Regulators must assess the study as a “credible and fair” analysis before the utility proposes changes to net metering, but environmental advocates see the effort as a path for Idaho Power to restrict distributed solar.
Distributed energy resources, including rooftop solar, battery storage and electric vehicles, are experiencing significant growth in the U.S. as the power sector evolves to a cleaner, less centralized future.
Hawaii’s hard work on a PBR framework that protects utilities, consumers and the environment is paying off, but other states’ shortcuts could undermine success, advocates worry.
A pilot program to turn Tesla’s distributed energy storage systems into a virtual power plant as part of a state program to address reliability concerns may be hampered by its short life, warns a storage advocate.
The new approach will potentially allow more projects to pass through the fast-track process, which means they could get interconnected in a matter of months versus many months to a year or more.
Stakeholders disagree on, among other things, how the state should transition customers from the existing net energy metering framework to a new one — what regulators are calling the “glide path.”
MISO may miss out on reliability and cost benefits by waiting to integrate groups of distributed resources, according to the Organization of MISO States.
California wants a cost-effective, reliable and equitable power system with well-compensated distributed resources to balance the bulk power system and meet local needs.
Hawaii and Connecticut are exploring technical and economic solutions, which California, Florida and others can learn from and improve upon, the author writes.
Electric industry players call for innovations in the way regulators handle pilots of new utility and private sector technologies and system operations in a new Department of Energy paper.
The goal is to set "standardized, technology-neutral grid service definitions that can benefit both wholesale and retail electric market interactions," according to the electric and gas industry forum.
Double-digit year-on-year spikes in electricity rates are leading California regulators and stakeholders to search for ways to protect climate goals and rate affordability.
Advocates logged over 15,000 phone calls, emails and postcards from residents asking the governor to veto the measure, which would have allowed utilities to increase customer bills.
Coal stockpiles may boost reliability, but Public Utilities Commissioner Lori Cobos questioned, "what are we ultimately going to have to pay for, a pile of coal? Or are we going to be asked to pay for a scrubber?"
Filings from FERC proceedings show a one-size-fits-all reform can't sufficiently address regional market diversity, but federal guidelines can target growing uncertainties and costs from rising variable and distributed resource penetrations.
The Public Utility Commission of Texas standardized transmission interconnection rules more than two decades ago and is now considering a similar move for distribution-level resources.
"We expect that the rates that result from this methodology will have significantly reduced fixed charges that will improve the value for storage," Advanced Energy Economy's Danny Waggoner said.
Determine the best technology and investment timeline to diminish peak usage and deliver the best returns.
By Dr. Zack Pecenak, Lead Engineer at XENDEE; Dr. Michael Stadler, Chief Technology Officer at XENDEE; Muhammad Mansoor, University of California San Diego •March 21, 2022
Anatoliy Gleb via Getty Images
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