Belmont Light uses DEED grant to model the effects of new programs
March 31, 2021
by Peter Maloney
APPA News
March 31, 2021
Belmont Light in Massachusetts has developed an energy resource planning model with the help of a Demonstration of Energy & Efficiency Developments (DEED) grant from the American Public Power Association.
Belmont Light’s partner in the $240,800 project was Ventana Systems, of Harvard, Mass., with $115,000 in project funding coming from the DEED grant.
Ventana delivered a prototype of the model in 2019 and the final model, which uses the company’s Ventity software, in May 2020. Since then, Ventana has continued to provide updates to the model, along with training and support to Belmont Light staff as they tweak the model for its use.
The current version of the model enables Belmont Light to run scenarios that evaluate how different types of rebates, rates, and supply-side resources might affect the energy demand and carbon dioxide emissions of the town, as well as the utility’s financial condition.
Longer term, Belmont Light plans to use the model to envision how different programs might enable or hinder the community’s progress toward zero emissions and/or net zero energy status in coming years. Belmont also said the model will be useful for planning and goal-setting around strategic electrification initiatives, as well as for individual programs and campaigns.
In particular, the utility plans to use the model to pursue its emission reductions goals, which include aiming for a 100 percent renewable power supply by 2022, while maintaining its financial and operational reliability.
In 2009, the community of Belmont implemented a Climate Action Plan that sets a goal of 80 percent emissions reductions below 2007 levels by 2050. In 2019, Belmont adopted a Strategic Decarbonization Roadmap that identifies Belmont Light as the foundation for achieving many of the community’s emissions targets. Belmont Light has incorporated those goals into its strategic planning, setting annual targets for electric vehicle and heat pump adoption through 2026, as well as its 2022 fully renewable power goal.
“Belmont Light has embraced the crucial role we play in achieving the community’s ambitious climate goals,” Craig Spinale, the utility’s general manager, said via email. “We know that widespread strategic electrification coupled with a decarbonized power supply will provide a path toward net zero emissions for Belmont in coming years. The model we developed with Ventana and DEED will help us with what we don’t know for certain yet — how different decisions and factors will interact to shape this path over time. What decisions make for the shortest path? The most financially prudent? The most realistic?”
Belmont Light is currently running the model to determine how different levels of incentives and rebates might influence adoption of heat pumps in the community in coming years through 2050. The utility is also exploring how various time-of-use rate structures would affect the pursuit of Belmont Light’s financial and climate goals.
The model also makes it easier to run scenarios with diverse inputs and assumptions so that Belmont Light can continually reevaluate its decisions to consider new or potential legislation and regulations, changes in technological development, prices of fossil fuels, and other factors. The model also permits what-if experiments without expensive real-life trial-and-error.
Inputs to the model pertain to supply-side activities, such as energy mixes and renewable energy credit (REC) pricing, and demand-side measures, like rebates for air-source heat pumps, electric vehicles, lighting, rooftop solar, and battery storage. Belmont Light has 12,000 meters, and the majority of its customers are residential accounts.
“What makes our model different from others we looked at is that its inputs are customizable to Belmont Light’s unique planning needs as a public power utility,” Becca Keane, energy resources manager at Belmont Light, said via email. “We can use the model to investigate very detailed questions about our particular program offerings, our power supply mix, our customers’ behavior, our rates, and more. Because the model is a tailored planning tool, it is adaptable for other utilities contemplating similar resource planning questions,” she said.
Belmont Light believes its experience will be applicable to other public power utilities that are grappling with the challenges and opportunities posed by the rapidly changing electricity industry, such as the increasing penetration of distributed generation and electric vehicles, changing expectations of utility customers, and legislative requirements around greenhouse gas mitigation. The utility also said it hopes to be able to serve as a reference point for other utilities contemplating net zero energy and low emission futures, adding that Ventana can also adapt the model developed in the DEED for other APPA members to address the unique situations and available data.
Belmont Light, in a report on the DEED project, offered two recommendations for utilities that may want to use the planning model. The utility noted that the model can address many questions, but it is meant for answering strategic questions that require balancing competing demands related to financial sustainability, anticipating and fulfilling future energy demand, and meeting emissions targets.
Belmont Light also said that to maximize the value of the model a utility should be willing to invest the necessary time to ensure a thorough planning exercise, including gathering and organizing data and allocating time to understanding the model’s outputs.
Association members interested in referencing Belmont Light’s project results would be best served if staff dedicates generous amounts of time to gathering and preparing their own program and energy data, along with collecting data from the communities they serve, so they can plan for a low- or zero-emissions future in a meaningful, informed way, the utility said.
Belmont Light plans to create a “roadmap” that other utilities can use for their planning purposes and also plans to schedule a webinar with Ventana this summer.
Additional details on DEED are available here.
APPA recognizes member utilities for reliability efforts with Certificates of Excellence
March 31, 2021
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 31, 2021
The American Public Power Association (APPA) has honored more than 180 public power utilities with a “Certificate of Excellence” for reliable performance in 2020.
Only utilities that are subscribers of the eReliability Tracker are eligible to earn these certificates. To earn a certificate, a utility’s 2020 System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI) must fall in the top quartile of all utilities’ SAIDI numbers averaged from the past 5 years based on Energy Information Administration 861 survey data.
The certificates celebrate utilities that have provided exceptionally reliable service and power to their communities.
When looking at eReliability Tracker subscribers’ 2020 outage data, 92% of utilities that verified their 2020 outage data had a 2020 SAIDI that was below the average national SAIDI for 2015-2019 (according to EIA data). This data also includes investor-owned utilities and cooperatives.
As this statistic shows, public power providers are generally above-average in reliablity, especially when compared to all utilities providing power in the U.S.
The list of winners is here.
Muscatine Power & Water seeks solar generation proposals through RFP
March 31, 2021
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 31, 2021
Iowa public power utility Muscatine Power & Water (MPW) is seeking bids for two sets of full-attribute solar generation projects through a recently released request for proposals (RFP).
MPW is seeking bids for a solar generation power purchase agreement (PPA) at an existing water wellfield and at developer-sited locations.
MPW also requests optional bids for engineering and procurement services as an alternative to any proposed PPA at the MPW-owned Grandview Wellfield Site.
A construction estimate is required alongside this optional bid; however, any construction contract is required to go through a separate competitive bid and award process.
The preferred commercial operation date is 2023.
