Energy Exchange

How a Western Regional Electric Grid Can Bring us into the 21st Century

By Lauren Navarro / Published: August 18, 2016

WestUS

UPDATE: Since the July 2016 publication of this original blog post, California Gov. Jerry Brown announced that he will wait until January 2017 to introduce legislation to expand California’s Independent System Operator (CAISO), which manages the state’s electric grid, beyond its borders.

The governor’s plan is good news for California and the other western states. With only a few weeks left in California’s legislative session, stakeholders were still working out remaining questions about how a western regional grid can deliver the significant benefits to the West’s economy and the environment (as shown in the SB 350 studies). 

Stakeholder groups, including Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), lawmakers, and regulators covered a lot of ground this session. Working together, we identified the important issues related to successfully implementing a western regional grid that should go into legislation.

EDF strongly thanks the governor’s office and legislative leaders for the focus and time dedicated to regionalization, and looks forward to working diligently over the next few months to help develop the benefits of a regional energy market for California and its neighbors.  Read More »

Also posted in Energy Innovation / Comments are closed

2 Steps We Can Take Right Now to Modernize Pennsylvania’s Electric Grid

By John Finnigan / Published: August 8, 2016

PowerLinesEach year, dozens of utilities across the U.S. embark on a complicated process called a “rate case.” Presented to a state public utility commission (PUC), a rate case is a utility’s pitch for higher electricity prices for customers. For most utilities, a rate case only happens once every several years. So, all sides argue for the rules of the road by which the utility will operate until the next rate case. A rate case is also where state and local governments, along with consumer and environmental advocacy groups, seek cleaner, cheaper, and more customer-friendly prices, products, and policies.

The Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission (PPUC) is currently hearing a rate case for Metropolitan Edison (Met-Ed), which serves 560,000 residential and commercial customers, and represents one of the Pennsylvania utility branches of Ohio-based mega company FirstEnergy. Last month, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) filed testimony in the case urging Pennsylvania to modernize its grid with both voltage optimization and customer data access. The PPUC should require Met-Ed to implement both programs so Pennsylvanians can benefit from a clean, modern electric grid.

Read More »

Also posted in Voltage Optimization / Comments are closed

The Process Priority: Inspiring Good Rate Design for Our Modernizing Grid

By Diane Munns / Published: July 29, 2016

Untitled design (19)New technology is evolving electricity transmission from a centralized, one-way system to a more distributed, interactive one. This system necessitates new electricity rates, and the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) unveiled this week at its annual summer meeting a draft manual that will help states across the U.S. design them.

The Distributed Energy Management Compensation Manual is basically a compendium of rate design options that regulators can consider, and it outlines each option’s pros and cons. NARUC President Travis Kavulla charged his staff with writing the manual – a monumental undertaking – and we commend the organization for this effort.

I was pleased to speak during the Town Hall event at which NARUC rolled out the draft manual, and my remarks focused on one critical need: good rate design process. Choosing the right electricity rate for a state is important, but so too is the process by which regulators arrive at that decision. Early in the document it recognizes, “A jurisdiction will need to identify its current status regarding DER [distributed energy resources], what role it expects DER to have in the future, understand the nature of DER adoption rates, and identify necessary policy developments to accommodate that future.” Now is the time to encourage NARUC to include in the manual a dedicated section that shows states how to build a process for ratemaking that will be sustainable, benefit consumers, and advance in tandem with electricity distribution technology.  Read More »

Also posted in General, Utility Business Models / Comments are closed

New Tool Measures Smart Grid Benefits. A Game Changer for Our Power Industry?

By Dick Munson / Published: July 19, 2016

SmartGridWe all know exercise is good for our hearts and bodies, and who doesn’t enjoy stepping on the scale after weeks of good workouts to confirm progress was made?

In a way, power companies are just like people.

As they begin to invest in smart meters and other grid modernization efforts, utilities want to know how well they do. Can they measure success and prove to investors and regulators they’re making smart decisions?

To that effect, Illinois’ largest electricity provider, Commonwealth Edison, is the first in the country to adopt a new tool that calculates clean air benefits from investments such as advanced meters.

Beyond bringing tangible rewards to ComEd, this little-noticed milestone can have major implications for the entire power industry.
Read More »

Also posted in Utility Business Models / Comments are closed

How Did Southern California Keep the Lights on During an Historic Heatwave? We Need to Know.

By Jayant Kairam / Published: July 12, 2016

CATempOn June 20 and 21, temperatures across the Southwest hit record triple digits. It was a scorching way to start the summer. For Southern Californians, early arrival of extreme heat tested the region’s already compromised electricity system: Residents braced for rolling blackouts as the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility (one of the primary sources of power generation in the region) was offline after a disastrous methane leak last winter. Aliso will remain offline until Southern California Gas Company can assure regulators, legislators, and the community that it can be operated safely and efficiently.

The heatwave was further complicated by devastating wildfires to the north and southwest, but the region was ultimately able to emerge from the threat relatively unscathed. Although thousands of residents dealt with short-term outages, rolling blackouts – reminders of California’s dramatic energy crisis of the early 2000s – never came and the region was able to breathe a collective sigh of relief.

During the heatwave, focus was rightly on keeping the system running. But now it’s time to look at how we were able to meet historic electricity demand without the system crashing, and how this will inform power providers in the months ahead.

Read More »

Also posted in Demand Response, Energy Efficiency, Gas to Clean, Methane, Natural Gas / Read 1 Response

Indiana Formally Approves Duke Energy’s Grid Modernization Plan

By John Finnigan / Published: July 6, 2016

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UPDATE: Since the March 2016 publication of this original blog post, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) last week issued an order officially approving a settlement agreement Environmental Defense Fund, along with several other stakeholders, helped negotiate for Duke Energy’s grid modernization plan. The IURC’s order approved the settlement (details of which are outlined in the post below) without change. Now Duke Energy can proceed with the $1.4 billion plan, which will bring many clean energy benefits to Duke’s 800,000 customers.

Help is on the way to reduce harmful pollution in Indiana, which has the seventh highest level of greenhouse gas emissions in the country.

Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) joined a settlement filed this week for Duke Energy’s grid modernization plan. The settlement calls for Duke – the largest utility in the country, which serves over 800,000 Indiana households – to invest $1.4 billion over the next seven years to improve its electric grid. Doing so will deliver major benefits for Duke’s customers. Read More »

Also posted in Demand Response, Utility Business Models, Voltage Optimization / Comments are closed