News

This CleanTechnica post discusses how EV ownership can benefit electric ratepayers just as much, if not more, than their owners. The article references AEE’s webinar EVs 101: What Regulators Need to Know About Electric Vehicles, which featured a panel of experts including Proterra’s Eric McCarthy, Siemens' Chris King, and AEE's Matt Stanberry. See excerpts below and read the entire CleanTechnica story here:

Regular readers of this column are well aware of the wonderful benefits of EV ownership. However, electric vehicles can also have a positive impact on the electric grid, serving as the perfect complement to renewable energy sources. Jeff McMahon, writing in Forbes, notes that a growing body of evidence supports the idea that the spread of EVs is good news for electric ratepayers.

This story by Alan Suderman of the Associated Press and published by the Washington Post covers the aftermath of Virginia regulators’ decision to deny Walmart the option of buying electricity from a provider other than Virginia’s two utilities, Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power. The AEE perspective is given by Harry Godfrey, executive director of Virginia Advanced Energy Economy. See excerpts below and read the entire Washington Post (AP) story here:

Virginia regulators have denied Walmart’s request to buy electricity generated by someone other than the state’s two largest electric monopolies, setting up a potential legislative brawl between heavyweight business interests.

RTO Insider reported on proposed ISO-NE EE changes that could potentially negatively impact energy efficiency resources. This article focuses largely on a petition AEE filed with Sustainable FERC to FERC on the ISO New England Issue. See excerpts below and the entire RTO Insider (subscription) story here:

Advanced Energy Economy and the Sustainable FERC Project last week petitioned FERC for a declaratory order regarding ISO-NE’s possible attempt to retroactively apply new performance standards that would affect the eligibility of energy efficiency resources participating in the RTO’s capacity market. 

The petitioners also asked the commission to clarify the appropriate process for changing the terms of market eligibility for EE resources…

Business group files Amicus Brief in support of states’ challenge to EPA’s unlawful attempt to unwind existing achievable and cost-effective standards

WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 19, 2019 – Today national business group Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) announced it has filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in support of petitions brought by 17 states, the District of Columbia, and others challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposed rollback greenhouse gas emissions standards for light-duty vehicles. AEE’s amicus brief, its first-ever legal action on fuel efficiency standards, can be downloaded here.

Business group files petition raising concerns about New England grid operator’s proposed changes to rules for energy efficiency resources

WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 13, 2019 – Today national business group Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) announced it has filed a petition with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regarding concerns about recent changes suggested by independent regional grid operator ISO New England Inc.’s (ISO-NE) staff to the process for measurement and verification of energy efficiency resources that participate in ISO-NE’s markets. The petition, filed jointly with Sustainable FERC Project, can be downloaded here. 

Utility Dive summarizes comments filed about grid operators' plans to implement FERC's energy storage rule (Order 841). The article references comments from AEE on PJM Interconnection's plans. See excerpts below and the entire Utility Dive story here:

As energy storage becomes more economically competitive with more traditional forms of merchant generation, access to wholesale power markets is seen as an important addition to the technology's opportunities on the contracted side. However, questions remain about the effective implementation of the federal order that seeks to create consistent opportunities for storage to compete in wholesale energy markets.

Utility Dive covers the wave of state-level advanced energy policy that came as a result of midterm elections that brought in governors with clean energy agendas. AEE Managing Director J.R. Tolbert comments on several trends across these states. See excerpts below and the entire Utility Dive story here:

The highly anticipated wave of state-level clean energy policy stemming from last fall's midterm elections is just beginning to make its way across the country, aided by a crop of eleven new Democratic governors, seven of which flipped previously Republican seats.

Many governors have already made clean energy policy a priority in their first month, laying the groundwork to continue or begin their state's transition to a cleaner, more efficient electric grid.

Utility Dive covers a panel session exploring ways to improve the planning process for grid modernization. AEE’s senior advisor Malcolm Woolf weighs in. See the full Utility Dive article here:

While utilities are in the best position to define problems with distributed resource integration, the planning process could better involve other stakeholders, Exelon's director of utility innovation, Susan Mora, said on a Wednesday panel about grid mod proceedings and distributed resource integration.

Fredericksburg Freelance-Star published this op-ed by Harrison T. Godfrey, Virginia Advanced Energy Economy’s executive director. See excerpts below and read the entire Freelance-Star commentary about realizing the full benefits of grid modernization here:

LAST month, the State Corporation Commission rejected the majority of the provisions in Dominion Energy’s grid modernization plan, citing “high costs to customers outweigh(ing) … any proven benefits.” In other words, the SCC concluded that much of Dominion’s grid mod filing lacked justification when asking for ratepayers to foot a multi-billion-dollar bill... 

Forbes covers the widespread benefits of electric vehicles, from beyond their owners to utility customers as well, and addresses key regulatory considerations The article references AEE’s webinar, EVs 101: What Regulators Need to Know About Electric Vehicles, which featured a panel of experts including Proterra’s Eric McCarthy, Siemens' Chris King, and AEE's Matt Stanberry. See excerpts below and the entire Forbes story here:

As electric-vehicle sales mount, observers are finding benefits to society—especially to electric ratepayers—that sometimes surpass the benefits to the EV buyers.

"These vehicles use a different kind of fuel and plug into our electricity system, and the good news about that is that there are a number of cost-benefit studies that are showing this can be really beneficial to all rate payers, not just the drivers of the vehicles," said Matt Stanberry, the managing director of the advanced transportation program for the trade group Advanced Energy Economy.