EPA To End COVID-19 Temporary Enforcement Policy on August 31
July 7, 2020
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
Posted July 7, 2020
The Environmental Protection Agency will end a COVID-19 temporary enforcement policy on August 31, 2020.
EPA selected the termination date for the “temporary policy because it reflects the appropriate balancing of the relevant factors; it recognizes that the circumstances surrounding the temporary policy are changing, but also ensures that there is adequate time to adjust to the changing circumstances,” a June 29, 2020 memo from Susan Bodine, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance at EPA, said.
The memo also states EPA may terminate the policy earlier than August 31, 2020, taking into consideration changing state or regional conditions, the status of federal and/or state COVID19 public health emergency guidelines, and/or other relevant factors or considerations. If the agency terminates the policy earlier, at least seven days’ notice would be provided.
EPA still maintains its enforcement discretion on a case-by-case basis regarding any noncompliance, including noncompliance caused by the COVID-19 public health emergency, before or after the temporary policy is terminated.
The EPA issued the temporary policy on March 26, 2020, in response to potential worker shortages and travel restrictions that may prevent routine compliance monitoring and reporting requirements and other obligations.
The policy was retroactive beginning on March 13, 2020.
For more information, visit EPA’s updated frequently asked questions about the temporary enforcement policy.
TVA Launches Virtual Home Energy Audits For Customers
July 6, 2020
By Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
Posted July 6, 2020
The Tennessee Valley Authority on July 1 said it has launched virtual home energy evaluations, enabling residents across its seven-state region to benefit from money-saving energy advice, even during pandemic conditions.
“Innovation is in TVA‘s DNA, and we’re using new technology to provide consumers expert energy advice, while maintaining CDC social distancing guidelines,” said Frank Rapley, senior manager, TVA EnergyRight.
TVA said that it is the first utility in the southeast U.S. to launch virtual home energy evaluations.
Normally a technician would visit a customer’s home to complete the evaluation, TVA noted. Now, customers can use their smart device to interact with an energy professional through an app and augmented reality technology.
“It was really easy,” said Bri Moran, Nashville, Tennessee. “We looked at my appliances, thermostat and heat and air unit, and checked the weather stripping on my doors and windows. He made it simple to find everything, because I wasn’t sure where everything was.”
Rapley noted that energy evaluations help customers save money by identifying areas where energy loss may occur. The new technology makes the evaluation possible while maintaining safe social distancing and including the homeowner in the experience, TVA said.
“While in-person inspections are done while homeowners wait in their living rooms, virtual inspections take them along the journey. We get them excited about saving energy in their home, and we can see they’re really interested in learning,” Rapley said.
TVA partnered with CLEAResult, which designs and maintains energy optimization services for utility companies, to bring this product to customers.
TVA virtual home energy evaluations are open to all residential customers – homeowners, landlords, and tenants – of qualifying single-family residences within TVA’s service area.
Additional information about TVA’s virtual home energy evaluation program is available here.
Energy New England offering a remote home energy assessment option
Energy New England on April 9 said it is offering a remote home energy assessment option to customers of participating Municipal Light Plants.
The effort started on March 13 after a stay at home advisory was issued in Massachusetts.
Meanwhile, municipal light departments participating in the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company residential energy efficiency program will begin offering virtual energy efficiency audits in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new service, which will include virtual energy efficiency audits as well as virtual verification for energy efficiency rebates, is being offered through MMWEC’s Home Energy Loss Prevention Services (HELPS) program. Nineteen consumer-owned municipal utilities participate in HELPS.
APPA, Other Groups Urge Power Workers To Stay Vigilant In Guarding Against COVID-19
July 6, 2020
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
Posted July 6, 2020
A group of power industry trade and union leaders including Joy Ditto, President and CEO of the American Public Power Association, on July 2 urged power industry workers to remain vigilant in guarding against COVID-19 exposure and following the guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on personal hygiene, social distancing, and the use of masks or face coverings.
“As we head into this holiday weekend, we are writing to thank you for all you do each day to power our nation and to keep the lights on for the customers and the communities you serve,” Ditto and the others wrote. “We applaud you for your unwavering dedication and your commitment to safety, particularly as we navigate through these challenging and unprecedented times.
