Power & Utilities
A growing number of states are gearing up to leverage distributed energy resources (DER) to support grid operations amid clean energy and climate goals that require investments in and incentives for renewables and customer-sited generation.
As the retail energy marketplace evolves, state lawmakers and regulators are expanding their focus on the impacts to clean energy and long-term reliability, in addition to consumer protections and operational efficiencies.
Extreme cold weather conditions were a major factor in multiple grid events that occurred over the last decade, most notably the recent mid-February Winter Storm Uri that affected the south-central U.S., causing widespread outages and forcing natural gas processing plants to shut down. The impacts of these events on electric and gas systems that were unprepared for the challenge has emphasized the need to address cold weather reliability.
Extreme cold weather conditions were a major factor in multiple grid events that occurred over the last decade, most notably the recent mid-February Winter Storm Uri that affected the south-central U.S., causing widespread outages and forcing natural gas processing plants to shut down. The impacts of these events on electric and gas systems that were unprepared for the challenge has emphasized the need to address cold weather reliability.
Oregon has embarked on a clean energy transition with the enactment of sweeping legislation that mandates carbon-free power by 2040, setting one of the most ambitious decarbonization timelines in the nation. The state’s carbon reduction efforts range from legislative measures to study renewable hydrogen and expand transportation electrification, to rulemaking for a climate protection plan, and investigation into resource adequacy.
Demand response (DR) portfolios of electric utilities across the U.S. continue to expand as they refine their programs and explore new options to support grid reliability in response to the changing resource mix. The role of DR in planning and operations is expected to increase as the resource mix continues to evolve with increasing generation from natural gas, wind, solar, battery storage, and other emerging distributed energy technologies.
States are exploring ways to utilize the multiple benefits that energy storage provides to the grid, from enabling the increased penetration of renewable resources and reducing dependence on emitting generation, to bolstering reliability.
Clean energy mandates and goals adopted by U.S. states and utilities are driving efforts to plan and build out the transmission infrastructure needed to accommodate the exponential growth of wind and solar to facilitate power sector decarbonization.
Legislation enacted across U.S. states so far in 2021 reflects the evolving discussion around a wide range of policies ranging from accelerating the transition to cleaner energy and strengthening emissions reduction targets, to enhancing grid resilience, and preempting municipal natural gas bans. Delaware enacted legislation to increase the state’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS) for regulated…...
Performance-based regulation (PBR) continues to evolve in the face of transformational changes brought about by new technologies, changing customer preferences, and state policy mandates. Recent actions range from Hawaii’s approval of performance incentive mechanisms to accelerate clean energy goals, the District of Columbia’s ratemaking pilot that contains climate goals-driven tracking mechanisms, and Washington’s law to move towards PBR to help utilities adapt to rapidly changing societal expectations and public policy objectives.
The long-awaited capacity market auction of PJM Interconnection LLC for the 2022-2023 delivery year cleared at $50 per megawatt-day, which is 64 percent lower than the 2018 auction and the lowest in almost a decade. This is the first auction to be conducted by the nation’s largest grid operator under the expanded minimum offer price rule (MOPR) resulting from a 2019 order by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Grid modernization endeavors are progressing at a fast pace as states explore solutions to advance clean energy and climate goals while effectively meeting customer needs. Modernizing the grid is necessary to support the integration of additional levels of renewables, leverage customer-sited resources to participate in grid operations, and empower consumers with more choices for electric service.