MPW is seeking to retain or resell all energy, capacity, and renewable attributes of the proposed projects.
Projects may be solar only or solar coupled with a battery electric storage system.
Projects should be optimized to provide the lowest levelized cost of energy within the constraints provided.
MPW is open to alternate project configurations provided they would deliver a net value to the utility and its customer owners. Key tenets of project consideration are project viability, price, congestion risk, equipment performance, and deliverability
The Energy Authority is the administrator for the RFP.
To access the RFP document, schedule, and term sheet, visit TEA’s procurement site.
TVA, partners launch solar-plus-storage project for Facebook, GM
March 30, 2021
by Peter Maloney
APPA News
March 30, 2021
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has unveiled a 173 megawatt (MW) renewable energy project that would be the largest solar-plus-storage project in TVA’s Kentucky service area.
The Logan County solar farm will provide Facebook’s regional data center operations with 145 MW of power and General Motors’ Bowling Green Assembly, exclusive home of the Chevrolet Corvette, with 28 MW of power.
Facebook’s investment in the solar project helped enable the addition of 120 megawatt-hours (MWh) of battery storage technology that will increase the resilience of the power grid.
TVA and Warren Rural Electric Cooperative Corp. are partnering with Nashville-based Silicon Ranch to develop the project. TVA signed a long-term power purchase agreement with Silicon Ranch to develop, own, operate and maintain the solar-plus-storage facility.
Silicon Ranch expects to hire more than 450 workers for the project, which is expected to begin construction in 2022 and be completed in the fall of 2023, pending environmental reviews.
The project is “the result of Facebook’s, General Motors’, and Warren RECC’s leadership and our joint, long-term commitment to renewable energy across the region,” Chris Hansen, TVA vice president of origination and renewables, said in a statement. “TVA’s Green Invest program is bringing together customers and renewable energy partners who are all investing in our communities,” he added.
TVA’s Green Invest program matches demand for green power from large business and industrial customers with renewable projects that TVA puts together with its development partners. Since 2018, TVA says, the program has attracted nearly $2.7 billion in solar investment and procured over 2,100 MW of solar power on behalf of the utility’s customers.
The Logan County project is the fifth renewable energy agreement TVA has signed with Facebook, which now has renewable commitments in the region totaling 742 MW of solar and 80 MW of battery storage.
Earlier this month, TVA said it is partnering with Origis Energy to develop a 150-MW solar and 50-MW, 250-MWh battery storage facility in Lowndes County, Mississippi, to support two Facebook data centers in the Tennessee Valley.
In May, General Motors said it would use TVA’s Green Invest program to power its Spring Hill Manufacturing plant with 100 percent renewable energy to reach its goal to become carbon dioxide neutral in its products and operations by 2040.
The Green Invest program is also available to local power companies in TVA’s territory. In January 2020, TVA announced a partnership with Nashville Electric Service and Vanderbilt University for a 35-MW solar project in Bedford County, Tennessee. Last March, TVA entered into a deal to secure 212 MW of solar power for Knoxville Utilities Board’s customers.
NYPA board approves major transmission line rebuild project
March 30, 2021
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 30, 2021
The New York Power Authority (NYPA) on March 30 announced approval of the Northern New York Priority Transmission Project (NNYPTP), a major transmission line rebuild that will harden the resiliency of New York’s power grid and accelerate movement toward meeting New York State’s clean energy goals, NYPA said.
The authorization to accept, develop and operate the transmission project took place at a NYPA Board of Trustees meeting where NYPA trustees also approved the selection of investor-owned National Grid, an electricity, natural gas and clean energy delivery company, as the project’s co-participant.
The board’s authorization paves the way for engineering and planning work to begin in preparation for the project’s environmental review and approval process through the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC).
The NNYPTP was identified by the PSC on October 15 as a priority transmission project that should move forward expeditiously under New York’s Accelerated Renewable Energy Growth and Community Benefit Act.
The project was approved for acceleration in order to help the state meet its climate and clean energy goals set forth in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, enacted in July 2019, which calls for a zero-emissions electricity sector by 2040, 70 percent renewable energy generation by 2030, and economy-wide carbon neutrality.
The project builds upon New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s announcement in his 2021 State of the State address of five transmission projects totaling 250 miles across the state that will form New York’s Green Energy Superhighway.
The NNYPTP, spanning approximately 100 miles of transmission lines across the North Country and through the Mohawk Valley on the southern-most portion, is expected to begin construction next year and take approximately three years to conclude.
The NNYPTP is a multi-faceted project that includes:
- Completion of the second phase of NYPA’s Smart Path Moses-Adirondack rebuild;
- Rebuilding approximately 45 miles of transmission eastward from Massena to the Town of Clinton, known as the Northern Alignment;
- Rebuilding approximately 55 miles of transmission southward from Croghan to Marcy, known as the Southern Alignment; and
- Rebuilding and expanding several substations along the impacted transmission corridor.
The work falls primarily within existing transmission rights-of-way.
NYPA said that the project will help unbottle existing renewable resources in the region, and will also yield significant production cost savings, emissions reductions, and decreases in transmission congestion.
NYPA estimates the project will provide more than $447 million in annual congestion savings in northern New York and create hundreds of clean energy jobs during construction.
National Grid selected as co-participant
In selecting National Grid as a co-participant on the project, NYPA cited among other things, National Grid’s extensive experience planning, developing, constructing, managing and operating transmission projects similar in type and scale to the NNYPTP as well as ownership and familiarity of property and transmission facilities that can be used to support the expeditious development of the project.
National Grid also has a longstanding relationship with communities in the North Country, working with them to meet their needs.
Project costs will be estimated as the project’s design and scope are finalized and will be shared between NYPA and National Grid.
The selection of National Grid as a co-developer for the NNYPTP is subject to NYPA and National Grid reaching agreement on proposed terms and conditions for development of the project.
NYPA owns and operates approximately one third of New York’s high voltage power lines. These lines transmit power from NYPA’s three large hydroelectric generation facilities and independent wind power generation facilities, connecting nearly 7,000 megawatts of renewable energy to New York State’s power grid.
This includes connecting more than 6,300 megawatts (MW) of hydroelectric power and about 700 MW, or more than a third, of New York State generated wind energy to the grid.
NYPA operates more than 1,400 circuit miles of transmission lines and 16 generating facilities.