Other signatories to the letter were Tom Kuhn, President of Edison Electric Institute, Jim Matheson, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, Lonnie Stephenson, International President, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and James Slevin, National President, Utility Workers Union of America.
“Today, we all are seeing concerning trends in the spread of the coronavirus around the country, and it is more important than ever that we do not let our guards down, either as individuals or as a critical infrastructure industry,” the power group and union leaders wrote.
“We know that electricity and the energy grid are indispensable, and our nation is relying on your essential work during this pandemic. That is why we are joining together — as labor and electric power industry leaders — to encourage you to stay vigilant and to continue to follow the guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on personal hygiene, social distancing, and, most important, the use of masks or face coverings.”
They went on to say that as “we learn more about this virus, the guidance from the CDC and our nation’s health care experts continues to evolve; we now know that staying at least 6 feet apart and, when unable to do so, wearing a mask saves lives. We also know that we cannot fully restart our economy or return to any type of normalcy until we are able to control the spread of this virus.”
Ditto and the others noted that safety is, “and has always been, our industry’s number one priority. We have a tremendous opportunity now to lead by example and to serve as role models for our fellow citizens by expanding the safety culture that we practice in our workplaces to our communities.”
It Is Vital That Member Utilities Press Lawmakers On Direct Aid, APPA Says
July 2, 2020
By Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
Posted July 2, 2020
The American Public Power Association is urging its member utilities to reach out to their congressional delegation in support of legislation that would provide direct COVID-19 pandemic-related aid for public power utilities.
APPA is encouraging its member utilities to take steps to educate lawmakers on the issue and to ask the lawmakers to join in signing a letter in support of public power being circulated by House Energy and Commerce Committee member Doris Matsui, D-Calif.
The due date for signing onto the letter has been extended to Friday, July 10. A copy of the letter is available here. (The original deadline was June 26).
In her letter, Matsui noted that in previous coronavirus relief bills, the public power sector “has been uniquely left out of certain programs that could provide financial assistance during this hardship, including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the employer payroll tax credit for qualified family leave wages.”
As an essential service, public power utilities “continue to provide electricity to customers’ homes, enabling many of us to continue working from home or enabling children to proceed with at-home learning opportunities,” Matsui said in the letter. “Moreover, most public power utilities instituted voluntary moratoriums on shutoffs for nonpayment soon after the pandemic struck, recognizing that no one should be without power during this period of unique hardship.”
Past legislation has provided aid that will help public power at the margins, such as Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding increases to help customers pay their bills, Coronavirus Relief Funds to state and local governments, and assistance in paying unemployment benefits for laid off workers.
But APPA now estimates that public power utilities will lose up to $5 billion in revenue due to pandemic-related declines in load and customer arrearages.
House Passes Infrastructure Bill That Includes Several Items Of Importance To Public Power
July 2, 2020
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
Posted July 2, 2020
The House on July 1 passed H.R. 2, the Moving Forward Act, by a vote of 233 to 188. The $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill includes a number of key priorities for public power.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, on Jun 18 announced additional details on the Moving America Forward Act.
The American Public Power Association on June 29 said it strongly supports the smart infrastructure investment provisions that are in H.R. 2, the Moving Forward Act.
“While the nation continues to respond to the unprecedented effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, we must begin to look to the future with comprehensive legislation to refine, restore, and expand American infrastructure, including our electric infrastructure. These are the investments that make commerce possible — leading to strong communities,” APPA said.
APPA said it strongly supports provisions in H.R. 2 that will make it easier and less costly to finance these critical investments.
These include reinstating the ability for state and local governments, including public power utilities, to issue tax-exempt advance refunding bonds and increasing the small issuer exception from $10 million to $30 million.
APPA also supports the decision to allow the issuance of taxable direct payment bonds and believes that protecting payments to issuers of such bonds from budget sequestration is the correct approach that would only be improved by extending that protection to existing direct payment bonds. Since 2013, budget sequestration has cut payments to direct payment bond issuers by more than $2 billion.
