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PG&E Secures $15B Loan for Energy Upgrades

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), a major utility serving Northern and Central California, has secured a conditional $15 billion loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Loan Programs Office. This funding aims to enhance PG&E's hydropower generation, battery storage capabilities, and transmission infrastructure, marking a significant investment in the region's energy future.

Project Overview

The loan is designated for several key initiatives:

  • Hydropower Expansion: Refurbishing and upgrading existing hydroelectric facilities to increase...

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Renewable Energy News

Climate Change and Coffee: A Brewing Concern

As the world grapples with the urgent need to address climate change, even seemingly unrelated topics—like your morning cup of coffee—are starting to raise important questions about the environmental crisis. In his recent piece for the Ottawa Citizen, columnist David Richardson...
Climate Change News

Bills Threaten Renewable Growth and Raise Costs

Texas is at a pivotal crossroads in its energy policy, with legislative actions that could significantly reshape the state's electricity landscape. A recent report by Aurora Energy Research, commissioned by the Texas Association of Business, warns that proposed restrictions on renewable energy...
Climate Change News

Earth Experiences Warmest January on Record

In an alarming sign of the growing impacts of climate change, recent reports reveal that Earth experienced its warmest January on record in 2025. The data, collected by global meteorological agencies, shows that average temperatures for the first month of the year exceeded previous records by a...

T&D Trends

Renewable Energy News

The AI Solar Installation Robot

In a significant leap forward for the solar energy industry, Maximo, an advanced AI-enabled robot, is transforming the landscape of utility-scale solar installations. This innovative technology is set to revolutionize how solar panels are installed, offering increased efficiency, precision, and...
Utility News

Duke Energy Approved to Deploy New Power Generation in NC

Duke Energy has received approval from North Carolina regulators to deploy a significant amount of new power generation capacity in the state, including new natural gas plants, as part of its long-term energy transition strategy. The decision, which is expected to have a major impact on the...

Electrical Substations

Grid Communications Infrastructure: Fiber, Wireless, and Networking Technologies

Reliable and secure communication infrastructure is essential to the safe and efficient operation of the modern power grid. As utilities transition to digital substations, integrate distributed energy resources (DERs), and deploy real-time monitoring systems, the need for robust, scalable grid communications networks has never been greater.
Today’s grid depends on the seamless exchange of latency-sensitive data between substations, control centers, and field devices. This requires a sophisticated mix of fiber-optic cabling, wireless technologies like 5G and private LTE, and intelligent network architectures such as MPLS and SD-WAN. Each solution brings trade-offs in terms of performance, coverage, cost, and reliability—making communication design a central component of utility planning.

Comparing MPLS and SD-WAN in Utility Networks

Two major architectures dominate wide area network (WAN) strategies in the utility space: Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) and Software-Defined Wide Area Networking (SD-WAN). Each offers different strengths for managing grid communications across geographically dispersed assets.
MPLS...

Electrical Substations Articles

Physical Security & Monitoring

Animal Mitigation for Electric Utilities

Prevent animal- and bird-caused outages to improve reliability BY MARTY NILES, Cantega Technologies Utilities in North America are under enormous pressure from regulators, customers, and investors to improve reliability performance. Many of the mergers and acquisitions of utilities around North...

The Role of SCADA in Grid Monitoring and Control

As electric power systems grow in complexity, the need for real-time monitoring and control has never been greater. At the center of this transformation is SCADA—Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition—a system architecture that enables utilities to collect, process, and act on data...