PacifiCorp asks California regulators for a 57% net rate increase affecting 46,000 customers
By Eve
PacifiCorp, which operates as Pacific Power and is owned by Berkshire Hathaway through Berkshire Hathaway Energy, asked the California Public Utilities Commission on 6 November 2026 for a $103.4 million increase effective 1 January 2027. The request equals a net increase of 57% for about 46,000 electricity customers in far northern California, and is more than double the 25.7% the utility sought on 5 May 2022. The report, which carries a sponsor disclosure, also notes the utility's credit rating sits one notch above junk.
Why it matters
Electricity tariffs feed directly into the operating costs and business cases of charge points in the affected service area, so CPOs and site hosts there should watch how the case develops. A financially strained utility may also influence the pace of grid investment and connections, though the article does not address charging directly.
Source
- Original title
- “Berkshire Hathaway’s Utility Is Asking for a Historic Rate Hike in California”
- Published
- 7 November 2026
- Updated
- 8 November 2026
In this story
- Topic
- Grid & Energy
- Place
- United States
Related news
Suniva begins expansion to lift US solar cell capacity to 5.5 GW
Suniva has started an expansion intended to take its US solar cell capacity to 5.5 GW, according to a SUNE stock news update. The report states that long-term customer purchase agreements cover the majority of Suniva's planned production through 2030. The excerpt supplied contains no further figures on investment, timing or customers.
Why it matters
Domestic solar cell supply at this scale, largely contracted to 2030, may tighten availability for developers pairing solar with charging sites, so CPOs planning on-site generation should check how much uncontracted volume remains. It also signals continued US supply chain investment that could affect sourcing and local-content considerations.
Elements Green signs TenneT grid connection agreement for 400MW, 1,600MWh Stadorf battery project in Lower Saxony
Elements Green Deutschland GmbH has signed a grid connection agreement with transmission system operator TenneT for its Stadorf battery energy storage project in Lower Saxony. The project has a planned output of 400MW, a storage capacity of 1,600MWh and a four hour duration, and will connect directly to the extra high voltage grid. The agreement follows a connection construction agreement signed earlier this year, and together the two set the contractual framework for building and operating the grid connection.
Why it matters
Securing both grid connection contracts with a transmission operator is a key de-risking step for a utility scale storage project, and it shows how large German BESS schemes are progressing towards delivery. For CPOs and developers, it is a useful indicator of how grid access and storage capacity may shape the wider power system that charging networks depend on.
Impossible Metals robot recovers 450 grams of seabed nodules at more than 4,000 metres, with no independent data yet
Impossible Metals said its autonomous Eureka robot recovered about 450 grams of polymetallic nodules from the Clarion Clipperton Zone at more than 4,000 metres during a September expedition, as reported by Reuters. The dive was marine scientific research, not production, and the company's release does not describe independent monitoring, so claims of no environmental disturbance come from an investor. The announcement comes 10 days before the first US seabed mineral lease sale, which the company's April 2025 request helped set in motion.
Why it matters
This is a proof of mechanism at research scale, not evidence of commercial supply or environmental outcome, so it should not yet change assumptions about battery metal sourcing. Procurement and CPO teams should treat seabed minerals as a long dated and contested supply question, and watch the lease sale and any independent monitoring data.