News

The Lima News published this letter to the editor urging citizens to contact Ohio state senator Matt Huffman (District 12) to weigh in against HB6 which would gut renewable and energy efficiency programs while subsidizing aging nuclear and coal plants. The author quotes Ohio AEE president Ted Ford on the impact to consumers. See excerpts of letter below and in its entirety online here.

Ohio’s House of Representatives gutted programs that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency, while shoring up the aging nuclear and two coal fired plants built in 1955, claiming to reduce payment for consumers. Both nuclear and coal fired have been failing due to the country moving toward clean energy...

New report provides 21 case studies of market rules that thwart new 
technologies — some that have been corrected, many that still stand in the way 
of technology-neutral competition on price and performance

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 23, 2019 — Wholesale electricity markets should be technology-neutral, allowing all resources to compete on price and performance. Many market rules are outdated, however, having been designed with older technologies in mind. Such rules can prevent new technologies from selling their services on the open market, which stifles innovation and keeps our electricity system from being modernized for higher performance.

Ohio House Energy and Natural Resource Committee adopts Sub. HB 6, a bill that creates new “electricity tax” on all Ohioans for benefit of FirstEnergy Solutions and owners of old coal plants

COLUMBUS, May 22, 2018 — Today, Ohio House Energy and Natural Resources Committee adopted, on a party line vote, substitute House Bill 6 for consideration, which would create a new “electricity tax” on all Ohioans to bankroll FirstEnergy Solutions’ failing nuclear facilities while gutting the state’s advanced energy standards and threatening the jobs of 112,000 Ohioans working in the advanced energy industry that will power Ohio in the future. A committee vote on the bill is expected tomorrow.

Politico Pro reported on FERC's decision today not to rehear arguments on Order 841 that allows energy storage providers to participate in wholesale power markets, including AEE's Jeff Dennis' reaction. See the full Politico piece here (sub. req.) and excerpts below.

FERC today declined to rehear arguments on its landmark order allowing energy storage providers to participate in wholesale power markets. Commissioners voted 3-1 to leave Order 841 in place, dismissing a request from electric cooperatives and municipal utilities to let states opt-out of letting distribution-connected storage participate in wholesale markets.

Distributed energy resources (DERs) are rapidly expanding as technologies advance, their costs decline and customers demand more control over their own energy usage.

The rapid deployment of technologies like onsite renewable energy generation, battery storage, fuel cells and electric vehicles, along with enabling consumer devices and software controls, promises to bring significant benefits not only to the customers deploying them, but also for the electricity grid as a whole...

Utility Dive reported on the latest action — seven utilities (and AEE) urging a legislative committee to approve new Illinois Cloud Computing rules currently under review. They included a link to the letter to review committee leaders and AEE's filed comments about the rule. See excerpts below and the entire UD story here:

Seven Illinois utilities and Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) on Thursday asked state regulators to finalize accounting rules for cloud-based computing solutions. Current rules disincentivize some investments and have not kept pace with changes to technology, the utilities say. Those rules allow utilities to earn a rate of return on computing systems developed on-premises, but treat cloud-based systems as operating expenses. The Illinois Commerce Commission launched a rulemaking in December 2017 to consider the changes, citing a need to "level the playing field" between on-premise and cloud-based computing systems at a time when utilities focused on modernization are investing billions in new systems...

Smart Energy Decisions published an article by AEE's Caitlin Marquis about ways corporate buyers can work with utilities, regulators and state officials to shape renewable energy program offerings with appeal to meet their sustainability goals. The piece draws from a recent report by AEE's Advanced Energy Buyers Group, "Renewable Energy Offerings that Work for Companies: A Practical Guide to Meeting Corporate Renewable Energy Demand in Vertically Integrated Markets," highlighting a six-step process to engage key players. See excerpts below and the entire SED article here and the related AEE webinar here.

Energy procurement and sustainability teams tasked with meeting corporate renewable energy targets are all too familiar with the fact that doing so is much easier in some states than in others. Specifically, in states that lack retail choice, and especially in states that are not part of an organized wholesale market, customers rely on either policy changes or the introduction of utility programs to make progress on their renewable energy goals. That means customers can wait for change – or work to make it happen.

Virginia AEE Lauds State Corporation Commission Approval of Energy Efficiency and Demand Response Programs That Will Save Virginians Money

Richmond, May 2, 2019 – Business group Virginia Advanced Energy Economy (Virginia AEE) applauded today’s decision by the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) to approve a portfolio of 11 new energy efficiency (EE) and demand response (DR) programs proposed by Dominion Energy Virginia. The portfolio includes programs utilizing an array of advanced energy technologies and services, including residential customer engagement, smart thermostats, and lighting systems and controls. The Commission approved in its entirety the proposed budget of $225.8 million for the programs, which are slated to commence this summer and run through June of 2024. 

“This decision marks a genuine sea change in the use of energy efficiency and demand response in Virginia,” said Harry Godfrey, executive director of Virginia AEE, in response to the Commission’s ruling. “For years our Commonwealth has badly underutilized these resources for reducing energy demand and saving money on electric bills. That’s cost Virginia families and businesses dearly. Today’s ruling is a major step toward changing that.”