For information about the project visit www.nypa.gov/NNYPTP.
EIA’s energy outlook sees battery storage hitting 59 GW by 2050
March 30, 2021
by Peter Maloney
APPA News
March 30, 2021
As much as 59 gigawatts (GW) of battery energy storage will be in service installed by 2050, according to the most recent long-term energy outlook from the Energy Information Administration.
The “significant” growth of battery storage installations is the result of falling battery costs, growth in non-dispatchable renewables, and the application of the Investment Tax Credit to co-located storage systems, the EIA said in its Annual Energy Outlook 2021.
In a 2020 market update, the EIA said there were 125 operational battery storage systems in the United States at the end of 2018, representing 869 MW of power capacity and 1,236 megawatt hours (MWh) of energy capacity.
The Annual Energy Outlook 2021 includes alternative scenarios, or cases, that provide different projections based on the sensitivity of results to changes in the costs of renewables and the availability of oil and natural gas resources.
The projection of 59 GW of battery storage is the Annual Energy Outlook’s reference case. From a base of roughly 10 GW of energy storage in 2021, the EIA’s graph shows battery storage rising to 126 GW in the low oil and gas supply case and to 167 GW in the low renewables cost case.
The low oil and gas supply case assumes natural gas prices will be higher than the reference case, leading to a decline in gas-fired combined-cycle generation compared with the reference case that would be replaced by coal, nuclear, solar, and wind generation. That generation mix would require 67 GW more of battery storage capacity to be built than in the reference case.
The EIA’s reference case in the Annual Energy Outlook 2021 projects natural gas prices staying just below $4 per million British thermal units until 2050.
The low renewables cost case assumes a 40% reduction in the cost of renewables and energy storage compared with the reference case, which would lead to an increase of solar and wind generation that would replace coal, nuclear, and gas-fired combined-cycle generation. That scenario would result in 108 GW more of battery storage capacity being built compared with the reference case.
In all cases, 16 GW of battery storage installations would come from historical builds, announced projects, and state policy mandates, the EIA said. The EIA’s projections include battery storage facilities built on a standalone basis that charge from the power grid, as well as co-located systems that charges directly from an onsite solar photovoltaic power generator.
The EIA’s Annual Energy Outlook 2021 projects U.S. gross domestic product growing by 2.1% in its reference case, at 2.6% and its high economic growth case, and at 1.6% in its low growth case.
The Annual Energy Outlook 2021 noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has made its near-term projections more uncertain than in previous annual outlooks.
Women in public power offer insights on pathways to leadership positions
March 30, 2021
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 30, 2021
Women interested in pursuing public power leadership positions should never forget that their voices and opinions matter and they should be confident in their abilities, advise female public power executives. And finding a mentor can offer significant benefits for those looking to advance to a top-level position in public power, the executives said.
In honor of Women’s History Month, commemorated each March, the American Public Power Association’s Public Power Current newsletter is highlighting the many roles that women play at public power utilities across the U.S.
Other articles published this month profiled female engineers at public power utilities and women in the high-voltage trades who work for public power utilities across the U.S.
Tiffany Martin, Knoxville Utilities Board
Tiffany Martin, Vice President and Chief Customer Officer at Tennessee public power utility Knoxville Utilities Board (KUB), started her career in public power as a student employee at KUB while pursuing her business degree at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
“My very first job at KUB was to call customers to ask them about their recent experience while having new utility infrastructure installed at their home or business. I enjoyed interacting with customers, hearing about what went well, and working to resolve issues when they occasionally occurred. Who knew I would eventually end up being part of the leadership team for the customer division at KUB? I would have never imagined I would be in my current position,” she said.
She quickly took on additional responsibilities as a student and felt like an integral part of the KUB team. “I worked alongside some great co-workers and had a strong mentor guiding me along my path. As college graduation approached, I began applying for full-time positions outside of KUB because there were no openings available within KUB at the time.”
She wanted to stay at KUB “because of my positive experience for that year or so as a student, and I felt that public power was a good place for me to start my professional career.”
Martin noted that power “is an essential to life but often is not thought of by customers unless an outage occurs. As public power providers, those organizations and their employees understand how important the services they provide are. They work tirelessly to ensure the communities and customers they serve have safe and reliable electricity. I saw how committed KUB employees were to their jobs; but I also saw how many of them gave back to the community outside of work hours.”
A full-time position became available at KUB before she graduated, and Martin was able to begin her “official” public power career at the utility.
She spent four years rotating through various departments working as a business analyst learning different sides of the KUB business. “This experience helped me build more relationships and learn many business functions. I had just enough knowledge to understand what my more-experienced colleagues were discussing in project meetings or details surrounding organizational decisions. As the idiom says, I knew enough to be ‘dangerous.’”
In 2006, Martin was asked to join the human resources team as a recruiter. “I was part of the HR team in variety of roles for nine years. Close to the end of my tenure, I led a project to upgrade KUB’s human resources information system. It was a rewarding experience because I was able to use my knowledge from each of my HR roles, recruitment, compensation, employee relations, and a few others to ensure the new system met the needs of KUB’s HR staff but also every employee.”
The system was implemented successfully “after months of hard work from our internal team working alongside an implementation consultant,” she noted.
Shortly after the upgraded system was in place, Martin was tapped to join Customer Experience at KUB, where she has been since 2015. “Every day is different and challenging, but I enjoy working alongside some great customer service professionals to meet our customers’ needs and expectations.”
As Vice President and Chief Customer Officer at KUB, Martin is responsible for leading, guiding, and evaluating the work done to directly interface with customers and the community.
The departments and areas under her leadership include:
- Customer Service: customer call and walk-in centers;
- Customer Support: Field customer specialists available to meet customers on-site to resolve issues or educate/inform them of utility projects in the area;
- Key Accounts: Key account representatives serving as the single point of contact for KUB’s largest customers;
- Customer Payments: Payment processing staff that ensures customers’ payments are applied promptly and accurately;
- Community Relations: A group dedicated to coordinating community volunteer efforts and education programs; and
- Social Services: Social services counselors working with local nonprofits to aid customers experiencing financial or other difficulties
What advice would Martin give to women who want to pursue leadership positions in public power?
“My advice to women pursuing a leadership position in any industry is to be confident in your abilities,” she said. “Do not be intimidated by your male counterparts or anyone else. Remember, everyone has something to contribute, including you,” she said.
“Take time to understand what you do well and use those strengths to support the organization and achieve your professional and personal goals. For the areas where you need improvement, surround yourself with others that have those skills and abilities. Learn from and support one another to meet personal, professional, and/or organizational goals. I encourage women to work hard, lift-up other women, be patient, and do not let others set their worth or dim their ‘light,’” she said.
With respect to what steps public power utilities can take to create pathways for women to pursue leadership positions, Martin believes that public power utilities have to be intentional about identifying women interested in utility and utility-related careers and growing them.
“It’s important to get girls interested in public power careers during their youth and provide them with education, opportunity, and encouragement,” she said.
Martin was asked to detail whether there are there any professional development opportunities that have been particularly meaningful for her.
“I have had many people that I admire and those who have been in my corner as I have grown and continue to grow professionally. Therefore, it’s hard for me to name just one person, group, or opportunity as exceptionally meaningful. Each experience or person has contributed to my development and for that I am very grateful. I hope to ‘pay it forward’ by helping others move along their professional journeys,” she said.
Stephanie O’Connor, City Utilities of Springfield, Mo.
Stephanie O’Connor, Vice President – Chief Information and People Officer at City Utilities (CU) of Springfield, Missouri, has always had a passion for helping people.
“My passion’s always been enhancing the lives of others with a positive experience,” said O’Connor in an interview.
O’Connor has been at the public power utility for nearly 30 years, starting as a co-op student in the information technology (IT) department in 1992. In 1994, she became a full-time employee and even though most of her career has been in IT, she spent a few years in human resources. This was a result of centralizing the utility’s training offerings, which allowed her the opportunity to teaching computer courses and be active in assisting employees with their professional development goals.
It didn’t take long for O’Connor to move back to the IT department, which aligned with her passion and career goals.
“I really enjoy talking with people, so to me offering support just made good sense. I’ve spent most of my career in IT.”
Her primary role was focused on the technical and support sides of the department. Still, she knew there were opportunities to improve and grow.
While interning at St. Louis-based Monsanto during college, O’Connor worked at the company’s help desk.
“It was a wonderful concept to have a centralized number for people to call for help or information. I thought I’d really like to be able to do that here at CU,” she said.
When O’Connor was promoted to her first supervisory role in CU’s IT department, she was able to turn that vision into a reality. In 1998, she introduced the utility’s IT support center.
“We still have the support center today. It’s a key and critical component of IT.”
After taking on several other roles in the IT department, O’Connor was promoted to her current position in December 2017.
In terms of her current responsibilities, O’Connor now oversees IT at the utility, which includes cybersecurity and GIS. She also oversees the human resources department at CU and serves as a liaison to, and coordinating, the City Utilities’ Board of Public Utilities meetings.
O’Connor, along with her Vice President peers, also provides advice to CU’s General Manager Gary Gibson on topics such as utility-wide decisions.
When asked what advice she would give to women who want to pursue leadership positions in public power, O’Connor simply replied, “go for it!”
“I think too many times, women question if they should seek leadership opportunities. A lot of times it’s just out of fear of failure. But I would encourage them to be courageous and to be active in their roles at public power utilities—to share their voice and their insight,” she said.
“I think women tend to have strong situational awareness, which I believe is foundational to being a great leader. When they’re taking a risk, they then tend to evaluate the impact,” she said.
“Women have a strong desire to have a voice. Therefore, they encourage and lift others up. And being able to multitask – that just seems to be part of our DNA,” O’Connor said. “It seems like all these factors come together and give women the necessary tools to be great leaders.”
“I think a lot of times women may not take an opportunity to go for a position because they look at the job description and think, ‘Oh, but I haven’t done that one thing,’” she said. “Our male counterparts will look the same job description and go, ‘Well, I only have that one thing. I’m going for it.’ So I’d encourage women to be courageous, to take the opportunity, to be at the table, to have a voice, to share their ideas, to not be afraid, and to take that risk despite fear of failure because those are opportunities for future successes.”
“It’s a great time to be part of public power because women’s roles are expanding within the industry. Women have increased their presence in various STEM professions such as engineering, IT, and accounting. More than ever, women are able to advance to leadership roles because of their knowledge of the operation,” the CU executive said.
As for what steps public power utilities can take to create pathways for women to pursue leadership positions, O’Connor said intentional and inclusive hiring practices are key.
“Establish a culture that’s inclusive and welcoming for women to be part of the workforce. Ask them to serve on committees or boards, and then ensure the pay and benefits plan will attract and retain the best employees – men and women.”
Strong Women Achieving Goals
CU recently launched a new group called SWAG – Strong Women Achieving Goals, which was initiated and championed by O’Connor.
“At a high level, the mission is to energize, empower, and enrich women to better their personal and professional lives,” she noted.
O’Connor felt that CU needed an internal organization where women can come together while also giving their male counterparts tools and ways in which everyone can work better together. The purpose of the group is to provide support to women in what has traditionally been a male-dominated industry.
“You have to have some sort of avenue where you’re inclusive to all,” O’Connor said.
SWAG has three goals.
The first is to achieve work and life balance. “We want to encourage each other to not only focus on self, but family and community, while finding the right balance for career success.” Trying to find that balance can be a real challenge, she noted.
The second goal is of SWAG is to be unapologetic leaders. “Recognize that you have a place at the table, that you lead with purpose, and you have a voice.”
O’Connor said that many times women will give up their seat at the table. “Women are often very caring and nurturing, and that’s great. But we want individuals to recognize that if they are invited to the meeting, there’s a reason for them to be there and to use their voice.”
The last goal is to create a network of supporters. “Build relationships with others who will support your personal and professional goals, and then be a champion for you,” the CU executive said.
Following the Lean In strategy outlined by Sheryl Sandberg, O’Connor created a circle related to the SWAG initiative. “I called ours CU’s Circle of SWAG,” she noted.
Over the course of just three days, 38 percent of women at the utility signed up.
“We will have seven smaller circles, or small groups, which will meet once a month. We’re going to have topics to focus on so that each group is consistent, but you’ll also have your own team to connect with.”
Such an approach will promote networking among women who may not work with each other every single day.
The circles will also be rotated every six to eight months. “This way we will get a new mix of women in each group,” O’Connor said.
“We want this to be an avenue for women to feel supported and to understand the opportunities within the utility.”
They can also learn from their female peers and how they reached their current positions at CU. “How did they zig-zag through their career path? It’s not always a straight line. We can learn from each other and about the different positions at the utility. That may become a building block for someone else.”
Another key component of SWAG will involve bringing in speakers who will appear on a quarterly basis to discuss their journey and offer advice. Those speakers will come from the utility industry and the local community.
“This is where we want to loop in our male counterparts and invite them to join us, to learn with us, and to better understand those dynamics.”
O’Connor noted that some male CU employees are already expressing an interest in SWAG because they want to become more effective in the way that they work with women. “Understanding where we come from and our differences make us all better leaders and a better team.”
Daniella Piper, NYPA
Meanwhile, the Niagara Power Project has a new executive in charge of its operations following the recent appointment by the New York Power Authority of Daniella Piper to regional manager of Western New York, the top position at NYPA’s flagship hydroelectric project in Lewiston.
Piper is the first woman to head the Niagara Power Project in its 60-year history.
Piper previously served as Chief of Staff for NYPA’s President and CEO Gil Quiniones and Vice President of NYPA’s Digital Transformation Office.
Piper was promoted to her new role to better align NYPA’s statewide generation and transmission operations with its recently released VISION2030 Strategic Plan, a 10-year plan to support New York State’s transformation to a cleaner, more resilient energy grid.
Piper will also take on the role of NYPA’s Chief Transformation Officer, bringing her experience in leading NYPA’s digital transformation efforts to bear on various enterprise-wide transformation efforts, including VISION2030 and NYPA’s recently adopted 10-point Diversity Equity and Inclusion Roadmap.
In a Q&A with Public Power Current, Piper discussed what her immediate priorities will be in her new roles as regional manager for NYPA’s Western New York Region and NYPA’s Chief Transformation Officer.
“I will be focused on getting to know the team, our external stakeholders and understanding the exciting work that is ongoing and planned,” she noted. “We have a lot going on at the Niagara Power Project and ambitious plans to digitize our assets. As you know, NYPA has recently adopted VISION2030, which sets the path for us to achieve the goals of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act—the Niagara project will have a key role in achieving those goals.”
When asked what advice she would give to women who want to pursue leadership positions in public power, Piper said, “The first thing I would say is that public power is an exciting field. So much is changing in the energy field right now, and while it is still a male-dominated field, that is changing.”
She said that in order to achieve the grid of the future “we need talent and innovation; from engineering to policy making, to finance and accounting, there are many opportunities for women to contribute to the transformation and take on leadership roles that will shape our future.”
As for what steps public power utilities can take to create pathways for women to pursue leadership positions, Piper noted that NYPA “has worked very hard to create an atmosphere where women are valued and given opportunities to succeed, but as with most things, change has to start from the top.”
She said that NYPA “is lucky to have leadership that does not just speak to the values of social justice but works to embed those values in the work culture by creating plans with actionable steps focused on fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion. In fact, NYPA was just named by Forbes Magazine as one of the best mid-sized companies to work for — I think the work culture we are fostering has a great deal to do with that recognition.”
Piper said that she has had many professional development opportunities that have been particularly meaningful for her.
“From formal mentoring programs at NYPA — where I was matched with a senior leader — to informal mentoring by colleagues and leaders throughout the organization. I have also been a member of several organizations such as WiCE [Women in Communications Engineering] and AWE [Advancing Women Executives] that allowed me to learn from other women and discuss ways that women can succeed professionally.”
Piper, an electrical engineer, began her career at NYPA in 2007 as a developmental intern in the Electrical Engineering department. She became a full-time employee in 2008 and completed a one-year Rotational Engineering Program where she worked in the maintenance department at NYPA’s Blenheim-Gilboa Pumped Storage Power Project in Schoharie County and at the now-retired Charles Poletti Project in New York City as well as at the Niagara Power Project.
During her time at Niagara, she learned about the daily workings of the facility under the mentorship of the Operations staff. Upon returning to NYPA’s headquarters in White Plains, N.Y., Piper continued her work in the Engineering department and the Reliability Standards and Compliance group where she helped to develop NYPA’s compliance program.
In 2014, Piper moved to the Project Management department where she led NYPA’s Statewide $729 Million Transmission Life Extension and Modernization Program, and the construction of the Marcy South Series Compensation Project in 2016 as well as many other transmission upgrades across the state.
Piper became Chief of Staff and Vice President, Digital Transformation Office in 2018, charged with driving the implementation of strategic initiatives by leveraging technology and building strong relationships with NYPA staff at all levels of the organization and with external partners.
As Chief of Staff, she acted as an advisor to Quiniones, and facilitated interdepartmental dialogue, ensuring greater cohesion and alignment. She was also instrumental in developing NYPA’s 10-Point Diversity Equity and Inclusion Plan.
Lena Wittler, Clark Public Utilities
Lena Wittler is a 20-year veteran of the utility industry. She was named CEO and General Manager of Washington State’s Clark Public Utilities in June of 2019.
“My career has been a bit circuitous, with opportunities to gain experience in different areas of the utility while also taking on increased responsibility along the way,” Wittler said.
“The result is that I was able to gain familiarity with the breadth of utility operations while continuing to dig into my focus areas of customer research, public and legislative affairs, and communications. Ultimately, I trust that I was selected to lead our utility through this next chapter because above all I am committed to doing what’s right for our community, which includes both customers and employees,” she said.
In terms of what advice she would give to women who want to pursue leadership positions in public power, Wittler said, “I’ve been fortunate in my career not only to be given leadership opportunities, but also to have worked for and with excellent leaders. Observation has been one of the best learning tools for developing strengths in leadership. Emulate what you admire and remember how it makes you feel.”
She added, “My advice for women would be the same as to anyone, although it’s we as women who sometimes really need to hear it: Don’t be who you’re not. So many of the things that make Clark Public Utilities successful are quite simple — tell the truth, see the big picture, refuse to tolerate mistreatment of others, try to find ways to say yes, maintain relationships, and build trust through support, not undermining others.”
As for what steps public power utilities can take to create pathways for women to pursue leadership positions, Wittler said: “Step one – recruit and hire women. Step two – pay attention to the ways that implicit bias holds up the status quo and limits opportunities for women and People of Color, even when the goal is to attract and nurture a more diverse workforce. We can’t fix things we won’t admit to seeing or experiencing.”
She said women “aren’t immune to upholding the same systems that make increasing workplace diversity challenging in this industry. But as a researcher at heart who will always look to the data first for answers — there is no question: bringing a variety of voices to the table, at every level of an organization, makes for better decisions and better outcomes. And we need to start preparing for the next generation of employees who will have little patience for organizations not actively working toward a more equitable and inclusive future.”
Wittler said that she has been “incredibly fortunate throughout my career to have had the support and resources to take on leadership roles in associations, participate in learning and speaking opportunities, explore local civic engagement and to build real relationships with community and industry leaders.”
At this point in her career now, “as a working mom, I truly understand that being able to dive into professional development opportunities is a privilege that not everyone is afforded. It takes time, money and all too often an invitation. I am grateful that between access to education and the support of my family early on I was able to invest the time and energy required to be involved, gain experience and create connections that were critical to leading me here. Still, even for those who are managing many competing priorities, finding one or two ways to plug in to an industry group like APPA or regional and state associations like our NWPPA and WPUDA, or to join local civic organizations, can provide really meaningful mentorship and networking opportunities.”
She is “not a proponent of saying yes to everything, because like so many women, I can’t. But say yes to the opportunities that give you energy, that inspire you to grow and give back, and that bring you together with people you respect and admire. And then appreciate that opportunity, contribute and learn, and empower others to do the same.”
In a recent episode of APPA’s Public Power Now podcast, Wittler discussed steps that Clark Public Utilities has taken to achieve a strong customer satisfaction track record and maintain consistently high levels of reliability, among other things.
Debra Smith, Seattle City Light
When asked what advice she would give to women who want to pursue leadership positions in public power, Debra Smith, General Manager and CEO at Seattle City Light, said the advice she would offer applies to both men and women and fields beyond public power.
“Take any and all lateral assignments,” Smith advised.
“We can expand our knowledge. We can expand our value by going back to school, by getting advanced degrees. Those are great things to do. We can also do it internally from where we stand, by investing in ourselves and taking the time to learn new things and putting ourselves out there,” Smith said.
“That can be super scary at times, especially for folks who are earlier in their careers,” she noted.
Smith also recommended finding one or more mentors. “I have had some truly exceptional mentors along the way,” she said. One of those mentors for Smith has been Anita Decker, who served for several years as executive director of the Northwest Public Power Association (NWPPA) and is now retired.
“She and I are friends and I still reach out to her and ask for advice,” Smith noted.
“Find a mentor. Someone who will be, if necessary, painfully honest with you and it doesn’t have to be someone of the same gender. It just has to be someone that you trust and someone you can hear hard things from, if necessary, but who also cares about you and will be encouraging and supportive of you,” she said.
In addition, she said that it is good to “figure out what your personal values are and then figure out what your authentic leadership style is.” If a person can do that “before you’re a supervisor that’s even better because then you can develop the skills to help you be successful and be authentically you.”
She believes that “most people that really struggle in their work or who are really unhappy in their work, it’s either because their personal values are in some way at odds with the values of the organization or it’s because they have not figured out how they can best lead.”
As for what steps public power utilities can take to create pathways for women to pursue leadership positions, “I think there’s a lot that is being done,” Smith said.
“There’s a part of me that says, I’ll know I’ve really arrived when there are no women in power sessions, meetings, conferences because there’s not a lot of men in power conferences,” she said.
“But I think that women and men have come together to really create tremendous opportunity for women,” Smith said.
“I think that most of our large trade associations and even those closer to home have developed programs and content for women that actually help them do some of what I’ve just discussed,” Smith said.
She noted that NWPPA “puts on a great program as do other associations and they allow women to come together to network – both inside and outside their organization. They allow men to come in and provide support, which is an important part of us moving forward.”
Seattle City Light has a Women in Power group “and we actually now have a number of channels, we’re large enough that we can do that. We have a book club. We just started a brand, new group, which is about women in the trades. It’s part of our Women in Power overall engagement, but it’s focused on women who are in non-traditional roles,” Smith said.
“Men have a big part of how women can continue to be successful in public power because often – not always – but often, women lead differently,” she said. “Being open to different leadership styles. Being open to understanding what someone else sees in you is incredibly important.”
Smith said that there is “a lot that men and women can do to make sure that people get the opportunities that they deserve,” regardless of race, gender or age.
Meanwhile, not only has Smith had mentors “to help me develop as a leader,” she has also “really leaned in and asked folks to take me under their wing and help me learn and I haven’t worried about position in that sense.”
Smith said that people should take advantage of the opportunities that are in front of them. “If you don’t know for sure whether it’s an opportunity for you, ask.”
Prior to joining Seattle City Light, she served as CEO and General Manager of Central Lincoln People’s Utility District in Oregon.
When she was applying for the job at Central Lincoln, Smith approached the engineering manager and asked to be taken to a new substation “and walk me through everything so that I can be grounded. He worked for someone who worked for me, but I didn’t let that bother me because he knew his stuff and I wanted to learn from him.”
She previously spent more than 17 years in various roles, including Assistant General Manager and Chief Financial Officer at the Eugene Water and Electric Board, another public power utility in Oregon.
Smith joined Seattle City Light in October 2018.
Michelle Reimers, Turlock Irrigation District
Michelle Reimers, General Manager at California public power utility Turlock Irrigation District (TID), said she would “encourage all women seeking leadership positions to make sure they step up and speak up. Your voice matters and your opinion matters.”
She also said that asking questions is very important. “There is no such thing as a stupid question,” Reimers said.
She also recommended finding a mentor. “I didn’t really do that when I was younger. However, I did it later in my career and it was tremendously helpful.”
Reimers said that one of the key things that she has helped her in the past five years has been to surround herself with positive women leaders.
When asked what steps public power utilities can take to create pathways for women to pursue leadership positions, Reimers said “I think it starts with encouraging women to join the industry to begin with.”
She noted that TID has been partnering with schools to show that TID has “women in very successful positions at the District and what opportunities that are available, so I think starting early is important, just giving them this vision that, hey, I’m female and there’s other females doing this sort of work.”
In addition, “identifying management potential early is helpful and I would say that’s across the board, not just for women, but for young rising stars. Identify them and help them early, mentor them, develop them, encourage them to mentor the next generation,” she said.
Moreover, Reimers advised breaking down “any known pathway barriers in your organization.”
In addition, she recommended highlighting women in current positions of leadership and describing their professional journeys.
Meanwhile, Reimers noted that she has participated in many leadership development opportunities throughout her career ranging very local to regional-based activities.
In addition, the power of a network “is hugely important as you’re developing as a leader,” she said.
Reimers was selected by the TID Board of Directors to succeed Casey Hashimoto as General Manager on January 2, 2020.
Prior to her current position, Reimers served as the District’s Assistant General Manager of External Affairs and Director of External Affairs.
APPA, APGA ask CFTC to investigate high natural gas prices
March 29, 2021
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 29, 2021
The American Public Power Association (APPA) and the American Public Gas Association (APGA) have asked the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to launch an investigation to determine whether any potential wrongdoing led to historic natural gas price spikes during Winter Storm Uri last month.
In a March 26 letter to CFTC Acting Chairman Rostin Behnam, APPA and APGA noted that Uri brought snow, ice, and record low temperatures to many states, including those not accustomed to harsh winters and the disruptions that can accompany them.
“Throughout this severe weather, many communities across the U.S. relied on their public gas utilities to maintain delivery of safe, traditionally affordable, and reliable natural gas for use in space and water heating and cooking. Public power utilities likewise worked around the clock to maintain reliable and affordable electric service to their customers,” the letter pointed out.
“Unfortunately, many of these not-for-profit municipal gas and public power utilities, and consequently their customers, were subject to exorbitant price increases throughout the crisis,” the trade groups said in asking the CFTC initiate an investigation to determine whether any potential wrongdoing led to these historic price spikes.
APPA and APGA noted that during Presidents’ Day weekend, natural gas prices, which have hovered around $3/MMBtu in recent years, skyrocketed to upwards of $300/MMBtu and even higher in some cases.
“With demand for natural gas rising in response to the cold temperatures, our members had no choice but to purchase gas at the inflated prices or pay even steeper penalties to ensure their customers could continue to heat their homes or to allow natural gas-fueled electric generation to continue operating,” the trade groups said.
In one case, a municipal utility spent its monthly gas budget each day over that weekend. In another, a joint action agency expended three times its annual gas purchasing budget just to buy gas for its customers for four days. In southern Kansas, the city of Winfield, a public gas and power system serving a city of 12,300, which normally pays $1.6 million a year for natural gas, “is looking at a February bill of an almost unbelievable sum of nearly $10 million.”
APPA and APGA said that similar stories “abound throughout the Midwest, south-central, and other regions that were most severely impacted by the storm, and have brought into question how many of these communities will be able to purchase needed gas throughout the remainder of the winter, let alone the rest of the year.”
Publicly-owned utilities across the country “are now struggling to pay the bills they incurred, while trying to minimize the impacts to their customers. Some are receiving demands for collateral and margin calls from sellers who are threatening to cut off further gas supplies. Without relief, however, these high prices will be passed directly to their consumers,” the groups said.
APGA and APPA asked that the CFTC evaluate the clearing price of natural gas before, during, and after the cold weather event to determine if prices charged during the period would be considered price gouging or an unfair act and, if so, identify the recipients of unfairly gotten gains in addition to seeking remedies for those negatively impacted.
APGA and APPA noted that their members are locally owned and governed. “They are accountable to their customers, not corporate boards or investors — community support, affordability, and quality service are mandates for these utilities, and they plan accordingly.“
The prices experienced by APPA and APGA members during this event “were unforeseeable, even with such careful planning. Our members are also uniquely concerned with how the market reacted in this emergency because publicly-owned utilities’ rates are set at the local level. Consequently, we believe an objective investigation is warranted.”
The letter was signed by APPA President and CEO Joy Ditto and APGA President and CEO Dave Schryver.
Federal agencies unveil goal to deploy 30 GW of offshore wind in the U.S. by 2030
March 29, 2021
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 29, 2021
The Departments of Interior, Energy and Commerce on March 29 announced a shared goal to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind in the U.S. by 2030.
At a White House forum, Interior announced the final Wind Energy Areas (WEA) in the New York Bight, an area of shallow waters between Long Island and the New Jersey coast.
The goal of the Department’s area identification process is to identify the offshore locations that appear most suitable for wind energy development, taking into consideration coexistence with ocean users, Interior noted.
The WEAs are adjacent to the greater metropolitan Tri-State area of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has identified nearly 800,000 acres as WEAs in the New York Bight. The BOEM will now initiate an environmental review, with public input, on these areas in federal waters for potential offshore wind leasing.
In addition, Interior said it is initiating an environmental review of the third commercial scale offshore wind project by announcing a notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for Ocean Wind LLC’s proposed project offshore New Jersey.
Ocean Wind has proposed an offshore wind project with a total capacity of 1,100 megawatts.
Interior previously announced environmental reviews for Vineyard Wind (Massachusetts) and South Fork (Rhode Island) and anticipates initiating the environmental reviews for up to ten additional projects later this year.
In related action, the Department of Energy announced $8 million for 15 new offshore wind research and development (R&D) projects through the National Offshore Wind R&D Consortium.
The selections include projects to develop innovative support structures, support U.S.-based supply chains needed for wind turbine production, advance electrical systems innovation, and present solutions for impacts on wildlife and radar, DOE said.
DOE established the National Offshore Wind R&D Consortium in 2018 to address research priorities for offshore wind as defined in the National Offshore Wind Strategy, which was developed jointly by DOE and the BOEM.
In addition, DOE’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) released a fact sheet to facilitate access for up to $3 billion in funding through LPO’s Title 17 Innovative Energy Loan Guarantee Program.
DOE said that LPO is ready to partner with offshore wind and offshore transmission developers, suppliers, and other financing partners to scale the U.S. offshore industry.
Meanwhile, DOE and the Department of Commerce jointly announced a new partnership through the Northeast Sea Grant program that will fund $1.25 million in research into the impacts of ocean-based renewable energy on the fishing industry and Northeastern coastal communities.
California ISO, PUC take steps to bolster summer reliability
March 29, 2021
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 29, 2021
The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) and California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) last week announced steps to bolster reliability in the state this summer.
The ISO’s Board of Governors on March 24 approved market and operational refinements to prepare for possible prolonged heat events like those that led to rotating power outages last summer, CAISO said.
The enhancements, shaped by stakeholder input gathered over the past three months, are on track to be in place by summer 2021.
“These enhancements were developed in close coordination with state agencies and stakeholders throughout California and the West,” said Elliot Mainzer, ISO president and CEO, in a statement.
“The enhancements are designed to better equip our energy markets and power grid for extreme weather, while complementing the efforts of California’s regulatory authorities and utilities to develop new clean energy resources. We are committed to strong collaboration with our many state and regional partners to achieve reliable system operations this summer and beyond.”
Mainzer discussed CAISO’s preparation for this summer in a recent episode of American Public Power Association’s Public Power Now podcast.
CAISO said policy changes approved by the ISO Board of Governors at its meeting are designed to:
- Strengthen compensation incentives for hourly imports to deliver during tight supply conditions;
- Provide more accurate price signals reflective of tight supply conditions and dispatch of emergency demand response;
- Establish an interim minimum state of charge requirement to ensure resource adequacy storage resources have sufficient energy available on the tightest supply days;
- Ensure sufficient capacity is procured in advance of planned outages; and
- Streamline the grid interconnection process to expedite new supply.
The Board action advanced two ISO stakeholder initiatives: Market Enhancements for Summer 2021 Readiness and phase one of resource adequacy enhancements.
A final set of improvements for managing export and wheel-through scheduling priorities –part of the Market Enhancements for Summer 2021 Readiness initiative –will be considered by the EIM governing body for its advisory consent and the Board of Governors for its approval during special meetings planned for April 2021.
“These enhancements are intended to improve reliability while respecting transmission open access principles,” CAISO said.
Earlier this month, the ISO’s Western Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) Governing Body approved enhancements that fall within its scope of authority.
“These changes will help ensure balancing authority areas participate in the Western EIM with sufficient resources and improve the real-time market’s operational modeling,” the grid operator said.
The enhancements were then approved by the Board of Governors as part of the consent agenda at their meeting last week.
Meanwhile, the ISO said it anticipates close to 1,500 megawatts of new storage available for dispatch by this summer, bringing total capacity to nearly 2,000 MW.
The ISO is upgrading capabilities to manage these new resources and building a suite of tools giving grid operators visibility into the storage fleet, it said.
The ISO said it is also enhancing rules to ensure that storage is sufficiently charged when providing ancillary services.
In another move to shore up summer grid reliability, the ISO board designated the Kingsburg Cogeneration Plant as a reliability must-run resource (RMR) to comply with North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and Western Electricity Coordinating Council’s (WECC) reliability standards.
The ISO’s recent supply analysis shows that without the 34.5-MW plant, the ISO may be unable to maintain system-wide reliability, especially later in the evening when solar resources are no longer available but demand remains high.
The board previously designated the Midway Sunset Cogeneration power plant as a reliability must-run resource, ensuring its availability this summer.
CAISO said the refinements chiefly result from findings and recommendations of a joint final root cause analysis, using the events of summer 2020 to identify areas for improvement.
CAISO, the CPUC and California Energy Commission in January 2021 issued a final root cause analysis of the August 2020 heat wave and rotating outages in the state.
Looking forward, the ISO is about to launch its Energy Storage Enhancements Initiative, with an issue paper scheduled to be posted in April, kicking off a stakeholder initiative process with the goal of upgrading optimization, dispatch, and settlement of energy storage.
CPUC
Meanwhile, the CPUC on March 25 ordered utilities to implement a suite of programs to decrease energy demand and increase energy supply during critical hours of the day to ensure reliability in the case of an extreme heat event in the summers of 2021 and 2022.
The decision requires the state’s major investor-owned utilities to collectively procure at minimum 1,0000 MW of demand- and supply-side resources for this summer.
More than 500 MW in supply-side resources have already been contracted for at the direction of previously approved Decision by the CPUC.
The CPUC’s March 25 decision will activate approximately 500 additional MW in demand-side resources such as demand response and batteries by this summer, the Commission said. By summer 2022, demand-side resources are expected to increase in total to nearly 1,000 MW by way of this decision.
The decision is the most recent action in a proceeding the CPUC opened in November 2020 in response to the mid-August 2020 extreme heat event that required CAISO to initiate rotating power outages to prevent sustained, wide-spread service interruptions.
To ensure grid reliability this summer, the CPUC has ordered several new initiatives and enhancements to existing programs.
To help ensure enough electricity resources are available to serve customers during times of peak and net peak energy use, the CPUC ordered utilities to procure a minimum of an additional 2.5 percent of resources for all customers in their territories, representing an effective increase of the planning reserve margin from the existing 15 percent to 17.5 percent.
This change will result in minimum demand- and supply-side resource targets for this summer of 450 MW for Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), 450 MW for Southern California Edison (SCE), and 100 MW for San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E).
For supply-side resources, utilities must give preference to storage contracts and upgrades in the efficiency of existing generation resources, and for contract terms that are shorter in duration.
To lower energy demand during the peak and net peak usage hours during a grid emergency, the CPUC ordered PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E to pilot an emergency load reduction program that would give demand response providers and other companies providing new services to manage electricity demand, the ability to demonstrate how their programs can support the grid.
The pilot program will compensate customers for voluntarily reducing demand on the power system when called upon to do so by the CAISO in the event of a grid emergency. “This program will serve as a layer of insurance on top of existing resource adequacy plans and will give grid operators a new tool among the existing demand management programs to address unexpected power system conditions,” the CPUC said.
The CPUC also ordered utilities to modify their critical peak pricing programs, which charge a higher price for electricity consumption during peak hours on selected days.
The CPUC ordered several modifications to the programs to ensure the program is more effective and responsive to the critical hours of a grid emergency, including shifting the critical peak pricing event window for residential and non-residential customers to the hours of 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., increasing the maximum number of critical peak pricing events allowed per year, and providing customer education with a focus on increasing participation.
In addition, the CPUC ordered modifications to existing demand response programs to expand participation, including temporarily allowing year-round enrollment in utility “interruptible programs” that allow for industrial and large commercial customers to pay a lower rate in exchange for allowing the utility to curtail their energy usage when energy demand is high and the reliability of the electric grid is threatened.
The CPUC also increased demand response program enrollment incentives to attract new customers, as well as allow SDG&E to expand and enhance its AC Saver program by allowing residential net energy metering customers to enroll, as well as incentivizing smart thermostat manufacturers to increase the number of participating thermostats.
The CPUC also reinstated the Flex Alert paid media program “to educate consumers about the positive impacts of conservation, help customers understand grid conditions, and inform customers of the need to conserve when energy demand is high,” it said.