Latest Utilities News
Regulators' recommendation would mean 3% lower electric rates for New Mexico residential customers
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Staff for New Mexico's utility regulators have recommended new rates for the state's largest electric provider that would result in about a 3% decrease for residential customers instead of the 9.7% increase Public Service Co. of New Mexico was seeking. The...
Oregon power company to pay nearly $300 million to settle latest lawsuit over 2020 wildfires
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Electricity utility PacifiCorp will pay $299 million to settle a lawsuit brought by 463 individual plaintiffs who were harmed by devastating wildfires in southern Oregon in 2020. The settlement announced Tuesday comes after the utility lost a similar lawsuit...

New Mexico governor proposes $500M to treat fracking wastewater
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico would underwrite development of a strategic new source of water by buying treated water that originates from the used, salty byproducts of oil and natural gas drilling, and help preserve its freshwater aquifers in the process, under a proposal from the state's...

Residents in northern Mexico protest over delays in cleaning up a mine spill
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Residents in Mexico’s northern state of Sonora on Tuesday protested against what they said is the government’s continued failure to clean up an almost decade-old mine spill. At a news conference held outside government offices in Hermosillo, the state...

Regulators begin hearings on how much customers should pay for Georgia nuclear reactors
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Power Co. is urging the state's utility regulators to approve a deal to pay for the company's new nuclear reactors as a few holdout opponents keep fighting to try to get the Public Service Commission to keep the utility from collecting any cost overruns for the two reactors...

At COP28 meeting, oil companies pledge to combat methane. Environmentalists call it a "smokescreen"
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Fifty oil companies representing nearly half of global production have pledged to reach near-zero methane emissions and end routine flaring in their operations by 2030, the president of this year's United Nations climate talks said Saturday, a move that...

Cities must replace harmful lead pipes within 10 years under new Biden administration plan
Most U.S. cities would have to replace lead water pipes within 10 years under strict new rules proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency as the Biden administration moves to reduce lead in drinking water and prevent public health crises like the ones in Flint, Michigan and Washington, D.C. ...

Residents in St. Croix sue government over water contaminated with lead and copper
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A group of residents have sued a public utility company in the U.S. Virgin Islands after authorities there reported finding high levels of lead and copper in the tap water on St. Croix. The report caused panic and forced tens of thousands to rely on bottled water. ...

To save the climate, the oil and gas sector must slash planet-warming operations, report says
The oil and gas sector, one of the major emitters of planet-warming gases, will need a rapid and substantial overhaul for the world to avoid even worse extreme weather events fueled by human-caused climate change, according to a report released Thursday. The current investment of...
Editorial Roundup: Illinois
Arlington Heights Daily Herald. November 19, 2023. Editorial: Bill lifting moratorium puts nuclear power in the conversation and prioritizes safety Anyone nervous about the legislature’s overwhelming nod toward nuclear power in the fall veto session can take heart...