APPA also backs the decision to include in H.R. 2 provisions of the Growing Renewable Energy and Efficiency Now (GREEN) Act for ensuring that all utilities can benefit from incentives intended to encourage critical energy investments. Current tax-based incentives exclude the nearly 90 million Americans served by tax-exempt electric utilities, including public power utilities, the public power group pointed out.
Amendments
Amendments for the legislation were debated and voted upon “en bloc.”
The first set of en bloc amendments offered by Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., passed 229 to 189. DeFazio is chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
One amendment from Representatives Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., Doris Matsui, D-Calif., Jim Costa, D-Calif., and Gil Cisneros, D-Calif., would add charging speeds and reduction of future upgrade expenses as considerations for Section 1303 electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure grants. A second amendment from Representatives Andy Levin, D-Mich., and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. would increase the role of environmental justice stakeholders in the program.
Another set of en bloc amendments offered by Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., included:
* An amendment from Representative Bill Foster, D-Ill., to require the Department of Energy to provide goals, objectives, and cost targets for the energy storage demonstration program;
* An amendment from Representative Doris Matsui, D-Calif., to raise the EV supply equipment rebate program cap from $75,000 to $100,000, and;
* An amendment from Representative Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., to create a federal accelerator program to deploy emissions reducing technologies.
Pallone’s en bloc amendment passed 234 to 178.
The House also passed an en bloc amendment also offered by DeFazio that included an amendment by Representatives David McKinley, R-W.Va., Marc Veasey, D-Texas, Lizzie Fletcher, D-Texas, Terri Sewell, D-Ala., David Schweikert, R-Ariz., Scott Peters, D-Calif., Jim Costa, D-Calif., Carol Miller, R-W.Va., Gilbert Ray Cisneros, D-Calif., and Kendra Horn, D-Okla., that would authorize and provide funding for a Department of Energy carbon capture, utilization, and storage technology commercialization program and direct air capture technology prize program.
The White House has already threatened a veto of the bill and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has said there is no chance the Senate will take up the House-passed bill this year.
The legislation is more of a marker of what Democrats will seek to enact in the 117th Congress 2021 if they win take back the Senate and White House and maintain the majority in the House of Representatives.
APPA’s Ditto, Patterson, EPB President and CEO David Wade Named To DOE Advisory Committee
July 2, 2020
Joy Ditto, President and CEO of the American Public Power Association, Delia Patterson, Senior Vice President of Advocacy and Communications and General Counsel at APPA, and David Wade, President and CEO of the Electric Power Board of Chattanooga, have been appointed to serve as members of the Department of Energy’s Electricity Advisory Committee (EAC).
Ditto, Patterson and Wade were three of 35 members of the EAC announced by the DOE on July 1. Twenty-two of the 35 appointed members of the EAC are returning members.
Each member of the EAC was appointed by U.S. Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette for a two-year term.
The group reports to the DOE’s Assistant Secretary for Electricity and meets three times a year to advise DOE on a variety of electricity issues. The members of the EAC are from state governments, regional planning entities, utility companies, cyber security and national security firms, the natural gas sector, equipment manufacturers, construction and architectural companies, non-governmental organizations, and other electricity-related organizations.
During their two-year term, the EAC members will advise DOE on current and future electric grid reliability, resilience, security, sector interdependence, and policy issues. They will periodically review and make recommendations on DOE electric grid-related programs and initiatives, including electricity-related R&D programs and modeling efforts.
Members will also identify emerging issues related to electricity production and delivery and advise on federal coordination with utility industry authorities in the event of supply disruptions and other emergencies.
The thirty-five appointed members of the EAC began their term on July 1, 2020 and are listed alphabetically here.
Coal, CO2 Emission Declines Caused By Pandemic Could Persist: Moody’s
July 2, 2020
by Peter Maloney
APPA News
Posted July 2, 2020
The slowdown in economic output and industrial activity as a result of efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 is expected to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emission levels and accelerate the decline of coal fired generation, according to a report from Moody’s Investors Service.
And, even as states begin to slowly reopen, the impact of the pandemic on power demand and carbon emissions will continue through the remainder of the year and likely into 2021, the report, “Coronavirus-related power demand reductions drive lower carbon emissions,” said.
