Dive Brief:
- Comments are due Thursday in New Hampshire's investigation into how the state's utility grid can be made more resilient and flexible while incorporating demand-side management and a wider range of energy sources.
- The proceeding will also consider smart meters, but the state prohibits installation without the written consent of the homeowner.
- New Hampshire's grid modernization proceeding mirrors similar ideas in New York, California, Massachusetts and Hawaii, where states are seeking ways to incorporate storage, renewables and demand response into traditionally-structured grids.
Dive Insight:
The Concord Monitor called New Hampshire regulators' “Investigation into Grid Modernization" a "dry title," but the effort push utilities to revamp the state's aging grid infrastructure and utilize demand-side management to meet future demand.
"Grid modernization is a broad topic that encompasses many elements, including replacement of aging infrastructure, outage management, the integration of distributed generation, and education of customers on how to manage their energy use for the benefit of the electric delivery system and to minimize energy costs," regulators said in the order requesting comments from stakeholders.
Initial comments from interested stakeholders are due Sept. 17.
New Hampshire joins a growing list of states taking a hard look at how their power grids can be modernized. California, Hawaii, New York and Massachusetts, among others, have all launched efforts aimed at grid resiliancy. Their focus has included variable rates, energy storage, renewables integration, distributed resources and demand management.
"As we move more toward distributed generation and people producing their own energy ... we want to know are we taking steps now to make sure that we’re not tying ourselves too much to the traditional way of doing things," Meredith Hatfield, director of the Office of Energy and Planning, told the Monitor.