US tries to cash in on zeitgeist of Presidential utility support

In the US if a utility finds its costs increase it can ask its local regulator for permission to raise prices. While the average price increase agreed with regulators was not exceptional, during 2018 the US Energy Information Administration shows in a July report that 89 utilities, around 50% of the total, requested a price increase. The likely conclusion is that changes after 20 or 30 years or not upgrading transmission and distribution system, a few $billion needs to be spent to accommodate renewables. But it does seem strange that as energy utilities face a dramatic transformation from fossil fuels to renewable energy, there might be the odd shortfall in cash. If you used to buy from a coal fired…