State utility commissions and state energy office officials are increasingly faced with novel technical issues and policy decisions related to the integration of distribution-connected energy resources. NARUC and the National Association of State Energy Offices (NASEO) are supporting state members in understanding the impact of their decision-making related to the connection, operation, and compensation of DERs. Learn more
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As the U.S. electric grid continues to change, NARUC CPI has been working to help state public utility commissions address evolving grid planning challenges and opportunities. Current topics include integrated distribution system planning; innovations in electricity modeling; and comprehensive electricity planning (through the NARUC-NASEO Task Force on Comprehensive Electricity Planning). Learn more
Highlighted resources include:
- Peer-sharing webinars for public utility commissions on integrated distribution system planning, February 27 – June 12, 2023
- Innovations in Electricity Modeling Training Recordings, October 1 – November 1, 2021
- Task Force on Comprehensive Electricity Planning Resources for Action
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In recent years, state utility regulators have seen a surge in utility smart grid investments, from advanced metering infrastructure to smart appliances and distributed energy resources. NARUC has partnered with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to educate utility regulators on the value of smart grid interoperability and technical standards that support it. Learn more
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As threats to reliable electricity continue to grow, customers, utilities, and governments are considering a range of resilience investments, including microgrids, to mitigate the impacts of outages on customers and communities. With support from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Electricity, NARUC and the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) established a Microgrids State Working Group to improve the ability of states to plan for and develop microgrid projects, regulations, and policies. Learn more
Highlighted resources include:
- Innovative Microgrid Project Designs, March 29, 2023
- Risk-controlled Expansion Planning with Distributed Resources (REPAIR) Webinar, November 1, 2022
- Microgrids for Community and City Resilience Planning, June 2022
- NASEO-NARUC Microgrids State Working Group Event Summary, March 2022
- Report: Valuing Resilience for Microgrids: Challenges, Innovative Approaches, and State Needs, February 2022
- User Objectives and Design Approaches for Microgrids: Options for Delivering Reliability and Resilience, Clean Energy, Energy Savings, and Other Priorities, January 2021
- Private, State, and Federal Funding and Financing Options to Enable Resilient, Affordable, and Clean Microgrids, January 2021
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Utility commissions use a variety of frameworks for assessing and selecting ratemaking approaches for electricity customers. NARUC CPI has facilitated several initiatives aimed at understanding the value of different resources and grid services, examining business and regulatory accounting options available to pay for new technologies, and supporting commissions who are developing performance-based regulation frameworks in their states. Learn more
Highlighted resources include:
- The Regulator's Financial Toolbox series examines regulatory issues where technology meets bookkeeping. Examples:
- Demand Flexibility within a Performance-Based Regulatory Framework, February 2023
- The Value of Resilience for Distributed Energy Resources: An Overview of Current Analytical Practices, April 2019
- The Interface between Utility Regulation and Financial Markets, November 2018