Advanced Energy Perspectives

The numbers are staggering: 33 million Americans have lost their jobs since the start of the COVID pandemic, including nearly 600,000 in the advanced energy industry. And by the end of June, that number could hit 850,000. That would be nearly a quarter of the 3.6 million advanced energy jobs that existed at the start of the year – a time when advanced energy was a $238 billion a year industry in the United States, with employment that was growing nearly twice as fast as U.S. employment overall. For those of us who work in the industry, we know the new reality all too well, as emails bounce back not with “out of office,” but rather “no longer works here” or “has been furloughed.” It’s heartbreaking. But there are things state policymakers – especially governors and public utility commissioners – can do to prevent advanced energy business from coming to a complete halt during the public health crisis, and keep the advanced energy industry in a position to aid the economic recovery that follows. Here we lay out five ways state policymakers could do just that.

This blog post is based on remarks delivered at “Securing Smart Grid Data,” a forum sponsored by the Lexington Institute. Video of Polikov’s talk is available here. 

The other day, I decided I really wanted to go see the Broadway Musical “Hamilton.” So I went online, and pretty quickly I realized two things: 1) Even though it’s been running for two years, the show is still completely sold out, and 2) You can get tickets, from resellers. I’m not talking about finding some guy standing on the corner an hour before curtain, scalping tickets. The aftermarket for Hamilton tickets is a very sophisticated, innovative marketplace. There are lots of different sites connecting sellers and buyers and there are sites that aggregate those different sites, very similar to what Priceline or Kayak does for airline tickets. Those of us who want to see consumer-focused innovation in energy could learn a lot from this.

Who sets utility rates in each state? Who approves – or disapproves – billions of dollars in utility infrastructure investment year in and year out? Who determines whether utilities are meeting their energy efficiency mandates? Who clears a path for advanced energy technologies and services to help consumers get secure, clean, affordable energy – or keeps barriers in the way?

The answer to all these questions: Public Utility Commissions.

On May 23rd, the AEE Institute held its first Public Utility Commission (PUC) Forum. These gatherings are part of our PUC Engagement Program, and for this first time out we partnered with the New England Conference of Public Utilities Commissioners (NECPUC) and AEE’s regional partner, the New England Clean Energy Council (NECEC), to bring together regulators and senior staff from around the region to talk about how advanced energy technologies could – and should – reshape the utility landscape. With six commissioners and 12 senior staff from five New England States (MA, NH, VT, RI and ME) participating, it was a big success.