Advanced Energy Perspectives

If you’ve been tracking the contours of recent legislative sessions under the Gold Dome in Denver, you’ll likely have high expectations about Colorado’s ability to deliver ambitious, even nation-leading, clean energy bills year-after-year, spurring headlines and the envy of other states. Take, for example, last year’s Senate Bill 218 to modernize distribution-system planning, Senate Bill 16 in 2023 to cement a statewide commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050, Senate Bill 264 in 2021 to initiate “Clean Heat Plans” and innovative gas infrastructure planning, or Senate Bill 260 (also in 2021) to create stable multi-year funding streams for clean transportation initiatives—the list goes on.

What is a daily demand charge?  

A demand charge is a utility fee based on the maximum amount of energy a customer uses during a short period of time within a billing cycle. Nevada Power, a subsidiary company of NV Energy, is proposing to add a mandatory daily demand charge for its residential customers.

Under this plan, your electricity meter would be measured on a 15-minute cycle each day, and your bill will be based on the highest 15-minute period energy use during that day. For example, if your highest energy usage is from 6:45-7 PM on a day in July, the demand charge for that day will be based on this time, regardless of your usage during the rest of the day. This would be in addition to the basic service charge of $18.50 that customers already pay. This is something no other investor-owned utility (IOU) in the country currently does.

The PJM electricity market faces a capacity shortfall, due to rising demand and a slow and inefficient interconnection process. As millions of people across the region face rate hikes due to this capacity shortfall, the states that are part of the PJM market are seeking new ways to take action to help keep power affordable and reliable. 

In the face of these challenges, some stakeholders are seeking to attract more natural gas power plants to PJM states. However, natural gas power plants are not the solution to this crunch. (One reason for this is the gas turbine supply chain, which is currently stretched to a breaking point: Gas turbines are being ordered up to eight years in advance due to record demand.) State lawmakers and regulators need to expand capacity quickly, and they need to tap non-gas solutions to do so. 

In recent years, Massachusetts has outlined – and consistently reinforced – one of the clearest and most unambiguous visions for the future of clean buildings and clean heat: electrification. This includes the Department of Public Utilities’ (DPU’s) landmark order establishing regulatory principles and framework to wind down investments in the Commonwealth’s natural gas pipeline distribution system.  

United's latest report with Demand Side Analytics identifies ways in which the Commonwealth could support electrification without abandoning its energy conservation and long-term system cost containment imperatives. What we discovered: A time-of-use (TOU) electric rate, paired with enhanced energy efficiency efforts, can significantly reduce residential energy bills for electrified homes while mitigating rate increases for all homes.

California is making enormous strides in its race to 100% clean energy, but rapidly rising energy prices are threatening to hold us back.

Electricity prices have surged 127% over the past decade, with some customers seeing increases of over 60% just in the last four years. These rising costs put a significant strain on household budgets, especially in disadvantaged communities, and pose a growing threat to the success of California’s clean energy and electrification goals.