decoding energy regulators, net energy billing misinformation, and strategies for utility accountability.

Tuesday, March 4th at 12pm: The regulatory framework: PUC + OPA overview by Ken Colburn (ACTT, Efficiency Maine Trust) and Beth Woolfolk (ACTT)
Tuesday, March 11th at 12pm: Net energy billing: separating fact from fiction by Johannah Blackman (ACTT) and Scott Vlaun (CEBE)
Thursday, March 20th at 12pm: Utility justice and accountability by Lucy Hochschartner (MCV) and Francis Eanes (MLCC)
Register here.

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• Schedule: All workshops will take place on Saturdays starting February 8th, 2025. Compensation: Participants will receive $25/hour for their time.
• Bonus: A $100 bonus will be awarded for perfect attendance at all workshops. 

• Lunch provided at every session.
• Childcare and transportation assistance available via stipends.

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Bob recommends the following sources for industry news going forward. All of them allow for email subscriptions.

John Kemp’s daily Best in Energy: An interesting big-picture source, particularly from the financial perspective.

Northeast Energy News: It draws from a multitude of local and regional sources. 

Utility Dive:  Reporters have inside connections to FERC and all U.S. regional transmission organizations including ISO-NE. Comprehensive resource.

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– Metropolitan Area Planning Council peak demand notification program (more specifically for Boston metro area but still generally applies elsewhere)

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Roy Harvey

The NECPUC Symposium is an annual gathering of the New England Conference of Public Utilities Commissioners, i.e., NECPUC.  Many other organizations were represented, including the utilities regulated by NECPUC members, ISO-NE (who had the largest contingent), climate and consumer advocates, and others.  The presentations and a list of registrants are linked in my full notes, which you can access here.

Themes and topics included the pace and the cost of the energy transition, emissions accounting, Grid-Enhancing Technologies (GETs), Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), Demand Response (DR), carbon pricing, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).  The CEOs of Vineyard Offshore and Eversource both were concerned that the transition is not moving fast enough.  But the head of the Northeast Power Coordinating Council was concerned about moving too fast.  

Rob Gramlich of Grid Strategies gave a concise presentation on Grid-Enhancing Technologies.  These can double the capacity of existing transmission lines or quintuple the capacity of transmission corridors.  Current rate-making policy, which is based on return on investment, does not encourage GETs, which cost less than older technology.  New rate-making policies, including a shared savings model, can incentivize GETs. Several FERC orders require or recommend considering GETs.

Richard Levitan of Levitan Associates estimated the ratepayer subsidy needed for offshore wind at $24 billion over 30 years, which works out to about 1.5 cents/kWh.  Jamie Van Nostrand, chair of the Massachusetts DPU, discussed regulatory “sticks” and financial “carrots” to implement policy goals.

A panel discussed accounting methods to track emissions and clean energy production, including hourly matching. Mason Emnett, Sr VP of Constellation Energy, said that carbon pricing would be better than hourly matching of renewable energy generation and demand, but states have not adopted it.

Cheryl LeFleur, former FERC Chair and present ISO-NE Board Chair, discussed working with the states and recent and anticipated FERC actions, including the recent Order No. 1920 on transmission planning.

In the final panel, Gordon van Welie, CEO of ISO-NE, listed 4 pillars that will support the transition to clean energy.  Pillar #2 is balancing resources, which includes Demand Response (DR).  He said we need two kinds of DR: several hours (day-to-night or evening-to-morning) and long duration (5 days).  

After the symposium, he told me that commercial/wholesale DR has limited additional potential because there’s little industry in NE that hasn’t already signed up to provide DR, and there’s little growth in this market. He said that with Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) and suitable state policies, retail DR could add 3-4 GW. 

Phil Bartlett, Maine PUC, mentioned NECPUC’s new retail DR group, which he chairs.  It publishes its presentations and recordings of its meetings and has an email list.  (See full notes for link.)

Gordon van Welie reiterated that a carbon price would help. He didn’t suggest a value for a carbon price, but said that one could be inferred from pricing for Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and states’ clean energy procurements and other out-of-market programs.

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