Advanced Energy Perspectives

Last May, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued Order No. 1920, a landmark order requiring all transmission providers to engage in multi-value long-term regional transmission planning. The order grants states significant opportunities to engage in this process. In December, the Commission issued Order No. 1920-A, responding to issues raised on rehearing (where parties can argue that the Commission should have ruled differently on specific issues in the final order). Order No. 1920-A expanded the role of states in the planning process. Since then, all the multi-state RTO/ISO regions have requested extensions, giving states and transmission providers additional time to craft compliance plans. States can use this extra time to work together to identify priorities and reach alignment on key questions raised by the order.

Below, we outline the key decisions and actions states can take to influence compliance and to engage in implementation once the planning process begins.

The recently finalized Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) transmission planning and cost allocation rule—known as Order 1920—represents a pivotal moment in the regulatory landscape of energy infrastructure in the United States, which we expect will launch the nation towards a more holistic planning approach for our country’s transmission grid.

With so much of the advanced energy industry’s focus on issues before FERC directed at the expanded Minimum Offer Price Rule (MOPR) in PJM over the past few years, there has been relatively little attention placed on similar tension brewing in ISO New England (ISO-NE). But that tension was on full display at a FERC technical conference earlier this summer, and in comments filed in July. The list of big-ticket items up for debate in ISO-NE is long: reforming ISO-NE’s version of the MOPR, revising how capacity value is determined, pursuing long-term market reform and transmission planning reform, developing a plan for Order No. 2222 compliance, and exploring potential governance reforms are all top of mind for ISO-NE, the New England states, and stakeholders. For those who haven’t been following along at home, there’s a lot to catch up on, and the stakes are high: New England is poised to model what an RTO should look like in a 100% advanced energy future, but the decisions made in the next few years will determine whether that vision is realized.

It’s no secret that Fortune 500 companies want more advanced energy. Over the past five years, these companies have signed contracts for more than 24 GW of large-scale renewable energy, pursued thousands of onsite solar installations, and embraced newer technologies like battery storage. The role of organized competitive wholesale markets as enablers of advanced energy procurement by large buyers is, however, a bit of a trade secret. Which is too bad, because policymakers could meet the needs of businesses and accelerate the transition to a cleaner economy all at once by expanding and reforming these markets. Here’s how.

Given how long we’ve been waiting – nearly three years now – for FERC to issue a final order directing RTOs/ISOs to develop rules for aggregated distributed energy resources (DERs) to take part in wholesale markets, it may seem that actual DER participation is still years away. In reality, several types of DER – from energy storage to distributed solar to electric vehicles and more – are slowly breaking through barriers to participate in wholesale markets, providing value to their owners and the electric power system as a whole. Read on for five real-world examples of DER participation in wholesale markets across the country. These examples provide just a glimpse of the value DERs could bring to wholesale markets, if they were given more of a chance. A final rule from FERC requiring systematic removal of barriers to DER participation in wholesale markets would unlock more of this value for wholesale markets and for consumers.