Right now, Nevada’s electric grid operates more or less as an island, and the households and businesses that rely on that island are increasingly at risk of being stranded. Except under limited circumstances, the state’s utilities must produce enough of their own electricity to meet their customers’ needs, then transport that energy using their own poles and wires. This situation not only requires Nevadans to pay for more electricity infrastructure than they should, but also leaves them particularly vulnerable to extreme weather events.
Nevada’s grid of the future should be part of an RTO
Topics: State Policy, Regulatory, Wholesale Markets, Nevada, Western RTO
With 2021 in the rearview mirror and colder weather returning to the Lone Star State, it's a good time to take stock of how Texas regulators responded to the electricity grid crisis following Winter Storm Uri. Heading into 2022, Texans want to feel secure that their lights will stay on, and that’s exactly what Governor Abbott has promised. But is there good reason to feel secure? See where Texas took positive steps forward for advanced energy, and where regulators should resolve to do better in the New Year.
Topics: State Policy, Regulatory, Wholesale Markets, Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance, Texas
Topics: State Policy, Federal Policy, Regulatory, Advanced Transportation
ISO New England is Facing MOPR, Market & Transmission, and Governance Reform. What’s at Stake for Advanced Energy? Lots
With so much of the advanced energy industry’s focus on issues before FERC directed at the expanded Minimum Offer Price Rule (MOPR) in PJM over the past few years, there has been relatively little attention placed on similar tension brewing in ISO New England (ISO-NE). But that tension was on full display at a FERC technical conference earlier this summer, and in comments filed in July. The list of big-ticket items up for debate in ISO-NE is long: reforming ISO-NE’s version of the MOPR, revising how capacity value is determined, pursuing long-term market reform and transmission planning reform, developing a plan for Order No. 2222 compliance, and exploring potential governance reforms are all top of mind for ISO-NE, the New England states, and stakeholders. For those who haven’t been following along at home, there’s a lot to catch up on, and the stakes are high: New England is poised to model what an RTO should look like in a 100% advanced energy future, but the decisions made in the next few years will determine whether that vision is realized.
Topics: PowerSuite, Regulatory, Wholesale Markets