Public Power Current

With an eye towards aesthetics, Nashville Electric Service is taking the extra step to build a screening structure for a new substation it plans to build in downtown Nashville.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has developed an information clearinghouse to better ensure that drivers cannot conceal drug and alcohol violations by moving on to another job. There are no exemptions for municipalities.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is calling on various stakeholders to meet in order to accelerate a consensual resolution to PG&E’s bankruptcy cases that will lead to the creation of a new entity. Newsom warned that if the parties fail to reach an agreement quickly “to begin this process of transformation, the state will not hesitate to step in and restructure the utility” and that “all options are on the table.”

An analysis of electric bus pilot programs in several cities show that electric buses can provide clean, efficient, cost-effective transportation. In most of the places where they were tested electric buses have met or exceeded expectations in a broad range of climates and terrain types.

An Austin Energy pilot electric vehicle charging rate program has been successful in attracting participants and reducing EV charging during peak usage hours.

An official with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District detailed a project that will utilize blockchain-enabled tokens as part of an effort to encourage EV owners to charge their vehicles at workplaces when local renewables peak during the day.

Favorable market conditions are prompting a surge in municipal gas prepayment bonds. Public power utilities are looking to the bonds to lock in cost savings on future natural gas purchases, Moody’s Investors Service noted. according to a new report from Moody’s Investors Service.

Utilities in Colorado, Utah, Hawaii and Vermont are advancing “virtual power plant” projects using networks of solar panels, batteries and other devices to help manage the grid.