Declining costs, evolving technology, and changing grid needs are accelerating the pace of deployment of battery storage projects. Regulators seek to spur investments to leverage the multiple benefits of batteries, including the ability to add large amounts of intermittent renewable generation to the system, and to defer or eliminate the need to build new transmission…...
More U.S. states are exploring programs and policies to leverage the application of battery storage for the benefit of the power grid and to examine how the technology may provide value to consumers. Studies and investigations are intended to help craft initiatives that can tap the resource for multiple applications ranging from offsetting peak loads, supporting renewable integration and stabilizing the distribution system, to providing peaking capacity and replacing fossil generation.
Utilities are stepping up efforts to boost retail power and gas rates to offset tepid growth in electric demand and weak prices in the wholesale markets. Utilities are also overhauling how charges are set by launching non-traditional rate programs, including revenue decoupling and performance-based rates. Keep on top of the latest utility rate programs by…...
A growing number of states are exploring grid modernization to keep pace with fast-evolving technological advances and growing distributed generation. The smart grid concept ties together multiple initiatives ranging from solar-battery microgrids to vehicle-to-grid power flow management, and grid hardening to support reliability and resiliency. It may also include advanced meters, which are a pivotal…...
Utilities across North America are investing billions of dollars to decarbonize their power fleets to comply with unprecedented greenhouse gas emission cuts and bold renewable energy targets. The pivot to cleaner and greener power sources is reflected in the integrated resource plans and RFPs that utilities file with state commissions. Keep on top of the…...
Utility rate proceedings are evolving into forums to address emerging energy sector issues as grid modernization and resiliency, renewable energy procurement, and emissions reduction programs form a growing part of suppliers' business.
In the last year alone, states from Maine to New Mexico have enacted measures mandating the study of microgrids, showing the growing interest in harnessing the technology to shore up grid reliability and accomplish broader policy goals in which microgrids may play a role.
The New Hampshire Public Utility Commission issued a second order on Oct. 2 demanding that retail power supplier Agera Energy LLC make alternative compliance payments totalling over $2.2 million to satisfy compliance with the state’s 2018 renewable portfolio standards. Agera, which filed for bankruptcy with a federal bankruptcy court in New York on Oct. 4th,…...
Utility resource planning is becoming more complex in the fast-changing energy landscape, prompting intense scrutiny from regulators. State measures are transforming the way utilities procure energy in light of continued growth in intermittent large-scale energy, customer-sited generation, demand response, energy efficiency, and clean energy commitments.
An unprecedented number of states are rushing to procure battery storage resources as the technology is seen as increasingly critical to balance supply and demand on power grids more saturated with intermittent supplies. Thanks to innovation and declining costs, battery technologies are increasingly presenting themselves in utility resource planning, interconnection procedures, renewable energy procurement, and utility pilots.
A growing number of states are redesigning policies and incentives for distributed generation as customer-sited installations spread amid falling costs. Regulators have initiated a number of actions this year, ranging from examining the value of distributed energy resources (DER) to overhauling interconnection rules, and equipping utilities with the planning structure required to accommodate new resources.
Carbon reduction is becoming ingrained in the planning strategies of utilities across the Northwest in response to state-level decarbonization policies and market changes. As coal plants are no longer cost-competitive, utilities are taking advantage of new technologies and favorable economics of natural gas and renewables.
