Are Utilities At Risk? | Energy Central – GWC Mag

Rate increases, federal funding, gas stove bans and the utility to invest in, are the hot topics of the day.  As winter looms, consumers are already struggling to stay current with energy bills.  Utilities are looking for ways to ease the burden while improving resiliency and reliability in an uncertain market and approaching an unpredictable season.

“We are still evaluating and aligning on the exact amount of the rate increase with our regulator and owner, the city of San Antonio,” a CPS Energy utility spokeswoman said in a statement. “We do anticipate to have rate increases on a more regular basis going forward. Without more frequent and incremental rate increases, our ability to address infrastructure, resiliency, growth, technology and security, as well as retaining and hiring employees while remaining financially healthy will be at risk.”

Are utilities at risk?  Federal funding is helping companies make much needed upgrades and, in some cases, just keep the lights on.  “We need power, we need a lot of it, and we need to take action today,” Michael Callahan, South Carolina president of Duke Energy said.  A growing population and booming economy are becoming a real problem for South Carolina’s energy providers.  In Minnesota and Michigan, utilities are receiving federal funding to reduce outages, build grid resilience and increase reliability.  The money is part of $3.5 billion in federal infrastructure funding for 58 projects across the country.  From wildfire prevention and transmission line expansion to smart grid and microgrid projects, improvements are taking shape. “This is fundamentally the work that we do to make the system stronger,” Consumers Energy spokesperson Brian Wheeler said. “It is along the lines of adding technology…. It’s replacing older equipment with newer, stronger infrastructure.”  

With additional funding and investments, Morningstar’s analysis says utilities that can accelerate growth by uniting renewable energy stakeholders – investors, developers, and policymakers – deserve premium valuations.  They forecast renewable energy will grow 12 percent annually during the next decade based on favorable economics, policymaking, and consumer demand.    However, South Carolina is looking to gas to resolve their shortage.  “People are moving (to Myrtle Beach) from up north — they like gas heat,” Keller Kissam, president of Dominion Energy South Carolina said.  “People want natural gas. I don’t care what they’re doing in New York or California banning gas, but the people down here haven’t read those news reports.”

The reports by researchers at Stanford University found that among the pollutants emitted from stoves is benzene, which is linked to cancer.  Stanford scientists measured benzene from gas stoves in 87 California and Colorado homes in 2022 for the paper published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology. They found both natural gas and propane stoves “emitted detectable and repeatable levels of benzene that in some homes raised indoor benzene concentrations above well-established health benchmarks.”

All things considered (NPR pun intended), utilities are struggling to keep up with demand and consumers are struggling to keep up with rates.  The Department of Energy is stepping in to help but will utilities remain at risk?  Or will funding spur confidence and investments?