State Energy and Environment Guide to Action: Electric Utility Regulatory Frameworks and Financial Incentives

Electric utility regulatory frameworks and financial incentives can address barriers to energy efficiency, renewable energy, and distributed energy resources (DERs) that are inherent in traditional utility regulatory models. Legislatures and electric utility regulators (often called public utility commissions) in many states are refining or replacing traditional utility financial policies to encourage utility actions and programs aligned with state policy goals. These states are adopting regulatory frameworks and financial incentives including revenue decoupling, multi-year rate plans (MYRPs), performance-based regulation (PBR), and performance incentive mechanisms (PIMs).

This chapter discusses state utility regulatory policies and financial incentives that address the throughput incentive and …

Value of Local Transmission Planning

Charles River Associates (CRA) was engaged by WIRES to produce a report that provides a comprehensive review of the value of local transmission planning. In this report, we define local transmission planning as the “transmission planning process that a public utility transmission provider performs for its individual retail distribution service territory or footprint pursuant to the requirements of Order No. 890”. The product of the local transmission planning processes is local solutions that are critical to the integrity of the transmission system. Local projects enable the continued reliable operation of the transmission system by enhancing grid resilience and operational flexibility, …

Distributed Solar and Storage – ICEF Roadmap 1.0

Distributed solar and storage technologies could play a key role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening grid resilience and improving energy access. A number of dynamics will shape the pace at which distributed solar and storage technologies are deployed and whether they can fulfill their potential.…

Distributed Solar and Storage – ICEF Roadmap 1.0

Distributed solar and storage technologies could play a key role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening grid resilience and improving energy access. A number of dynamics will shape the pace at which distributed solar and storage technologies are deployed and whether they can fulfill their potential.…

Resilient by Design

Electric utilities face mounting challenges from electrification, climate resilience, and affordability concerns. U.S. investor-owned utilities’ capital expenditures have increased from $136.6 billion in 2021 to $167.8 billion, projected for 2023, with 36% of those capital expenditures allocated towards adaptation, hardening, and resilience, on average. Despite this, storm-related outages still cost the U.S. $64.8 billion annually, and a projected $500 billion gap remains in capital to fully harden generation, transmission, and distribution systems against climate threats through 2050.

Utilities are evolving their distribution system planning (DSP) processes to include resilience, decarbonization, and affordability due to extreme weather threats to the grid. …

Characteristics and Risks of Emerging Large Loads

Electricity is a key component of the fabric of modern society and the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) Enterprise serves to strengthen that fabric. The vision for the ERO Enterprise, which is comprised of NERC and the six Regional Entities, is a highly reliable, resilient, and secure North American bulk power system (BPS). Our mission is to assure the effective and efficient reduction of risks to the reliability and security of the grid.…

Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2024

Total installed costs for renewable power decreased by more than 10% for all technologies between 2023 and 2024, except for offshore wind, where they remained relatively stable, and bioenergy, where they increased by 16%. Nevertheless, the combination of capacity factors, market share, and financing costs led to a slight increase in the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) for some technologies: solar PV by 0.6%, onshore wind by 3%, offshore wind by 4%, and bioenergy by 13%. Meanwhile, costs declined for CSP (-46%), geothermal (-16%), and hydropower (-2%).

Renewables continue to prove themselves as the most cost-competitive source of new electricity …

Underground Gas Storage in Natural Gas Infrastructure: East Coast Insights

The East Coast has a larger total number of facilities than the Gulf Coast, but only about
half the amount of working gas capacity due to the greater number of salt dome
caverns found in the Gulf. Like the Gulf Coast, UGS in the East Coast can support the
storage of low-carbon fuels including hydrogen and may provide a crucial long-term
storage solution for renewable energy produced in the region from intermittent sources
like wind. This region has challenges to expanding the role of UGS in the future,
including regulatory hurdles, barriers to infrastructure expansions, and the proximity of
UGS …

Reimagining the Electricity Sector in Island Nations with Virtual Power Plants

Distributed virtual power plants (VPPs) can revolutionize the Caribbean’s energy landscape. These networks of decentralized and distributed energy sources (DERs) are aggregated and actively controlled by a VPP aggregator, enabling hundreds or thousands of devices to operate as a unified system offering an innovative solution to the region’s energy challenges. Many island nations remain heavily dependent on expensive, imported and polluting fossil fuels for electricity generation, leaving them vulnerable to volatile global fuel prices and frequent power outages due to aging grid infrastructure. Climate change further exacerbates these challenges, with hurricanes posing a constant threat to power systems and economic …

Decentralised Renewable Energy for Agriculture in Zimbabwe

This report highlights the transformative potential of decentralised renewable energy (DRE) solutions in strengthening Zimbabwe’s agricultural sector, which supports 70% of the population and accounts for as much as 14% of the nation’s GDP. Focusing on five key value chains (maize, groundnuts, tomatoes, mangoes and fisheries), the study identifies critical energy gaps hindering productivity, such as lack of access to irrigation pumps, cold storage and post-harvest processing facilities. With only 12% of smallholder farmers connected to the grid, the report underscores the urgent need to address energy poverty to enhance rural livelihoods, ensure food security, and promote gender and youth …