Advanced Energy Perspectives

The digital revolution, which has transformed so many other industries, is now taking hold in the electric power sector. This is happening at the same time as increasing deployment of distributed energy resources (DER), including energy efficiency, demand management, distributed generation, energy storage, and electric vehicles. New technologies, the use of “big data,” apps, and the “grid of things” are leading to a greater variety of services and interactions between utilities, customers and third parties (non-utility companies that offer energy products and services).

One way to slice and dice this increasingly complex marketplace is whether services are considered “basic” or “value-added.” This is the subject of a new report from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Value-Added Electricity Services: New Roles for Utilities and Third-Party Providers, in which AEE was the author of one of three perspectives on emerging roles for utilities and third parties in providing value-added services.

AEE has seen efforts to roll back energy efficiency requirements before, from the ongoing struggle to maintain Ohio’s successful efficiency standards in the face of legislative attacks and attempts to let big companies opt out of energy efficiency programs in Pennsylvania to the Trump Administration’s suspension of EE rules for central air conditioning. But this year, we saw something new: an attack on energy efficiency in the wholesale markets. As with other challenges to this money-saving advanced energy technology, AEE has taken it on. 

Two weeks ago, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its final 2016 data files (EIA-861), detailing valuable information such as sales, revenues, and utility data for the electricity industry. At AEE, we’ve been digging in. Two of the key trends we have been tracking this year, and that we analyzed first, are advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) and time varying rates (TVR), by state. Which are the leaders in smart meters and smart rates? Not who you think.

If you are looking for information to share at the Thanksgiving table about how the tax bills pending in Congress will affect the advanced energy industry, you’re in luck. A whirlwind November brought proposals from House and Senate Republican leadership, each stuffed with changes to the tax code that could help – or hurt – advanced energy growth. In just three weeks, the House passed its version of the tax bill, and the Senate moved its version through committee before heading back home for the holiday. As these bills now stand, the advanced energy industry has a lot to gain and lose. Here is a roundup of what to look for in tax legislation, as it affects a growing $200 billion industry that supports more than 3 million workers across the United States.

On Nov. 9, Advanced Energy Economy Institute hosted California gubernatorial hopeful Antonio Villaraigosa for an engaging roundtable with AEE member companies in San Francisco. Coming fresh off a speaking appearance at the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator the day before, Villaraigosa was energized, and spoke about the opportunity and need to expand advanced energy business growth in all parts of the state. 

The roundtable was the second in a series of meetings with all the leading candidates for governor over the next few months. Through these roundtables, we hope to learn more about each candidate's vision for the state, and we hope they will learn more about the advanced energy industry growing in California.