NCEP facilitates ongoing learning opportunities for members and the public to explore multiple perspectives on complex electricity system issues. NCEP offers three types of webinars: (1) coordination webinars to support member collaboration across national associations and provide updates on resources and events, (2) webinars that highlight resources available to members from DOE and the National Laboratories, and (3) topical webinars and virtual trainings.
This webinar provides a virtual update on recent and future activities and resources of the NCEP member organizations as of February 2024, including NASEO, NGA, NCSL, NACAA, NASUCA, and NARUC. These organizations represent the broad spectrum of decision makers impacting policy and implementation decisions related to the provision of electricity and the electric grid. See below for a recording of the events and the presentation slides to learn more about the latest resources and events across the six organizations.
Data makes the world go 'round -- it is no different in the world of electricity. Among the many uses and needs for data in today's energy landscape, utilities and industry organizations are increasingly sharing and analyzing customer data to identify opportunities to improve affordability outcomes among ratepayers. This panel will explore existing data-sharing tools and how they are being used for affordability purposes, the mechanisms for data-sharing between state agencies and utilities, as well as future opportunities for additional data-sharing and availability to improve affordability outcomes. At the same time, this panel will explore the question of data privacy and where limitations on customer data sharing are necessary.
Moderator:
Hon. Sarah Freeman, Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission
Speakers:
David Konisky, Professor of Environmental Studies, Indiana University, Bloomington; Co-Director of the Energy Justice Lab
Sanem Kabaca, Senior Manager, Analytics, Oracle Energy and Water
Courtney Henderson, Truckee Town Council Member & Former Mayor, Truckee, CA; Clean Energy Strategist & Consultant
This webinar provides a virtual update on recent and future activities and resources of the NCEP member organizations as of August 2023, including NASEO, NGA, NCSL, NACAA, NASUCA, and NARUC. These organizations represent the broad spectrum of decision makers impacting policy and implementation decisions related to the provision of electricity and the electric grid. See below for a recording of the events and the presentation slides to learn more about the latest resources and events across the six organizations.
States across the country have set ambitious electric vehicle (EV) adoption goals and are working to establish policies and programs to support transportation electrification. State Energy Offices, Public Utility Commissions (PUCs), and Departments of Transportation (DOTs), as well as State Environmental Agencies, Consumer Advocates, and other important state-level partners each have a unique and vital role to support EV rollout. Frequently, these agencies have been working together to coordinate EV infrastructure planning and design incentive programs, as well as launch ambitious policy and regulatory frameworks in the EV space. On this webinar, representatives from State Energy Offices, PUCs, and DOTs talked about their respective EV-related roles and responsibilities, and how they are working together to support their state’s transportation electrification policy and program rollout. Representatives from NARUC, NASEO, and AASHTO also shared highlights from the recently released Mini Guide on Transportation Electrification: State-Level Roles and Collaboration among Public Utility Commissions, State Energy Offices, and Departments of Transportation, and facilitated a discussion on cross-agency collaboration between state participants.
This webinar provides a virtual update on recent and future activities and resources of the NCEP member organizations, including NASEO, NGA, NCSL, NACAA, NASUCA, and NARUC. These organizations represent the broad spectrum of decision makers impacting policy and implementation decisions related to the provision of electricity and the electric grid. See below for a recording of the events and the presentation slides to learn more about the latest resources and events across the six organizations.
Pursuant to the Federal Power Act (FPA), the Secretary of Energy is required to conduct the National Transmission Needs Study (Needs Study) every three years. The Need Study replaces what was formerly known as the National Electric Transmission Congestion Study (Congestion Study) and informs potential decisions to exercise DOE’s National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor (NIETC) designation authority, which enables under certain circumstances federal permitting of electric transmission facilities that serve the public interest. The Needs Study provides information about capacity constraints and congestion on the nation’s electric transmission grid. Where previous Congestion Studies were limited to consider only historic congestion, this study considers both historic and anticipated future transmission needs as required by Congress in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). More about the prior Congestion Studies can be read here: https://www.energy.gov/oe/services/electricity-policy-coordination-and-implementation/transmission-planning/national-2.
Leaders from NCEP member associations National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), National Governors Association (NGA), National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates (NASUCA), and National Association of Clean Air Agencies (NACAA), share updates on current and future activities and priorities for the year, providing a comprehensive overview of the work of state policy makers related to the provision of electricity and the electric grid.