Moody’s expects CO2 emissions to drop by 175 million metric tons compared with 2019 levels, to end the year at 320 million metric tons. In its base case scenario, Moody’s estimates US CO2 emissions will be 11% below 2019 levels by 2022, following a year-over-year decline of 14% in 2020. The base case scenario includes a 6% average generation decline across all customer classes in 2020, followed by two years of moderate recovery with 3% increases in generation in both 2021 and 2022. In that scenario, generation would fully recover to pre-pandemic levels by 2022.
In a milder scenario, Moody’s estimates CO2 emission in 2022 will be 5% lower than in 2019, with a year-over-year decline in 2020 of 10%.
In a more extreme scenario, in which average generation declines by 8% in 2020, with most of the reductions absorbed by coal-fired generation, Moody’s estimates CO2 emissions could drop by 19% in 2020 and remain at those levels going forward.
Moody’s shares the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) expectation that most of the CO2 reductions will be driven by generation declines from CO2 emitting resources, primarily coal-fired plants, however, the ratings agency does not share the EIA’s forecast of a significant rebound in US coal consumption in 2021.
In 2019, output from the US coal plants fell to its lowest point since 1976 and the power sector has cut coal consumption by more than half since the late 2000s, Moody’s noted.
And while Moody’s base case scenario sees coal-fired generation remaining flat next year, “it is possible that it will continue to decline” under pressure from sustained low natural gas prices, the report said.
In March 2020, Moody’s reduced its medium-term price band for North American natural gas at the Henry Hub to $2.00-$3.00 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) from $2.25- $3.25 per MMBtu. Moody’s projects Henry Hub prices to be at the lower end of that range through 2021.
Low natural gas prices challenge the fundamental economics of coal-fired generation, especially for coal plants in regions near shale plays where natural gas prices are below the Henry Hub price, which could accelerate retirements of out-of-the-money coal-fired power plants, Moody’s noted.
And while all regions to see declines in coal and gas-fired generation, Moody’s expects those declines will vary by region. Fossil-fired generation will likely increase in the New York Independent System Operator region, for instance, because of higher natural gas generation in 2020 and lower year-over-year nuclear generation because of the retirement of the Indian Point nuclear plant.
The Southwest Power Pool (SPP) and the Pacific Northwest, on the other hand, could see large declines in coal-fired generation.
Regions such as Florida, SPP, Pacific Northwest, Southwest and Texas will likely see larger declines in CO2 emissions because declining coal generation is not replaced by natural gas, either because of an uptick in renewable generation or because coal generation declines are absorbing the reduced electric loads, so more natural gas generation is not needed, Moody’s argued.
Moody’s also included a caveat that “unanticipated weather conditions, summer residential load spikes and the length and speed of the economic recovery will all affect the magnitude of the coronavirus outbreak’s effect on US power sector carbon emissions.”
APPA Warns of Spike In Transmission Costs If FERC Incentive Proposals Are Adopted
July 1, 2020
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
Posted July 1, 2020
If adopted, transmission incentive changes proposed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) are likely to hike transmission costs without any assurance of commensurate benefits for consumers, the American Public Power Association said on July 1.
Moreover, given that transmission development in the U.S. has been strong in recent years, FERC has fallen short in justifying the need for significant reforms to its transmission incentive policies, APPA said in response to the NOPR (Docket No. RM20-10).
In the NOPR, which was issued in March, FERC proposed substantial changes to its regulations and policies governing the award of transmission incentives under section 219 of the Federal Power Act (FPA).
As a threshold matter, APPA noted that it supports prudent investment in the country’s transmission infrastructure for the benefit of consumers. “Prudently planned and constructed transmission facilities can increase supply options, reduce congestion-related costs, integrate renewable resources, and promote grid reliability. APPA supports reasonable Commission policies that promote such beneficial transmission investment.”
No compelling reason to change existing approach
APPA said that FERC’s existing approach to evaluating project-specific incentive applications is generally sound and argued that the NOPR identifies no compelling reason to change. The current incentive framework was established in Order No. 679 and subsequent orders.
In the years since the Commission issued Order 679, and particularly since a 2012 Policy Statement was released, transmission investment has grown significantly, “and the NOPR provides no evidence that investment is being withheld for lack of incentives under FERC’s current policies,” APPA said.
