Opinion: Page 2
The latest opinion pieces by industry thought leaders
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Photo illustration by Brian Tucker/Utility Dive; photograph by tommaso79 via Getty Images
Utility exec and consumer advocate: Arrearage management programs are a win for customers and utilities
These programs can be particularly useful when current utility shut-off moratoriums expire — it is estimated the residential electric sector alone may see a total increase in past due bills of more than $15 billion by early summer.
Penni Conner and Charlie Harak • June 08, 2020 -
Renewables' potential depends on transparent and fair policies, not special interest giveaways
FirstEnergy spinoff Energy Harbor is receiving a $1 billion taxpayer bailout while also enriching its shareholders with an $800 million stock buyback. This is crony capitalism at its worst, the author writes.
Michael K. Dorsey • June 05, 2020 -
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New waste-to-hydrogen processes could contribute to a carbon negative future
With the rise in production and sales of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles and power generators, the technology is entering a new maturation point that could encompass both mobile and stationary storage options, the author writes.
Jean-Louis Kindler • June 03, 2020 -
Outdated NEPA needs modernizing. Just ask Warren Buffett
As the U.S. economy prepares to recover from the current crisis, important job and revenue-creating proposals like the 1,000 mile Gateway West transmission project don’t need to languish in a regulatory morass, the author writes.
Paul Griffin • June 03, 2020 -
Is subnational carbon pricing the off-ramp for MOPR?
FERC's April ruling refines the applicability of MOPR to green industrial policy and clarifies that it does not apply to voluntary private behavior and environmental policy, opening the door to emissions-based policies, the author writes.
Devin Hartman • June 02, 2020 -
Schwen, Daniel. (2007). "UIUC Illini Union and Main Quad" [Photograph]. Retrieved from Wikimedia Commons.
Decarbonization, not offsets — Private partnerships as the path to university carbon neutrality
As the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign works to finalize its plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, it should take a cue from fellow Big Ten school Ohio State and partner with the private sector, the authors write.
Jigar Shah and Jonah Messinger • May 29, 2020 -
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LCOE is not the metric you think it is
The levelized cost of energy formulation overprices solar energy by 27% and wind energy bu 18% as compared to natural gas-based power, the author says in calling for a new way to compare generation options.
James Loewen • May 28, 2020 -
Photo illustration by Brian Tucker/Utility Dive; photograph by wattanaphob via Getty Images
The (energy) efficient road to small business recovery
A Small Business Energy Efficiency Grant program, to supplement available utility incentives, represents the type of innovative but practical policy solutions that can get the U.S. economy going again, the authors write.
Ralph Cavanagh and John Di Stasio • May 27, 2020 -
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Pros and cons of FRRExit: Correcting the record in the wake of Monitoring Analytics' cost estimates
As states weigh FERC’s Minimum Offer Price Rule order, it’s important to clarify the risks and benefits of an alternative to PJM’s centralized capacity procurement called the Fixed Resource Requirement, the authors write.
Rob Gramlich and Miles Farmer • May 26, 2020 -
Got to have a code: Co-ops, The Wire's Omar Little, and the struggle to exit G&T providers
HBO's The Wire and rural electric cooperatives are rarely mentioned in the same breath, but both prestige dystopian television show characters and cooperatives purport to live by a code, the authors write.
Raymond L. Gifford and Matthew S. Larson • May 22, 2020 -
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Energy efficiency has been hit hard by COVID-19; don't question its merits
The goals of reducing energy waste and maintaining affordability are not at odds with each other, the president of the Michigan Energy Innovation Business Council writes.
Laura Sherman • May 20, 2020 -
6 reasons why California needs to deploy dynamic pricing by 2030
The state's mandate for 100% renewable energy by 2045 will create challenges for system reliability, which can be maintained if load responds dynamically to changing system conditions, a Brattle Group Principal writes.
Ahmad Faruqui • May 19, 2020 -
Yujin Kim, Industry Dive
The risk to beneficial electrification: residential demand charges
Electrification is only beneficial if it achieves one of society's goals without harming another, the author writes.
Patty Durand • May 18, 2020 -
Courtesy of Competitive Power Ventures
Markets over regulation: Driving lower emissions generation through a carbon tax
Taxing carbon emissions would increase the price discrepancy between natural gas and coal and appropriately build into the prices the cost of CO2 emissions on the economy and our society, the authors write.
Deborah A. Carroll, Kelly A. Stevens and John W. Rowe • May 15, 2020 -
ITC tax normalization limits solar growth and favors fossil fuels
Solar could be the most profitable resource for utilities, if not for an obscure requirement associated with the ITC called "tax normalization," the authors write.
Eric Blank and D.R. Richardson • May 14, 2020 -
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Time to revisit utility energy efficiency programs
Utility regulators should consider whether energy efficiency programs should be scaled down or even exist at all, the author writes.
Kenneth W. Costello • May 13, 2020 -
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Energy optimization: Shaping — and increasing — electricity use to reduce emissions
Meaningful carbon emissions reductions will require fuel-switching as well as prioritizing efficiency at certain times more than others, the authors write.
Mike Henchen and Sherri Billimoria • May 12, 2020 -
Dominion's nearly $50 monthly power bill hike in Virginia is a warning for other states
The utility's monopoly status is functionally similar to the Fixed Resource Requirement offramp that some states across PJM are seeking, and could mean trouble for ratepayers, writes EPSA President and CEO Todd Snitchler.
Todd Snitchler • May 11, 2020 -
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Securing relief amid COVID-19: 4 considerations for utilities
To lessen the liquidity burden for utilities, there are some crucial tax avenues and regulatory matters for utilities to consider, writes Kimberly Johnston, National Power & Utilities Tax Partner at Ernst & Young.
Kimberly Johnston • May 07, 2020 -
Photo illustration by Brian Tucker/Utility Dive; photograph by thinkreaction via Getty Images
States should leave markets that don't work for families and businesses after bad FERC decisions
Reentering PJM and other markets can be reconsidered when a new FERC majority is ready to care at all about consumers instead of political donors, the author writes.
Mark Kresowik • May 05, 2020 -
Powering through — and beyond — the crisis
The grid can be part of how we return to a more resilient economy, putting Americans back to work and through investments that will keep the nation even better positioned for new threats and challenges in the future, the author writes.
Sue Tierney • May 04, 2020 -
Elevating energy efficiency – At last!
Imagine if, instead of paying for energy efficiency improvements through arcane ratepayer programs, we paid for them with project financing like we do power plants or transmission lines.
Ken Colburn • May 01, 2020 -
davidpheat. Retrieved from https://pixabay.com/photos/cityscape-city-road-crossroad-1186069/.
Four steps electric utilities can take to support their communities during the COVID crisis
Utilities can take a more targeted and impactful approach to supporting affected business and disadvantaged communities by accelerating energy efficiency and EV infrastructure investments, among other steps.
Dan Gabaldon, Kyle Datta and Bob Zabors • April 29, 2020 -
Utility shutoff bans are in effect for many families, but what happens when they end?
There will be an explosion of utility debt when disconnection moratoriums end, putting customers at risk of having their service shut off, the author writes.
John Howat • April 28, 2020 -
Post-COVID-19: A positive outlook for the commercial solar industry
Without flexibility in solar project finance, you won’t last long, according to the managing director of clean energy platform New Resource Solutions.
Marc Palmer • April 27, 2020
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