Why not bury all our power lines?

Sep 1, 2021
The upfront cost is high and the cost-benefit calculation depends and the region, experts say.
Chris Delmas/AFP via Getty Images

California's battery-supported grid off to a slow start

Jul 13, 2021
California’s grid operator hoped new battery storage could prevent rolling blackouts. Installation has been delayed.
The sun shines over towers carrying electical lines in South San Francisco, California.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

California blackouts trigger debate about electric grid resilience

Aug 28, 2020
A heat wave and record levels of electricity demand are straining infrastructure.
Investments in grids were already falling, and COVID-19 has slowed down upgrades even further.
Brent Stirton/Getty Images

California blackouts reflect a complicated supply-and-demand problem

Aug 17, 2020
The load can overwhelm the electric grid during heat waves, but this summer's outages have raised new questions.
A sign in Calistoga, California, calls on PG&E to turn the electricity back on during a statewide blackout in October 2019.
Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images

Stop utility shut-offs during COVID-19 crisis, NAACP Legal Defense Fund president says

"We would love to have a nationwide moratorium on all utility shut-offs, but every day, turn-offs are happening," Sherrilyn Ifill says.
Some states have worked to stop utility shut-offs, including Maryland, Kansas and Kentucky.
Martin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images

PG&E due in bankruptcy court

Nov 19, 2019
PG&E's power grid infrastructure has been blamed for wildfires in 2017 and 2018.
A fallen PG&E utility pole lays on a property burned during the Kincade Fire in Healdsburg, California on Oct. 28, 2019.
Philip Pachecho/AFP via Getty Images

Georgia Power wants a rate hike. Some of its customers wonder why.

Oct 25, 2019
The utility's parent company brought in more than $2 billion in profits last year.
Dozens of people gathered outside the Georgia Public Service Commission building to protest Georgia Power’s proposal to raise electric rates.
Emma Hurt/WABE

For public good, not for profit.

Some utility companies are racing to be carbon neutral

Jul 26, 2019
Many suppliers of electrical power are facing the question of when to get to zero emissions, not if they need to get there.
A windfarm is seen in 2006 near Palm Springs, California.
Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images)

Offshore wind energy sparks debate on Long Island

May 30, 2019
A variety of stakeholders have a variety of opinions on the development of the 15-turbine windfarm.
Montauk fisherman Al Schaffer on his lobster boat.
Ashley Milne-Tyte

California utility is reportedly considering bankruptcy after wildfires

Jan 7, 2019
California lawmakers are back in session after a holiday break, and a new governor is in place. One of the sticky issues all those folks might have to confront is what to do about the troubled utility Pacific Gas and Electric. The investor-owned utility provides gas and electricity to more than 5 million Californians. And […]