“It is important to note, moreover, that the increase in transmission investment in recent years has resulted in substantial increases in transmission rates in some regions, and this trend is expected to continue.”
APPA pointed out that the Energy Information Administration’s 2020 Annual Energy Outlook projects that rising transmission and distribution costs will offset much of the projected decrease in generation costs through 2050.
“These transmission cost increases impose a significant burden on public power utilities and the customers they serve. In considering proposed changes to its transmission incentives, the likelihood of increased cost burden on transmission customers should be a principal consideration, consistent with FPA section 219,” APPA told FERC. “Unfortunately, most, if not all, of the new incentives proposed in the NOPR fail to adequately ensure that the additional costs that would be imposed on consumers would be justified by commensurate consumer benefits.”
NOPR has a number of significant flaws
APPA said that the NOPR suffers from a number of significant flaws that should prompt the Commission to reconsider most of the proposed policy changes.
As a threshold matter, the NOPR does not justify the need for significant reforms to its incentive policies, APPA argued.
“The Commission specifically acknowledges that transmission development has been ‘robust’ in recent years. There is no empirical evidence cited in the NOPR demonstrating that the current incentive framework is ineffective in promoting transmission investment in accordance with the dictates of FPA section 219, and, in fact, the Commission acknowledges that it is has insufficient information to gauge the effectiveness of its current policies.”
While FERC asserts that the types of transmission projects and the incentives needed to promote them must evolve in response to industry changes, “the NOPR never draws a rational connection between the proposed incentives and the new types of projects the Commission claims are needed.”
Even if the Commission is correct that new “types” of transmission are needed, the proposed incentives are largely aimed at “low-hanging fruit” projects that are – or should be – identified in the regional planning processes already, APPA went on to say.
APPA questions proposal to shift to a “benefits-based” system
APPA also took issue with the Commission’s proposal to eliminate the nexus requirement and shift to a “benefits-based” system.
Such a move “runs afoul of the requirements of FPA section 219,” APPA said. It pointed out that Section 219 of the FPA requires FERC to adopt certain transmission incentives for the purpose of benefitting consumers by ensuring reliability and reducing the cost of delivered power by reducing transmission congestion.
But this obligation is coupled with the overarching requirement that incentive rates under FPA section 219 must be just and reasonable and not unduly discriminatory or preferential.
Project benefits are necessary, but not sufficient, to satisfy the requirements of FPA section 219 for granting transmission investment incentives, the public power group said.
The current “risks and challenges” framework for project-specific incentives was designed to ensure that there is a nexus between the total package of incentives sought and the demonstrable risks or challenges faced by the applicant in undertaking the project, APPA pointed out.
Joint ownership of transmission facilities
Of particular concern to APPA and its public power utility members, the NOPR makes no reference to promoting joint ownership of transmission facilities by non-public utilities, even though the issue was squarely raised in a prior notice of inquiry and addressed by APPA and other parties.
The Commission has consistently recognized the benefits of joint ownership of transmission facilities, and, in particular, has encouraged the participation of non-public utilities in jointly owned projects, including through the 2012 Policy Statement.
“If the Commission proceeds with a final rule based on the NOPR, it should continue to promote joint ownership of transmission facilities by, at a minimum, applying heightened scrutiny to incentive requests for any project for which joint ownership arrangements may have been feasible but were not pursued,” APPA argued.
FERC should not double the RTO Adder
APPA was harshly critical of FERC’s proposal to “double down” on the current equity return bonus that transmission owners get for participating in regional transmission organizations and independent system operators. The proposed rule would double the return on equity adder from 50 to 100 basis points, and would award the adder even if a utility is required to participate in an RTO/ISO by state authorities or other legal requirement.
The “NOPR offers no reasonable basis for simply doubling the current standard RTO participation adder,” APPA said, arguing that the proposed rule failed to establish that the substantial increase in costs that doubling the RTO/ISO participation bonus would be justified by any increased customer benefits. “The NOPR cites no evidence that an increase to the adder is necessary to encourage new, let alone continued, RTO/ISO participation,” APPA added.
APPA also contended that awarding the adder for non-voluntary participation in RTOs/ISOs would be “a departure from the bedrock principle for granting incentives (i.e., of inducing action that is not otherwise required).”
APPA outlines recommendations to FERC if it proceeds with NOPR incentive proposals
If the Commission chooses to proceed with the incentive proposals in the NOPR, APPA offered a number of recommendations including, among other things:
* Transmission incentives should be restricted to projects evaluated and approved in a full Commission-approved regional transmission planning process under Order No. 1000;
* An entity seeking a project-specific transmission incentive should be required to demonstrate that there is at least a rational relationship between each incentive sought and the decision to invest in the transmission project;
* The Commission should require a clear demonstration through a cost-benefit analysis that the quantifiable benefits to consumers from a project materially exceed the incremental costs of the requested incentives; and
* Parties to proceedings in which project-specific incentives are proposed must have full access to all information and analysis on which the claims of benefit are based, including analyses conducted by RTOs and ISOs, and an opportunity to evaluate and challenge benefit claims. The risk of being unable to substantiate a claimed benefit-cost outcome must be on the applicant.
APPA also makes several recommendations related to return on equity (ROE) adders.
It said that project-specific ROE adders should sunset after no more than 15 years. A shorter time frame could be applied in particular circumstances if, prior to the sunset date, the Commission makes a determination that the adder is no longer needed or effective.
APPA also argued that project-specific ROE adders should be limited to the cost of the project used in the application to demonstrate project benefits.
Also, any basis point cap on ROE adders should be set at 150 basis points, and total ROE adders should be limited to the lower of this basis point cap or the top end of the zone of reasonableness, it said.
As Much As $125 Billion Needed By 2030 To Support EV Growth: Brattle Report
June 30, 2020
by Peter Maloney
APPA News
Posted June 30, 2020
An investment of between $75 billion and $125 billion in the electric power system will be needed by 2030 to serve 20 million electric vehicles, according to a report by The Brattle Group.
There will be 10 to 35 million electric vehicles in the United States by 2030, a steep rise from the 1.5 million electric vehicles on U.S. roads in 2020, Brattle economists estimate. Factors driving the proliferation of electric vehicles include decreasing vehicle and battery costs, an expanding variety of electric vehicle models, more widespread charging infrastructure, as well as favorable federal and state policies and incentives, they say.
The investments needed to support the expected spread of electric vehicles includes $30 billion to $50 billion for generation and storage, $15 billion to $25 billion for transmission and distribution upgrades, and $30 billion to $50 billion for electric vehicle chargers and other customer-side infrastructure, the report, Getting to 20 Million EVs by 2030: Opportunities for the Electricity Industry in Preparing for an EV Future, says.
“While EVs and chargers are becoming more common in our everyday lives, the industry is really just seeing the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the impact that EVs will have on the grid,” Michael Hagerty, Brattle senior associate and study coauthor, said in a statement.
Among the challenges Brattle sees as electric vehicles become more prevalent is an increase in charging demand of between 60,000 gigawatt hours (GWh) and 95,000 GWh per year, including a 10 gigawatt (GW) to 20 GW rise in peak load from electric vehicle charging. Those increases in electricity use and load will require the addition of between 12 GW and 18 GW of renewable resources to maintain compliance with state mandates, such as renewable portfolio standards, that require minimum levels of renewable energy.
Deeper penetration of electric vehicles will also necessitate the expansion of charging infrastructure. So far, less than $2 billion has been approved for utilities to build charging infrastructure, but only 159 public charging stations are utility owned, representing about 0.6% of all public charging stations.
In all, the country will need about 1.25 million public chargers to fuel 20 million electric vehicles by 2030, representing a 20-fold increase in Level 2 chargers, a fivefold increase in direct current (DC) fast chargers, as well as 6 million to 10 million of residential Level 2 chargers installed at single family homes, Brattle estimates.
Meanwhile, Tesla has spent about $220 million building out its Supercharger network of over 800 stations. ChargePoint network has 38,000 chargers and plans to add 2.5 million globally by 2025. And Electrify America is investing $2 billion in Zero Emission Vehicle infrastructure by 2027.
Electrify America recently announced the completion of the first charging network that would enable an electric vehicle to travel cross country.
