In June 2016, President Obama signed into law new pipeline safety legislation that adds responsibility to the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). The legislation, titled Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety (PIPES) Act of 2016, extends PHMSA’s authorization through FY 2019, expands the agency’s oversight responsibilities, and requires new safety rules for underground natural gas storage facilities.
In September 2016, the Ontario Ministry of Energy suspended the second round of the Large Renewable Procurement (LRP), a competitive bid process designed to secure large renewable energy resources.
As you know, consumer behavior is evolving and getting more sophisticated. Today, consumers demand customer service options that are timely, efficient, and easy to use. In a 2015 survey*, 92% of consumers surveyed said they would leave a company that did not provide satisfactory customer service. To deliver quality customer service that will retain and grow your customer base, you must adapt to meet ever-changing customer expectations—including developing omni-channel strategies.
To coincide with the release of the latest Energy Industry Update, ScottMadden joined forces with Energy Central to present an interactive webinar, “ScottMadden’s Energy Industry Update – As Yogi Berra Might Say…” During this session, our industry experts shared their views and fielded questions related to nuclear challenges and responses, changing energy supply and demand patterns, and emerging federal-state policy friction.
Public power utilities who are interested in energy efficiency should consider the experience of Ouachita Electric Cooperative. This Arkansas co-op is using the Pay As You Save® (PAYS) tariff-based financing model for energy-efficiency improvements and has seen much greater penetration than with the on-bill debt-financing model. Upon introducing PAYS, Ouachita Electric Cooperative saw a 100% increase in participation during a three-month period with renters, rather than homeowners, accounting for one-third of the new participants.
In this section, we look at the growth in microgrids in the United States and energy reforms in Mexico aimed at boosting investment and improving energy infrastructure.
In this section, we look at developments in New York’s Reforming the Energy Vision proceedings and the increasingly blurry line between traditionally clearly defined federal and state jurisdiction in the energy markets.
In this section, we provide an overview of emerging themes and trends defining the industry, including a view of corporate strategies and merger and acquisition activity in the energy and utilities sector.
The energy industry is changing, and its regulatory and financial moorings are shifting. Competitive markets combined with other factors may lead to early nuclear unit retirement. Continuing changes in energy supply and demand patterns create a complex operation environment for electric utilities. Federal and state policy lines are beginning to blur as states have been increasingly intervening in FERC domain seeking favorable outcomes for their citizens and other local constituencies. In our Update, themed “As Yogi Berra Might Say…,” we look at the unusual picture drawn by the juxtaposition of these changes.
In this section, we summarize key clean tech developments, including Clean Power Plan litigation status and the Smart Electric Power Alliance’s “51st State” efforts at developing a roadmap to a distributed energy resource future.
Traditional utility business models and regulatory frameworks were built on the assumption that the utility would act as the “sole source provider” of electricity to meet the demands of customers across its entire service territory. Though their impacts vary based on location, Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) are rapidly changing this as a given. This changing landscape has placed utilities and regulators in unchartered territory.
On August 1, 2016, the New York Public Service Commission issued its Clean Energy Standard (CES) Order, which establishes requirements needed to achieve the goals of the State Energy Plan (SEP), to not only achieve 50% of the state’s energy from renewable sources by 2030 but also to protect other existing non-emitting sources by introducing the first-ever clean energy credits.
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.
