Transition Finance Weekly - 10/24/2025
Chattanooga Runs On Batteries; LNG Exports Driving Up Energy Costs; Newsom’s “Relief” Law Hurts Customers
Exploring the policy, politics, and economics of the clean energy transition
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1. Chattanooga’s Public Utility Uses Grid Batteries to Keep Lights On – and Costs Down
Batteries built to save money ended up saving the day during an outage.
In early October, Chattanooga’s municipal utility EPB used one of its new grid-level battery systems to keep the power running for nearly 400 customers in the rural Sale Creek area, marking the first time the utility relied on stored energy to prevent unplanned outages.
Originally installed to cut costs and improve efficiency, the batteries also boost resilience. EPB has deployed seven such systems so far, including microgrids serving remote areas with no backup power lines. The Sale Creek system can supply the community’s peak power demand for up to four hours.
With 48 MW of grid-level batteries already in place and a goal of 150 MW in the coming years, EPB’s investment is already paying off. In 2025 alone, the automated grid has avoided 39 million customer outage minutes, saved $4 million, and cut energy use by 6.1 million kWh.
“If we can keep our costs lower, then we don’t have to raise rates for our customers,” said J.Ed. Marston, EPB spokesperson.
2. LNG Exports Boost Electricity Costs, and Mainers Pay
As the U.S. exports more natural gas, Americans are footing the bill at home.
In Maine, most households and small businesses are bracing for a 15% jump in electricity costs this January, according to a new analysis by Competitive Energy Services. Nearly 90% of Mainers get their power through the state’s standard offer program, meaning the rate hike will hit almost everyone.
Playing a key role? Liquefied natural gas exports (LNG). The U.S. has become the world’s largest gas exporter, and by 2030 the country is expected to double its LNG exports. The Department of Energy’s own research confirms what consumers are feeling — LNG exports raise domestic gas prices, which ripple through to electricity bills in states like Maine that rely on fossil gas for more than half of their power generation.
“Affordability is becoming a big issue, a big political issue,” said Andrew Price, Competitive Energy Services’ president and CEO. “There’s definitely outrage out there with CMP’s proposed distribution increases. The supply hike is going to feel like there’s some piling on.”
3. Newsom’s “Utility Bill Relief” Law Puts Edison Customers on the Hook for Fire Damages
Promised ratepayer relief may actually be a billion-dollar bailout.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of energy bills last month, and he promised Californians lower costs. But buried deep in one of those bills — a 231-page measure known as SB 254 — is fine print that could allow Southern California Edison to pass massive wildfire liabilities onto its customers.
The provision lets Edison charge ratepayers for any costs from the Eaton Fire that exceed California’s $21 billion wildfire insurance fund, putting customers on the hook for billions tied to the utility’s own negligence.
It’s a troubling move at a time when Californians already face some of the highest energy costs in the nation. Climate change has made wildfires more frequent and destructive, forcing utilities to spend heavily on grid hardening, insurance, and legal settlements — and then charge that work back to consumers.
“That will be expensive news to a lot of people,” said Michael Boccadoro, executive director of the Agricultural Energy Consumers Association. “It is unfortunately what happens when major policies are done in the final hours of the Legislature with little transparency.”
4. California Delays Finalization of Landmark Climate Disclosure Rules
Finalization of California’s sweeping new regulations are on hold until next year. Compliance deadlines still on track.
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced that it will postpone formal rulemaking for Senate Bills 253 and 261 until the first quarter of 2026, pushing back implementation of the state’s landmark corporate climate transparency requirements. The agency cited the “large volume of public comments” it received following release of a preliminary list of more than 4,000 companies expected to be covered under the rules, including many major utilities.
Under SB 253, large companies with over $1 billion in annual revenue will be required to disclose their Scope 1, 2, and eventually Scope 3 emissions. SB 261 mandates public reporting on climate-related financial risks. CARB began the rulemaking process earlier this month by publishing a draft reporting template for emissions disclosure, signaling progress toward the eventual framework.
5. U.S. Cities Face an Unprecedented Climate Infrastructure Challenge
Nearly every American city is now on the front lines of climate change and struggling to keep up.
According to new data from CDP, 98.6% of U.S. cities faced significant climate hazards in 2024, up from 83% just a year earlier. From extreme heat and flooding to wildfires and drought, climate risks are no longer isolated events: they’re nearly universal infrastructure challenges.
Across the country, local governments launched 958 adaptation measures and 1,272 mitigation initiatives last year, and 93% of reporting cities now have formal climate action plans in place. But progress comes at a price. Among 124 cities surveyed, the total need for climate-related investment reached $67.7 billion, while available funding covered just $22 billion, leaving a $45 billion gap.
The report reveals that cities that track and measure their results implement twice as many mitigation actions as those that don’t. The growing pipeline of 484 climate infrastructure projects — nearly half still seeking technical assistance — represents a massive opportunity for public and private investment in resilient, low-carbon systems.
6. Blue States Sue Trump Administration Over Cuts to “Solar for All” Program
A coalition of 22 states has gone to court after the EPA abruptly canceled $7 billion in grants.
In the suit, states, counties, and grant recipients argue the administration had no authority to revoke Congressionally mandated funds. The grants were part of the Inflation Reduction Act’s landmark investment in distributed solar — designed to deploy over 4 GW of rooftop and community solar in disadvantaged areas, cut household energy costs by at least 20%, and increase total residential solar capacity for low-income households by a third within five years.
California ($560 million) and Texas ($405 million) were set to receive the largest shares. Now their projects and others, from affordable housing installations to local workforce training programs, are on hold.
Beyond the legal fight, the stakes are high. Distributed solar reduces emissions, but it also builds resilience, lowers costs, and keeps power local. By stripping away Solar for All funding, the EPA has undermined one of the nation’s most equitable clean energy initiatives.
“As public servants, it is incumbent upon us to fight for fairness and justice, and that is what this lawsuit sets out to do,” said David Hochschild, California Energy Commission Chair. “The state’s goal to advance a 100% clean energy future depends on programs like this that make solar and storage affordable for all.”
SPOTLIGHT: Colorado’s Clean Energy Future Lies in Wind, Solar, and Storage — Not Costly “Unproven” Technologies
As Colorado prepares to retire its last coal units, the state faces a pivotal decision about how to replace that power and what kind of energy future to build.
A new report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) warns that the wrong choices could saddle Coloradans with higher bills and stall the state’s clean energy progress. At issue is the Just Transition Solicitation (JTS), a statewide process to determine how to replace the output from Unit 3 of the Comanche coal plant in Pueblo, slated to close in 2030.
Some proposals have pushed for new small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) or gas-fired turbines with carbon capture as potential replacements. But according to IEEFA, both are expensive, risky, and unproven at commercial scale, and could lock in years of delay.
By contrast, wind, solar, and battery storage are already cheaper, faster to deploy, and proven to deliver reliable power. Colorado’s vast renewable potential gives it an opportunity to build a modern grid that cuts emissions, lowers costs, and creates local jobs without betting ratepayer dollars on speculative technologies.
As the state navigates its energy transition, the path forward is clear: invest in resources that work now, not promises that might pay off later.
