energy expert explains where that money would come from and who it would help.
Outages left downtown New Orleans in the dark after Hurricane Ida made landfall on Aug. 29, 2021. Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Can burying power lines protect storm-wracked electric grids? Not always

Hurricane Ida left the entire city of New Orleans in the dark and renewed discussion of burying power lines. But there’s no way to completely protect the grid, above ground or below.

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