National associations representing NCEP members host a semi-annual webinar to share newly available resources and upcoming projects and events focused on the evolving electricity sector.
Speakers will highlight work products available and forthcoming that are relevant to multiple agencies, particularly those that touch on inter-agency coordination and NCEP’s current theme, transmission and distribution system coordination. Related issues likely to be discussed include electric vehicles, carbon capture utilization and storage, cybersecurity, emergency management, and grid modernization.
Staff leaders from six associations will speak during the webinar: National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), National Governors Association (NGA), National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates (NASUCA), and National Association of Clean Air Agencies (NACAA).
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has launched a new Regional Specialists initiative within the Intergovernmental Affairs Office. The specialists will build strong relationships with state energy officials, municipal officials, tribes, regional associations, and other external stakeholders to advance the Biden-Harris Administration’s climate and clean energy goals. The webinar will be followed by Regional Listening Sessions between December 6 to December 14, 2021, where state officials can learn more about plans for their region and engage in conversation with their region’s specialist.
With myriad analyses showing that expanded interregional transmission would provide benefits to the grid, new policy and regulatory initiatives are revisiting how transmission gets planned, built, and paid for. Most best-case scenarios predict that it will take years for these efforts to bear fruit, however. At the same time, the types of technological advances that have increased resilience and efficiency opportunities for the distribution grid are also available at the transmission level. This webinar features a discussion of opportunities to maximize existing transmission line throughput as a near-term complement to planning for and building new transmission. Panelists describe commercially available grid enhancing technologies that can dramatically increase transmission capacity factors across North America.
Speakers:
On this webinar, national association staff (technical assistance leads) provided an update on their work products and events so that all NCEP members may benefit from these efforts. Speakers highlighted work products available and forthcoming that are relevant to multiple agencies, particularly those that touch on inter-agency coordination and NCEP’s current theme, transmission, and distribution system coordination. Related issues discussed included electric vehicles, carbon capture utilization and storage, cybersecurity, emergency management, and grid modernization.
Associations who spoke during the webinar included staff representatives from:
NCEP is pleased to offer a stand-alone webinar version of one of the most popular sessions from our December 2020 Annual Meeting on Evolving Compensation and Market Mechanisms
Exploring Optimization through Benefit-Cost Analysis
How can modern cost-benefit analysis, valuation approaches, and cost recovery plans be used to compare and optimize between bulk power system solutions and distribution system solutions? This webinar will explore the latest trends in comparing and optimizing between the bulk power system and distributed system solutions. For a utility regulator, a benefit-cost analysis (BCA) is essential information before investing in any solution. BCAs were developed before DERs were impacting the system. Speakers will explore the status of BCAs and new developments for consideration.
Moderator:
Tanya McCloskey, Pennsylvania Office of the Consumer Advocate
Panelists:
Hon. Abigail Anthony, Rhode Island Public Utility Commission
Julie Michals, E4TheFuture
Snuller Price, E3
On this webinar, national association staff leaders provided an update on their work products and events so that all NCEP members may benefit from these efforts. Speakers highlighted work products available and forthcoming that are relevant to multiple agencies, particularly those that touch on inter-agency coordination and NCEP’s current theme, transmission, and distribution system coordination. Related issues discussed include electric vehicles, carbon capture utilization and storage, cybersecurity, emergency management, and grid modernization.
Associations who spoke included:
Argonne National Laboratory, based out of Lemont, Illinois, engages in engineering and science research on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy. This webinar introduced Argonne National Labs to the NCEP community and how Argonne’s efforts support state decision-makers. Two projects highlighted on the webinar included (a) a project to assess valuation techniques for pumped-storage hydro powerplants (see Handout for more information), and (b) the Energy Zones Mapping Tool.
Moderator: Honorable Ted Thomas, Arkansas
Speakers:
NCEP hosted a webinar to discuss the effects that variable renewable energy (VRE) had on wholesale power prices from 2008 through 2017. The LBNL study assessed forecasts and factors that may influence prices in wholesale markets in the US. Recent trends and patterns from 60,000 wholesale pricing nodes were evaluated against the impacts of VRE and other factors, as well as a number of constrained pricing areas (“hot spots”) to highlight several drivers for geographic and temporal pricing variations.
Moderator: Commissioner Abigail Anthony of the Rhode Island Public Utility Commission
Speakers:
Speakers: