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Texting saves time for utility and its customers

October 21, 2020

by Peter Maloney
APPA News
October 21, 2020

Rock Hill Utilities, a South Carolina public power utility that began using text messages as an outage notification tool in May, is now looking at expanding its use for other functions to save time and money.

Rock Hill Utilities uses texting to automatically send outage notifications to affected customers, saving time for both the customer and the utility. Customers can also send texts to the utility to report outages. And, with the text messaging system directly connected to the utility’s outage management system, it can pinpoint the location and extent of an outage and possibly help isolate the cause and even provide data for predictive analysis.

Texting has greatly cut down on the calls that utility staff have to handle while providing quicker, more accurate communications with customers, Mike Jolly, director of utilities for Rock Hill Utilities, said. Now, when the utility declares an outage, a message is sent automatically to customers.

“We had a large outage a couple of weeks ago. In the past, we probably would have had hundreds of calls. We had two,” he said.

Customers appear to be enthusiastic as well. About 95% of customers have chosen to participate in the text service, which is provided by TextPower, a company based in San Juan Capistrano, California, that provides text messaging solutions for mission-critical applications at over 140 utilities across the country.

Almost immediately after it began using TextPower for outage notifications, Rock Hill Utilities formed a team to begin exploring what other uses the utility might perform using texting services. “I started thinking, ‘How much time and money could we save?’” Steven Varnadore, the utility’s power and communications manager, said. “It makes us more efficient and saves overtime and truck rolls.”

In June, the utility began using the texting service to send a daily inspirational message to its employees. The exploratory team is now looking at several other uses. “There has been a lot of discussion about customer service and billing,” Jolly said.

Rock Hill Utilities runs a combined utility system that provides electric, water and sewer services to about 95,000 people in the city and the surrounding area. The region has a lot of apartment buildings and a lot of people moving from one apartment to another. For the utility, that means move-ins and move-outs are frequent, Lori Thomas, operating revenue administrator for Rock Hill, said.

Texting allows the utility to push out a text message to confirm dates and locations with a greater accuracy and higher response rates. Typically, that was a function the utility did with email. “Almost everyone has a smart device in their hand, but not a laptop to check their email,” Thomas said.

Another function Rock Hill Utilities is looking at is using texting for is disconnect notices for non-payment. The utility currently uses a phone tree for those notices but reaching the customer can be difficult since land line numbers can change.

For quick and reliable communication, texting has many advantages, Mark Nielsen, TextPower’s executive chairman, said. About 59% of U.S. households no longer have a land line, instead using their cellular phone as their primary number, Nielsen says. And, compared with other forms of communication, text message response rates are high. Almost all text messages are read, and 95% are read within three minutes of being received.

Other platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, are useful, says Nielsen, but only about 30% of followers see a given tweet and only 16% of Facebook followers see a given post. Most importantly, he says, the percentage of customers who follow their utility ranges from less than 1% to maybe 25%.

In addition, Nielsen points out that less than 2% of text messages are spam, so customers are less likely to ignore them than they would a phone call or email.

In part, that is because of protections built into the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which restricts the way businesses can use text messages, though there is a specific ruling by the FCC relating to utilities. Texts should relate to a utility’s service and not be used to sell a service or product (informational or emergency communications). And the utility should provide an easy way for a customer to opt out of the service, such as replying “Quit” or “Stop”.

The best way to bring customers into the service is to enroll them with an opt-out option, rather than an offer that allows them to opt in, says Varnadore, who noted Rock Hill’s high retention rate for text-enabled customers.

Varnadore has also found that texting has brought some changes to the way the utility operates.

In the past, customers would call in outages, and a dispatcher would collect the information and declare an outage. The lag time involved in using phones built in room for discrepancies to be cleared up as the process went along.

With texting, however, “we have to follow outages more closely and update restoration times more accurately,” Varnadore said. Any accidental declaration of an outage is likely to be corrected by customer feedback, he said. “It causes more precision on our end and staying up on the outage.” Nonetheless, he said, the benefits outweigh some of the changes the utility had to make.

Rock Hill Utilities is also using TextPower to send customer notices for scheduled repair and maintenance work. And the utility is exploring expanding the use of texting to enable customers to send in notices about other safety concerns, such as water or sewer leaks, and wants customers to be able to text photos as a way of better equipping repair crews to respond to problems more appropriately and accurately.

Expanding texting capabilities had been on the utility’s “road map” for quite a while but was put on hold while the utility replaced about 70,000 meters with advanced metering infrastructure (AMI).

That project wrapped up about 18 months ago, and Rock Hill Utilities revisited its texting options.

Looking back, the lesson learned is “not to wait so long,” Jolly said. “I’m glad we did it. I wish we had done it earlier.”

For more information about TextPower, visit the company’s website.

FERC approves CAISO’s EV, storage-related demand response proposals

October 21, 2020

by Peter Maloney
APPA News
October 21, 2020

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved tariff revision proposals by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) designed to enhance demand response using electric vehicle charging stations and energy storage.

The first proposal allows electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) to participate in CAISO’s demand response program independently from a host facility.

CAISO said it is seeing a growing number of EV charging stations at large load centers like grocery stores, movie theaters, and offices that frequently operate under the same retail meter and account as their host. Thus, the entire facility must participate as a single metered resource even though the load profiles of the charging station and the host may be very different.

CAISO told FERC that failing to capture the unique load profile of the charging station may send the wrong price signals to the owners of electric vehicles.

To enhance demand response participation in its markets, CAISO proposed allowing EVSE to be treated as a separate load curtailment measure when providing demand response at facilities with onsite load.

CAISO’s proposal does not require those resources to separate EVSE from the rest of their load but, where demand response resources elect to measure EVSE performance separately, CAISO will require the resource to sub-meter the EVSE to avoid co-mingling the EVSE load and the onsite host load’s performance.

The EVSE and onsite host load will continue to operate under a single resource identity and to bid and meet CAISO schedules together as a single resource but will be settled separately based on their individual baselines.

In addition, a proxy demand resource can consist entirely of one or more EVSE resources, with no onsite load, and nothing requires the demand response provider to include onsite load in a proxy demand resource consisting entirely of EVSE. CAISO said the revisions would provide transparency and more accurate price signals for EVSE and onsite load that participate in demand response programs.

In the order, (ER20-2443-000), FERC agreed with CAISO that the revisions would “better capture EVSE’s distinct characteristics, provide more accurate price signals to EVSE owners, and create incentives for them to participate in demand response programs.”

In the second proposal, CAISO requested that behind-the-meter energy storage be required to submit separate bids, for a consumption resource when charging and for a curtailment resource when discharging.

Each bid would have a separate resource identification and its own baseline and demand response energy measurement to establish typical use, using methodologies nearly identical to CAISO’s existing metering generator output methodology.

FERC said that accounting for both energy storage functions “should provide incentives for behind-the-meter energy storage resources to consume energy during oversupply conditions and supply energy during periods of high demand,” enhancing reliability and market efficiency and potentially increasing participation in demand response programs.

FERC, in the Sept. 30 order, also granted CAISO’s request to set the effective date for both proposals to Oct. 1.

CAISO board OKs storage and DER enhancements

In a separate action, CAISO’s board of directors on Oct. 2 approved energy storage and distributed energy resource enhancements designed to make it easier to integrate and operate those resources while maintaining grid reliability, and authorized CAISO management request FERC approval of the proposal.

The approval of Phase 4 of the Energy Storage and Distributed Energy Resources (ESDER 4) enhancements included:

CAISO noted that batteries, both stand alone and hybrid, are fast growing components of the resource mix, with more than 1,500 MW scheduled to connect to the grid by the end of 2021.

California community choice aggregators issue RFO for long-duration storage

October 20, 2020

by Peter Maloney
APPA News
October 20, 2020

Eight Community Choice Aggregators (CCAs) in California late last week launched a joint request for offers (RFO) to procure up to 500 megawatts (MW) of long-duration energy storage.

The RFO was issued on Oct. 16 by Central Coast Community Energy, CleanPowerSF, Marin Clean Energy, Peninsula Clean Energy, Redwood Coast Energy Authority, San Jose Clean Energy, Silicon Valley Clean Energy, and Sonoma Clean Power.

The CCAs are looking to sign a minimum 10-year contract for grid-charged technologies in the form of one or more projects that would come online by or before 2026 with a minimum discharge period of eight hours. Responses to the RFO are due by Dec. 1.

“By working together, the eight CCAs are able to procure large-scale projects that would be challenging for one CCA to procure on its own,” Girish Balachandran, CEO of Silicon Valley Clean Energy, said in a statement. “Collaborating on this long-duration storage solution allows the CCAs to manage financial and technology risks while still diversifying portfolios with cost-effective and innovative resources.”

The CCAs say long-duration energy storage will do more to help support higher concentrations of renewable energy on the grid. Most of the energy storage devices deployed to date have durations of about four hours, which can provide energy for a few hours in the evening after solar power resources fade.

The CCAs are looking for long-duration storage that would be able to charge from the grid when renewable resources are at their peak and discharge for eight to 16 hours when renewable production is lower.

A recently released preliminary analysis by the California Independent System Operator, the California Public Utilities Commission, and California Energy Commission into the root causes of the state’s Aug. 14 and 15 rotating outages found that the simultaneous decline of solar power and rise of demand in the evening has resulted “multiple critical periods during the day” rather than a single peak. The report recommended the procurement of more resources, including energy storage, and changes to the state policies to address the new challenge of “net peak demand.”

The CCAs say the addition of long-duration storage to their portfolios will aid renewable integration on the grid while advancing California’s aggressive greenhouse gas reduction targets for 2030.

Earlier in 2020, the joint CCAs issued a Request for Information for long-duration storage and received more than 58 project entries with 14 different technologies, which they said signaled “significant supplier interest.”

The RFO is available here.

The American Public Power Association has initiated a new category of membership for community choice aggregation programs.

N.Y. PSC identifies NYPA transmission project as high priority

October 19, 2020

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
October 19, 2020

The New York State Public Service Commission on Oct. 15 adopted criteria for identifying transmission projects that are needed to meet the renewable energy goals of New York State’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.

As part of last week’s action, the PSC also identified the New York Power Authority’s proposed Northern New York project as a high-priority project and referred it to NYPA for development and construction in accordance with New York’s Accelerated Renewable Energy Growth and Community Protection Act of 2020.

The Accelerated Renewable Energy Growth and Community Protection Act calls on the PSC and NYPA to work together when the Commission determines that there is a need for expeditious action to solve a transmission need.

Once such an urgent need is established, the Act “authorizes NYPA to bring to bear its significant development capabilities and statewide transmission experience to ensure timely construction of the transmission solution,” the PSC noted in an Oct. 15 news release.

NYPA has already identified a multi-faceted project that meets the criteria. The project now moving forward, known as the Northern New York Project, includes completion of the second phase of NYPA’s 86-mile Smart Path Moses-Adirondack rebuild, rebuilding approximately 45 miles of transmission eastward from Massena to the Town of Clinton, rebuilding approximately 55 miles of transmission southward from Croghan to Marcy, as well as rebuilding and expanding several substations along the impacted transmission corridor.

Along with unbottling existing renewable energy in the region, NYPA estimates the Northern New York project will result in significant production cost savings, emissions reductions, and decreases in congestion, the PSC noted.

NYPA calculates that the project will result in production cost savings of approximately $99 million per year, resulting in a project value of approximately $1.05 billion over a 20-year period. The project is estimated to result in more than 1.16 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions avoided annually on a statewide basis, and an annual reduction of approximately 160 tons of nitrogen oxide emissions from downstate emissions sources.

NYPA also estimates the project will result in more than $447 million in annual congestion savings in Northern New York.

NYPA owns and operates approximately one third of New York’s high voltage power lines. The 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 MW of hydroelectric power and about 700 MW, or more than a third, of New York State generated wind energy to the grid.

On July 18, 2019, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into law the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. The Act requires New York to reduce economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent by 2030 and no less than 85 percent by 2050 from 1990 levels.

Cuomo announces PSC approval of expanded clean energy standard

Meanwhile, Cuomo on Oct. 15 announced that the PSC approved an expansion of the state’s Clean Energy Standard to refocus New York’s existing regulatory and procurement structure on achieving the goals laid out in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. The Act established a 70 percent renewable electricity by 2030 mandate.

The expanded Clean Energy Standard gives the state the authority to issue a request for proposals for the renewable power generation sources needed to implement this plan.

Thompson details goals as AMP President and CEO, priorities as APPA board chair

October 16, 2020

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
October 16, 2020

Jolene Thompson recently detailed her goals as President and CEO of American Municipal Power (AMP), how AMP and its members have successfully responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and what she is focused on in terms of her responsibilities as chair of the American Public Power Association’s Board of Directors.

[Thompson in April assumed the role of President and CEO of AMP and in June was installed as chair of APPA’s Board of Directors]

Question: Can you detail your short- and long-term goals as AMP’s president and CEO?

My first few weeks were during the early days of COVID-19, so my initial focus was working with our executive team on procedures to ensure the safety and well-being of our employees and their families. We also established information-sharing forums for our members.

AMP is a strong organization and my goal is to work with the AMP Board and employees to build off that foundation. There are always opportunities to strengthen employee culture, refine business processes and tighten budgets—and we’re working on initiatives in those areas. I’m also focused on outreach to AMP members, policy relevance, economic development and making sure we’re on top of the changes taking place in our industry. Innovation was a priority for Marc Gerken and that will continue.

Under his leadership, AMP initiated a member-led Focus Forward Advisory Council, employee Innovation Team and most recently six employee-led Moonshot Initiative Teams. The teams are developing solutions to challenge statements and I’m excited to see what they come up with. My long-term goals are to meet or exceed our members’ expectations, manage their resources wisely, advance their interests in the policy arena, and provide solutions that they can leverage to stay on top of technology and customer trends. To be successful on those fronts, it’s imperative that AMP’s culture supports collaboration, creativity and diversity. 

Question: Can you describe how AMP and its members have successfully responded to the COVID-19 pandemic?

The full duration of the pandemic remains to be seen and governmental guidelines have been a bit of a moving target, but I think most of us have settled into a routine rooted in strong procedures and virtual platforms to keep business moving. In the Spring, we recognized that AMP could support our members by providing a forum for them to exchange information. As a result, we populated a resource site on our member extranet and began hosting regular member calls. Those calls have now transitioned from weekly to periodic. The AMP Board also established a COVID-19 Task Force to discuss the impacts on member systems. We worked with The Energy Authority and reached out to individual AMP members for information about their local experiences. As you would expect, AMP members have been impacted to varying degrees depending on their customer base.

AMP leadership also found the member calls organized by APPA and engagement via the Electric Sector Coordinating Council very helpful.

Question: What do you see as the key challenges and opportunities for the power sector over the next five to 10 years?

It’s common to hear the current changes impacting the power sector described as “disruptors.” Both because the pace of change is faster than it used to be and there are different players than in the past. Key disruptors – including technology developments, a shifting generation resource mix, heightened customer engagement, climate policy, “organized” markets, and workforce dynamics, all present both challenges and opportunities. It’s especially important for public power to have a seat at the table and minimize the disruptions, which is where APPA, joint action agencies, and state and regional associations must play a role to support their members.

Question: How are public power utilities and joint action agencies such as AMP uniquely positioned to thrive as the power sector undergoes changes in that timeframe?

The foundation of public power – customer-ownership, local control, stewardship, reliability and affordability – are all attributes that can be leveraged to help navigate industry disruptors. There seems to be a growing spirit of altruism that matches well with the public power business model.

Question: AMP earlier this summer received the Energy Innovator Award from APPA in recognition of AMP’s public power electric vehicle planning toolkit and guidebook. Can you detail how the planning toolkit and guidebook benefits AMP member communities? Has AMP heard from member communities as to how they are successfully utilizing the EV planning toolkit and guidebook?

AMP’s members are using the DEED Public Power EV Planning Toolkit & Guidebook as a resource to model EV adoption scenarios across their distribution system. This modeling allows public power systems to evaluate EV adoption costs associated with transformer upgrades and impacts to peak demand, as well as benefits from additional electricity sales.

Question: What are you focused on in terms of your responsibilities as the chair of the APPA Board of Directors? Also, how is APPA positioned to succeed under the leadership of Joy Ditto as the power sector and associations face a variety of challenges these days?

Because my time as Chair coincides with our new CEO’s first year, it’s incumbent on me to ensure there are strong and open lines of communication between Joy and her team and the APPA Board. Joy outlined a vision for the organization that resonated with the Board when she interviewed, and she has been working from day one with the very talented APPA staff to implement that vision. Joy’s time with the Utility Telecommunications Council provided her with a strong understanding of the technological developments impacting our industry. She also had the opportunity to lead a team that was able to move that organization forward. She brings those talents and a passion for public power back home to APPA.

NYPA to explore replacing peakers with clean energy technologies

October 15, 2020

by Ethan Howland
APPA News
October 15, 2020

The New York Power Authority will explore transitioning its natural gas-fired peaking power plants in New York City and Long Island to clean energy technologies, such as battery storage and low to zero carbon emission resources and technologies, under an agreement with a coalition of environmental justice groups.

In an agreement with the PEAK Coalition, a coalition of advocacy groups, NYPA agreed to hire a consultant to explore cleaner options for its fleet of city-wide, peaking power plants, which total 461 megawatts.

“New technologies provide opportunities to include renewable generation and battery technologies in New York City’s electric system to replace, augment and otherwise reduce or eliminate New York City’s reliance on fossil peaker plants over time,” NYPA and the PEAK Coalition said in an agreement outlining the scope of the project.

Replacing the gas-fired units will help New York meet its goal of eliminating carbon emissions from the state’s power fleet by 2040, according to NYPA.

Also, NYPA agreed to pay for consultants to work independently with the PEAK Coalition partners to develop alternative clean energy replacement options, according to the public power utility.

The consultants will study the feasibility of replacing the peaking plants with clean energy options while maintaining grid reliability, according to the agreement.

The agreement calls for the consultants to deliver a report by June 1, if possible. The consultants are slated to be hired via a request for proposals.

Installed in 2001, the power plants operate infrequently — roughly 10 percent of the time or less when directed to do so by the New York Independent System Operator and investor-owned Con Edison Company of New York to meet energy demands, providing local reliability and resiliency, NYPA said.

Replacing the power plants with new technology will lessen or eliminate greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants, NYPA said.

New York City’s peaking power plants, which total about 5,900 MW, produced 1.8 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2018, 1,685 tons of nitrogen oxide emissions and 194 tons of sulfur dioxide emissions, according to a May report by the PEAK Coalition.

The PEAK Coalition says it is spearheading the first effort in the United States to reduce the racially disproportionate health effects of a city’s peaker plants by replacing them with renewable energy and storage.

FERC proposes policy statement on state-determined carbon pricing in wholesale markets

October 15, 2020

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
October 15, 2020

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Oct. 15 proposed a policy statement to clarify that it has jurisdiction over organized wholesale electric market rules that incorporate a state-determined carbon price in those markets.

The proposed policy statement also seeks to encourage regional electric market operators to explore and consider the benefits of establishing such rules, FERC noted in a news release. The action took place at the Commission’s monthly open meeting.

In late September, FERC convened a technical conference at which panelists expressed support for the idea of a carbon dioxide pricing regime for organized wholesale power markets.

FERC noted that 11 states currently impose some version of carbon pricing, and other entities, including the regional markets, are examining this approach.

The proposal unveiled by FERC on Oct. 15 finds that regional market rules incorporating a state-determined carbon price can fall within the Commission’s jurisdiction over wholesale rates.

However, determining whether the rules proposed in any particular Federal Power Act (FPA) section 205 filing do fall under FERC jurisdiction will be based on the specific facts and circumstances.

The Commission is seeking comment on the appropriate information to consider when reviewing such a filing, including: 

Comments on the proposed policy statement will be due in 30 days, with reply comments due 15 days after that. 

Both FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee and Commissioner Rich Glick expressed support for the policy statement.

In a written statement, Chatterjee clarified that the policy statement is not an effort by FERC to take proactive action to set a carbon price, noting that the Federal Power Act does not give the Commission authority to act as an environmental regulator. He also explained that the statement addresses only consideration of proposals filed under FPA section 205, and not section 206.

FERC Commissioner James Danly concurred in part and dissented in part from the policy statement.

“I dissent in part because I believe that the issuance of a policy statement on this subject—a wholly discretionary act—is unnecessary and unwise,” wrote Danly.

He said he was concurring “with that part of the policy statement noting that we have jurisdiction to entertain section 205 filings that seek to accommodate state carbon-pricing policies, which is a fundamental principle that cannot be doubted.”

With respect to his concern that the Commission should not exercise its discretion to issue a policy statement, Danly noted that he expressed similar concerns in his recent dissent to FERC Order No. 2222 requiring RTOs/ISOs to promulgate rules to accommodate distributed energy resource aggregators.

In that dissent, he questioned the Commission’s seizure of authority at the expense of the states and advocated that FERC should allow RTOs and ISOs to develop their own DER programs in the first instance. “[T]hen the question of the Commission’s jurisdiction will be ripe,” he wrote in the Order No. 2222 dissent.

Danly noted that FERC’s proposed policy statement does not mandate that RTOs/ISOs adopt carbon-pricing accommodation regimes, saying he agrees that the Commission should not issue such a mandate.

“Instead, the policy statement ‘encourages’ RTO/ISO rule changes. Without seeing a proposal, the Commission predetermines that any such proposal will be within the Commission’s jurisdiction and ‘would not in any way diminish state authority,’” the Commissioner wrote.

“That may well turn out to be true, but I would have waited until we had an actual 205 filing before us rather than pre-judging the issue based on unstated assumptions about how such programs might work,” Danly said.

“It is easy to imagine any number of RTO/ISO carbon-pricing proposals that would violate the Federal Power Act by impermissibly invading the authorities reserved to the states.”

Danly also took issue with the policy statement’s assertion that incorporating a state-determined carbon price into RTO/ISO markets could represent another example of the type of program of cooperative federalism that the Supreme Court noted with approval in FERC v. the Electric Power Supply Association.

“There is no program. This is instead a non-binding, blanket dismissal of potential jurisdictional concerns,” Danly said.

As to the substance of the policy statement, Danly concurred. “I cannot do otherwise. The policy statement amounts to little more than a statement of fact: section 205 of the Federal Power Act has not been repealed and the Commission therefore has jurisdiction to entertain section 205 filings that seek to accommodate state carbon-pricing policies. Surely, that need not be stated.”

And to the extent the Commission “feels the need to ‘clarify’ the fact that we have the power to accept just and reasonable tariff revisions that are designed to include mandatory state charges in energy and capacity market offers, I am hard-pressed to identify a more settled area of Commission law.”

OUC-led partnership receives grant to build EV charging station in downtown Orlando

October 14, 2020

by Taelor Bentley
APPA News
October 14, 2020

A partnership led by Florida public power utility Orlando Utilities Commission has been awarded a $500,000 grant to build an electric vehicle charging mobility hub in downtown Orlando as a part of a statewide EV infrastructure project.

The site will be built on OUC-owned land and will feature up to 22 “Level 3” charging stations, including 16 supercharges for Teslas and up to six 350 kW universal chargers.

The partnership is between OUC, the City of Orlando, Orange County and Power Electronics, which makes EV charging equipment.

The new EV charging station is a part of OUC’s efforts to increase Central Florida’s EV use to 40,000 vehicles by 2025.

The EV infrastructure grant was awarded by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The grant and 26 smaller charging locations are funded by the $13.5 million release of the state’s $166 million settlement with German carmaker Volkswagen over emissions violations.

Construction for the project has already begun and will be completed in 2021. The station will be the largest high-speed charging hub serving all types of EVs in Florida and is expected to cost $1 million before the grant is applied, with OUC and Power Electronics making up the difference.

Downtown Orlando business are expected to benefit from proximity to the site. Most EV drivers will require a 20-60 minute charge. This will allow drivers to spend that time in nearby shops and restaurants. OUC and its partners are also reviewing micro-mobility options, including shared bicycles and scooters. This will broaden the range of economic benefit.

The Volkswagen settlement and resulting EV infrastructure project are the latest in a series of electrification initiatives that are reducing emissions in Central Florida.

Orange County was recently recognized as one of five “top tier” counties for EV readiness in a report presented by the League of Women Voters in Florida.

APPA offers EV Activities Tracker

The American Public Power Association offers a Public Power EV Activities Tracker, which summarizes key efforts undertaken by members — including incentives, electric vehicle deployment, charging infrastructure investments, rate design, pilot programs, and more.

Peninsula Clean Energy launches $28 mil EV infrastructure program

October 13, 2020

by Taelor Bentley
APPA News
October 13, 2020

California community choice aggregator Peninsula Clean Energy recently launched a $28 million effort to install electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure at commercial workplaces, multi-family dwellings and other public locations.

The program, EV Ready, is the largest EV charging infrastructure program tied to a single CCA, Peninsula Clean Energy said.

EV Ready plans to install 3,500 charging ports in San Mateo County over the next four years. The effort includes $24 million in project incentives and $4 million towards free technical assistance for eligible properties, support of workforce development in the county and other assorted costs, the CCA noted in a news release.

The $24 million in project incentives includes $12 million from Peninsula Clean Energy and $12 million from the California Energy Commission (CEC) under the California Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Project (CALeVIP).

CALeVIP is a state-funded EV charging infrastructure program that works with local community partners to develop and implement regional incentive projects for charging infrastructure that supports EV adoption statewide.

 That broader CALeVIP Peninsula-Silicon Valley effort will also include $36 million in incentives that will be disbursed in partnership with four Santa Clara County agencies – Silicon Valley Clean Energy, San Jose Clean Energy, Silicon Valley Power and the City of Palo Alto Utilities.

The EV Ready Program includes free technical assistance for eligible properties to support project design, equipment discounts, bidding and contractor selection. The program will offer advanced design strategies which support more EVs at lower cost, including Level 1 and power-manager Level 2 charging ports. Properties receiving technical assistance will also have access to preferential pricing for EV charging stations.

The initial phase of incentives supports multi-family properties and low-power workplace solutions. The second phase of incentives supporting DC Fast Charging and Level 2 charging at a broader range of properties will come with the opening of the CALeVIP Peninsula-Silicon Valley Incentive Project on December 16, 2020.

San Mateo County is expected to have more than 45,000 EVs by 2025. Peninsula Clean Energy said it is committed to utilizing a skilled workforce in an effort that is anticipated to result in more than 400 projects.

In addition, Peninsula Clean Energy’s technical assistance will assist San Mateo County facilities in securing additional incentives from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s Charge! Program when applications open later in the fall.  Peninsula Clean Energy already has offered incentives for the purchase and lease of new EVs and instituted a program to help low-income residents purchase a used EV.

The American Public Power Association has initiated a new category of membership for community choice aggregation programs

Public power utilities help La. cooperative with power restoration efforts

October 13, 2020

by APPA News
October 13, 2020

Public power crews are hard at work helping Louisiana cooperative SLEMCO restore power in the wake of Hurricane Delta.

SLEMCO on Tuesday, Oct. 13, reported that as of noon, it had 18,600 customers without power. “SLEMCO crews and several hundred contract crews are working on repairs to feeders still out and also working on outages at individual locations,” the cooperative said on its Facebook page.

Later in the day, SLEMCO reported that as of 3 p.m., SLEMCO had 16,481 customers without power.

On Oct. 10, SLEMCO reported that its system had sustained catastrophic damage from Hurricane Delta, with more than 98 percent of its system without power.

SLEMCO, which is headquartered in Lafayette, La., provides power to 109,000 members in Southwest Louisiana.

Public power utilities send crews to help with restoration efforts

Crews from the following public power utilities have deployed to assist SLEMCO with the cooperative’s power restoration efforts:

Public power crews pre-positioned prior to Hurricane Delta

Public power crews had already deployed and the mutual aid network had been active before the tropical-storm-force winds from Hurricane Delta began affecting southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas at the end of last week.