Turning off power is a last-ditch strategy for utilities to reduce the risk that their systems could spark wildfires. In most states, deciding whether to take that step is up to utilities.
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.
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.
Losing power also has real consequences for people’s businesses, livelihoods and potentially their health and safety.
A new report lays out steps communities can take to help their residents survive heat waves as the risk of dangerous temperatures rises.
The US government regulates many industries, but social media companies don’t neatly fit existing regulatory templates. Systems that deliver energy may be the closest analog.
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.
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.
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.
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