Committee on Energy Resources and the Environment
Monday
10:45 a.m.-5:00 p.m. • Grand Ballroom 7 & 8
10:45 a.m. - 11: 45 a.m. |
Business Meeting Introductions and state action discussion Roundtable exchange on future committee planning Resolutions |
1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. |
100% Clean Energy: What Comes Next for Regulators? Joint Panel with the Committee on Electricity More and more States, cities, utilities, and corporations are passing laws and setting targets and goals for achieving "100%" clean, carbon-free, or renewable energy as the long-term expectation for meeting electricity needs. This panel will seek to describe the trend and begin to explore implications for regulators, including:
Moderator: Leia Guccione, Principal, Electricity Program, Rocky Mountain Institute Speakers: Hon. James Griffin, Hawaii Jeff Lyng, Director of Energy and Environmental Policy, Xcel Energy Colorado Sandra Mattavous-Frye People's Counsel, DC Office of the People’s Counsel |
2:45 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. |
100% Clean Energy: What Comes Next for Markets and the Grid? Joint Panel with the Committee on Electricity Many States have developed aggressive targets for renewable and carbon-free energy resource procurement while retiring legacy generation. This panel will begin to explore implications for markets and the grid, including:
Moderator: Debbie Lew Speakers: Armond Cohen, Executive Director, Clean Air Task Force W. Mason Emnett, Vice President, Competitive Market Policy, Exelon Corporation John Moore, Director, Sustainable FERC Project, Climate & Clean Energy Program, NRDC |
4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. |
Revisiting Paradigms for Decision-Making About Customer Side Resources To take full advantage of energy efficiency, demand response, and other distributed and behind the meter resources, states and Commissions need to revisit and update their resource evaluation assumptions, methodologies, and practices. Traditional screening tests presented in the California Standard Practice Manual may not capture the range of costs and benefits that are important to a particular jurisdiction, resulting in under investment in efficiency and demand side resources. Often, different standards are used to determine “cost-effectiveness” for different resources or in different dockets. For example, some states use a different standard for screening costs and benefits in an Integrated Resource Planning process versus energy efficiency planning. This panel will explore how cost-effectiveness tests can be revised to be consistent with state’s energy policy goals, fully capture the benefits of all resources, and to fairly compare behind the meter and in front of the meter investments. The panel will also identify how different Commissions approaching this challenge? Moderator: Hon. Mary Throne, Wyoming Panelists: Hon. Abigail Anthony, Rhode Island Tanuj Deora, Vice President Market Development, Simple Energy Julie Michals, Director of Clean Energy Valuation, E4TheFuture Deborah Reynolds, Assistant Director, Conservation and Energy Planning, Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission |
Tuesday
10:45 a.m.-5:00 p.m. • Grand Ballroom 7 & 8
10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. |
State Journeys in NEM and DER Rate Reform: A Long and Winding Road NEM and DER rate reforms are underway in many, many states. This panel provides a high-level summary of those actions across the country, and takes a deep-dive look into how those issues are being addressed in key states. The session explores the sets of major decisions that Commissions are being asked to make about next-generation tariffs for DER, and asks the state representatives to tell us the most important lessons they have learned through their efforts to date. Co-Moderators: Hon. Michael Richard, Maryland Hon. Lillian Mateo-Santos, Puerto Rico Panelists: Hon. Joseph Fiordaliso, New Jersey Hon. David Ober, Indiana Hon. Kimberly O'Guinn, Arkansas Tom Stanton, Principal Researcher for Energy and Environment, National Regulatory Research Institute |
1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. |
Creative Momentum Class for Today and Tomorrow: DERs are Changing Everything Got your crystal ball? Rapid advances in consumer technology and shifting consumer preferences are changing the kinds of grid services and product offerings that regulated utilities can and will be offering their customers. These changes are converging with public policy goals targeting clean energy, including decarbonization and its close cousin beneficial electricification. These broad trends of decentralization, connectivity, and automation are poised to fundamentally change the characteristics of utility industries. How might state commissions move forward into this new terrain? How are utilities assessing the paths that lie before them? Are there hidden roadblocks that must be addressed? How have different states navigated such decisions? Co-Moderators: Hon. Lillian Mateo-Santos, Puerto Rico Hon. Michael Richard, Maryland Panelists: Cameron Brooks, President, Tolerable Planet Enterprises Michael Delaney, Executive Director Regulatory Affairs and Policy, Consumers Energy, Co. Anne Hoskins, Chief Policy Officer, Sunrun, Inc. Andy Satchwell, Assistant Leader: Electricity Markets & Policy Group, Lawrence-Berkeley National Laboratory |
2:45 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. |
There’s a Major Change Headed Our Way: Forecasting DERs for Planning Purposes As more attention moves to the distribution grid and the role that distributed energy resources (DERs) can play in meeting customers’ energy needs, it is imperative for utilities to plan for those resources---many of which will be installed without the kind of centralized planning and control typical for integrated resource planning (IRP)-style resources. Planning for DERs (often through distribution system planning [DSP] or integrated distribution planning [IDP]) includes predicting where the resources will be located, forecasting which kinds of resources will be installed, and calculating load shapes of those resources. This type of forecasting is an evolving field, drawing upon market segmentation practices, predictive analytics, and advanced modeling supported by major computing power. This panel will share innovations in DER forecasting being developed and deployed to date, discussing the abilities and limitations of current approaches. Moderator: Hon. Jeffery Ackermann, Colorado Panelists: Juliet Homer, Senior Energy Research Engineer, Energy Policy and Economics Group, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Kevin Kushman, President, Integral Analytics, Inc. Patrick McCoy, Distributed Energy Strategy, Grid Strategy and Operations, Sacramento Municipal Utility District |
4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. |
Bringing the Renewable Heat: How Renewable Natural Gas Market Dynamics Are “Burning Up” Preconceived Notions of Traditional Regulatory Structures and Planning Joint with the Committee on Gas The speed at which RNG markets continue to move make it increasingly difficult to match with traditional notions of integrated resource planning, procurement, and cost effectiveness analytical frameworks. Not to mention, legislatures are warming up to the idea of renewable thermal portfolio standards, incentives, and carbon reduction strategies that continue to drive these markets into unchartered territory. This panel of experts will discuss how regulators can approach these market developments to ensure that their states are prepared to take advantage of this rapidly developing resource. Panelists will discuss strategies and tools that allow customers to take advantage of RNG offerings, including the developing voluntary and compliance markets. Co-Moderators: Hon. Megan Decker, Oregon Hon. Mary-Anna Holden, New Jersey Panelists: Ben Gerber, Executive Director, Midwest Renewable Energy Tracking System, Inc. Zach Kravitz, Director, Rates & regulatory Affairs, NW Natural Tanya Peacock, Public Policy and Planning Manager, Southern California Gas Company McKenzie Schwartz, Analyst, Gas Utility of the Future, National Grid |