On February 13, 2017, the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) became the first regional transmission organization (RTO) in North America to serve more than half of its load from wind energy.
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On February 13, 2017, the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) became the first regional transmission organization (RTO) in North America to serve more than half of its load from wind energy.
Due to new economic and political priorities, increasing interest and investment in renewable energy, growth in distributed energy, and cheap natural gas, power systems are being forced to adapt. Reduction in the share of electricity generated by coal is occurring and it is expected to continue. How can baseload coal plants thrive when they are not always in the money?
In December 2016, Illinois passed the Future Energy Jobs Bill (SB 2814) that covers many sectors of the power industry and establishes a zero emissions credit (ZEC) that will help nuclear plants. There are also several other aspects of the bill that will impact the Illinois utilities, including new incentives for energy efficiency and renewables development. These elements of the bill are forecasted to increase intermittent generation from renewables, add more distributed generation, and increase energy efficiency through targeted spending programs.
Several weeks into the new administration, Trump’s energy policies, including those expressed in the “An America First Energy Plan,” are showing favor to the use of fossil fuels, indicating the potential for a rebound in coal use within the energy sector. While many in the coal industry have expressed a promising future, analysts have questioned whether the changes in direction from the Obama administration, including the repeal of the Clean Power Plan and other regulations, will result in any sustainable gains for coal.
Earlier this month, the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) approved a proposal from Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) that will allow the utility to share anonymous customer energy usage data it collects through its installed smart meters. ComEd will be one of the first utilities in the country given the authority to make its usage data available to researchers, energy management specialists, and other companies in the energy space to enable them to develop new products and services to benefit ComEd customers. According to Val Jensen, Senior Vice President of Customer Operations at ComEd, “One of the great benefits of smart meter technology is the availability of data that will enable a growing sector of energy tech companies to design new products and pricing programs that will help customers save money and meet the growing interest for more choice and personalized services.”
ScottMadden recently performed original research employing five years of CAISO data to examine the duck curve and its causes. Our research confirmed that the 2013 duck curve prediction made by CAISO is coming true and faster than expect. But, it also revealed some surprises about what is causing the duck curve and, therefore, how to manage it. The presentation, shared at S&P Global Market Intelligence’s 30th Annual Power and Gas M&A Symposium, focused on a broad range of topics including the “duck curve.”
In January 2017, California’s investor-owned utilities filed proposals with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to spend a combined $1.07 billion over the next five years to accelerate adoption of electric transportation.
In “Robotic Process Automation: Innovative Transformation Tool for Shared Services,” we introduced the transformational tool called Robotic Process Automation (RPA). This software addresses numerous challenges for corporate and shared services as an efficient, cost-effective alternative to traditional process approaches. RPA implementations are increasing in popularity due to the money and resources RPA saves businesses over time. Once you decide that RPA is the right process solution for your needs, ScottMadden can help you develop a customized strategy to ensure a successful implementation.
In 2017, Rick Starkweather, partner at ScottMadden, developed a research article titled, “Regulatory and Legislative Changes Affecting Rate-Case Strategies.” The article is featured in the February 2017 edition of the Natural Gas & Electricity Journal, a publication available through the Wiley Online Library; which is one of the largest and most authoritative collections of online journals, books, and research resources.
The Hawaiian Electric Companies face a unique risk with regards to curtailment of utility-scale wind and solar projects due to the high penetration of distributed solar on their system. Historically, curtailment has been done in “reverse chronological order”, meaning the oldest (and, often, most expensive) projects are the least likely to be curtailed. This structure is not sustainable over the long term, as higher and higher curtailment risk will necessarily
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Kauai Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) recently signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with AES Distributed Energy to purchase energy from a solar-plus-storage facility consisting of 28 MW solar capacity coupled with a 20 MW five-hour duration energy storage system.
Within two weeks of the termination of its proposed merger with Hawaiian Electric Industries (HEI), NextEra announced a separate deal to purchase the regulated T&D wires company Oncor Electric Delivery Co. LLC (Oncor) from the bankrupt Energy Future Holdings (EFH). The two deals, each representing $4.3 billion and $18.7 billion in total transaction value respectively, provide a stark contrast in M&A transactions in a very brief period of time. Though the HEI transaction ultimately fell apart, the EFH transaction is on track to achieve the required regulatory approvals, clearing the way for the deal to close in the first half of 2017.
Sussex Economic Advisors is now part of ScottMadden. We invite you to learn more about our expanded firm. Please use the Contact Us form to request additional information.