One of the challenges system planners will face is finding reliable, regional forecasts for electric vehicles sales, the report says. Most forecasts provide “limited insight” into local adoption rates as they are based on “black-box” models that can be challenging to understand
According to Brattle’s analysis, states with zero emission vehicle mandates have 26% higher electric vehicles sales, a $1,000 increase in electric vehicle incentives increases sales by 7.5%, a $10/kWh decrease in battery prices leads to a 4% increase in sales, and for every 10 additional electric vehicle models introduced sales increase by 8%.
Brattle recommends that industry planners and policy makers should develop plans, or roadmaps, that include detailed electric vehicle adoption forecasts, craft policies that articulate societal benefits of electric vehicle adoption, and facilitate collaboration across the electric vehicles supply chain to reduce market barriers, such as targeting under-served markets that are not prioritized by private investment.
More specifically, Brattle says the tension between private and utility investment needs to be resolved. Regulators often try to balance the need to provide sufficient charging infrastructure with the desire to keep the market open to competitive suppliers.
The Brattle report says there should be a “Win-Win-Win” approach among utilities, regulators and the private sector that recognizes that private investment will lead to increased product demand and sales and that increased electric vehicle utilization will lead to higher electricity sales and improved asset utilization for utilities.
Electrify America Completes First Route Across US With EV Charging Stations
June 29, 2020
by Peter Maloney
APPA News
Posted June 29, 2020
Electrify America says it has completed its first string of cross-country fast charging, direct current (DC) electric vehicle charging stations.
The route, spanning 11 states and over 2,700 miles, travels along interstates 15 and 70 from Los Angeles to Washington, DC, providing the first cross-country route with charging stations available the entire way, the company, a subsidiary of Volkswagen of America, said. The charging stations provide speeds up to 350 kilowatts.
“Range anxiety” and the fear of not being able to find an electric vehicle charging station is often cited as a key barrier to the wider adoption of electric vehicles.
“Electrify America’s primary goal has always been to advance electric vehicle adoption in the U.S., and that starts by instilling feelings of confidence and freedom in consumers when it comes to EV ownership,” Anthony Lambkin, director of operations at Electrify America, said in a statement.
By end of the summer, Electrify American says it will complete a second cross-country electric vehicle charging route, from Jacksonville, Fla., to San Diego, Calif., on interstate highways starting near I-10 and finishing along I-8. The company says its charging stations are on average about 70 miles apart, in metro areas and near highway routes near stores and restaurants.
Electrify America already has a series of charging stations on the East Coast along Interstate 95 from Portland, Maine, to Miami, Fla., and on the West Coast along Interstate 5 from Seattle, Wash., to San Diego.
A group of utilities, including several public power utilities, recently released a report recommending adding electric vehicle charging stations for freight haulers and delivery trucks along the I-5 corridor running from Canada to Mexico.
To date, Electrify America has more than 435 charging stations in operation with over 1,900 DC fast chargers and has more than 100 charging sites in development. Electrify America says it has located more than 300 of its completed stations near major highways to facilitate regional and cross-country travel.
Early on, Electrify America installed Level 2 chargers, but the majority of its work is focused on DC fast charger, spokesman Mike Moran said.
In 2019, Electrify America says it opened DC fast-charging stations at an accelerated pace of about 1.2 per business day. By the end of 2021, the company plans to install or have under development approximately 800 charging stations with about 3,500 DC fast chargers.
Electrify America, which says it has the largest open DC fast charging network in the US, was formed in 2017 to manage $2 billion in investments in zero emission vehicle infrastructure. The funds come from its parent company and are mandated under a 2016 settlement of the Volkswagen emissions-cheating scandal. The settlement will cost the car manufacturer $14.7 billion over 10 years.
The settlement also includes $2.7 billion over three years for an environmental trust to remediate the illegal levels of nitrogen oxides emitted by the VW vehicles.
Electrify America solicits input for investment plans
Electrify America is soliciting input for its Cycle 3 Investment Plans through July 31, 2020.
The American Public Power Association plans to submit comments encouraging Electrify America to consider investments in public power communities.
Organizations interested in providing comments, information, data and/or recommendations should click on this link for further details and submit input.