Advanced Energy Perspectives

Back in July, Advanced Energy Economy published a list of the top utility regulation trends of 2017 – so far. With 2017 almost in the rearview mirror, we check in on the top public utility commission actions of the year. Not surprisingly, the challenges PUCs are grappling with are wide-ranging and diverse: utility business model reforms, distribution system planning, grid modernization, rate design changes, large investments in renewables, transportation electrification, energy storage, wholesale market changes, and data access, to name a few. Here is a roundup of the top 10 matters before PUCs in 2017.

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.

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.

 A successful transition to a 21st Century Electricity System requires careful consideration of a range of issues that will ultimately redefine the regulatory framework and utility business model while creating new opportunities for third-party providers and customers to contribute to the operation of the electricity system. In this third in a series published by Utility Dive, AEE explores traditional and "pay for performance" approaches to energy efficiency (EE). 

A successful transition to a 21st Century Electricity System requires careful consideration of a range of issues that will ultimately redefine the regulatory framework and utility business model while creating new opportunities for third-party providers and customers to contribute to the operation of the electricity system. In this second of a 7-part series published by Utility Dive, AEE lays out strategies for achieving performance-based regulation. Previously, we covered Advanced Meters: Connectivity for the Modern Grid.