Atlantic Seaboard states embrace measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
January 5, 2021
by Peter Maloney
APPA News
January 5, 2021
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has finalized guidance on developing a “value of carbon” metric.
Separately, three states and the District of Columbia have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to reduce their transportation sector greenhouse gas emissions.
In New York, the DEC said a value of carbon metric would help state agencies estimate the value of reducing CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions. (The value of carbon guidance and supplemental documents are available on the DEC’s website).
The value of carbon guidance, developed by DEC in consultation with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and Resources for the Future, establishes a monetary value for the avoided emissions of CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide.
When developed, the metric would be “broadly applicable to all State agencies and authorities to demonstrate the global societal value of actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” the DEC said.
The DEC noted, however, that its value of carbon guidance is not a regulation, nor does it propose a CO2 “price, fee, or compliance obligation.”
The DEC said the guidance “establishes a value of carbon focused on the federal social cost of carbon and incorporates public comments DEC received when the draft guidance was proposed earlier this year.”
DEC’s guidance recommends a lower central discount rate of two percent, which should be reported alongside a one and three percent discount rate for informational purposes. Use of the lower central discount rate translates into a 2020 central value of CO2 of $125 per ton; methane of $2,782 per ton; and nitrous oxide of $44,727 per ton.
MOU
The MOU calls for Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Washington D.C. to participate in the Transportation and Climate Initiative Program (TCI-P), a cap-and-invest program that aims to reduce transportation emissions and raise money to speed the shift to low emitting, safer and more affordable transportation alternatives.
The TCI-P is an ongoing effort among 12 states that seeks to tax fuel suppliers and invest the proceeds in alternatives such as public transportation and clean vehicles and fuels.
Eight of those states chose not to join the launch of the Transportation and Climate Initiative Program, but instead issued a statement, Next Steps for the Transportation and Climate Initiative, in which they committed to continue to engage in “collaboration and individual actions to equitably reduce air pollution, create healthier communities, and invest in cleaner transportation.”
The eight states have the option to sign on to the full program any time in the next three years. The eight states are Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Virginia.
The TCI-P will require large gasoline and diesel fuel suppliers to purchase allowances for the emissions caused by the combustion of fuels they sell in the regions.
The MOU calls for the proceeds of the auction allowances to be invested “in ways that help both urban and rural residents, including improving and expanding public transportation; zero-emission buses, cars, and trucks; electric vehicle charging infrastructure; development of interstate electric vehicle charging corridors; improving high speed wireless internet in rural and low-income areas to allow for teleworking; repairing existing roads and bridges; and providing safer bike lanes and sidewalks.”
The TCI-P jurisdictions have committed to invest 35 percent of annual allowance revenue in communities underserved by current transportation options and with disproportionately high levels of pollution.
Each participating jurisdiction will have an individual program adopted and implemented under its independent legal authority. And each jurisdiction has the authority to decide how to invest program proceeds.
The MOU calls for the four jurisdictions to develop and release a model rule that will establish a multi-jurisdictional base annual carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions cap starting in 2023, which will be equal to the sum of the TCI-P participating jurisdictions’ CO2 emissions budgets set out in the MOU. From 2023, the base annual CO2 emissions budgets are scheduled to decline by 30 percent by 2032, by equal amounts each year.
The first TCI-P reporting period is set to begin as early as Jan. 1, 2022, and the first compliance period will begin Jan. 1, 2023 or at such later time as at least three jurisdictions have completed the legal processes required to implement their individual programs. The MOU participants intend to conduct one or more early CO2 allowance auctions in 2022.
Massachusetts projects TCI-P will reduce motor vehicle emissions in the state by at least 26 percent and generate over $1.8 billion by 2032. Rhode Island projects the program will provide $20 million annually for public transit, safe streets for bikers and pedestrians, and other green projects.
Despite the potential for eight more states to join the program, there also has been push back against the Transportation and Climate Initiative. Three retail fuel trade groups ─ the National Association of Convenience Stores, the Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America, and NATSO, which represents truck stops and travel plazas ─ are urging states to reconsider participation in the Transportation and Climate Initiative.
The plan, as currently structured, “will not work,” the groups said in a statement and would “result in higher costs without any meaningful environmental benefit.”
The governors of New Hampshire and Vermont have declined to implement the program in favor of waiting to see how it unfolds. And several environmental justice organizations have voiced their opposition to TCI-P.
Calif. community choice aggregator Peninsula Clean Energy signs wind power contracts
January 5, 2021
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
January 5, 2021
California community choice aggregator (CCA) Peninsula Clean Energy on Jan. 5 said it has agreed to procure 245 megawatts of power from three California wind projects.
The three contracts Peninsula Clean Energy has signed are as follows:
- Shiloh I: A seven-year extension, through 2030, of an existing 150-megawatt wind project in Solano County with Avangrid Renewables. The current five-year term ends in December 2023;
- Voyager II: Eight years, through 2028, with Shell Energy North America (US), L.P., for half of the capacity and renewable energy generated by an existing wind project near Mojave, Calif.; and
- Sky River: Half of the expected 60-MW generated for 20 years from this project being repowered by a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources near Bakersfield in Kern County, Calif. The project, which will repower an existing facility by replacing 157 existing turbines with 11 new turbines for Peninsula Clean Energy’s portion, is expected to be operational by September 2021.
The additional wind generation will bring Peninsula Clean Energy closer to meeting its goal of providing 24/7 renewable-only generation by 2025.
It will supplement solar generation, including supply from the newly commissioned 200-MW Wright Solar and 100-MW Mustang Two Whirlaway projects, particularly during colder months and other times when solar power has traditionally waned.
The American Public Power Association has initiated a new category of membership for community choice aggregation programs.
Christie sworn in as member of FERC, resulting in full complement of commissioners
January 4, 2021
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
January 4, 2021
Mark Christie was sworn in as a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Jan. 4.
Christie, who was previously the Chairman of the Virginia State Corporation Commission, fills the FERC seat vacated by Bernard McNamee in September 2020. Christie is a Republican.
His term runs through June 30, 2025.
Christie joins Chairman James Danly (R), Commissioner Neil Chatterjee (R), Commissioner Allison Clements (D), and Commissioner Richard Glick (D) to give FERC a full complement of five commissioners for the first time in nearly two years.
Missouri public power utilities bring power back to customers in wake of ice storms
January 4, 2021
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
January 4, 2021
Missouri public power utilities in recent days have been hard at work restoring power to customers who lost power in the wake of ice storms that hit the state.
In the wake of ice storms that swept through Missouri on January 1, line crews from several public power utilities volunteered to help restore power to the cities of Hannibal and Monroe City, Mo., the Missouri Public Utility Alliance (MPUA) reported in a news release.
The response was coordinated through a mutual aid network of utilities that are members of the MPUA.
The 84 utilities in the network are public power electric utilities that have agreements in place allowing staff to assist neighboring communities and states during widespread outages in other communities. Assisting utilities are reimbursed by the communities receiving assistance.
In Hannibal, after significant outages were caused by downed tree limbs hitting power lines, line crews from Columbia Water & Light, Harrisonville, Macon Municipal Utilities and Rolla Municipal Utilities responded to assist the Hannibal Board of Public Works (HBPW) utility staff in power restoration and repair work.
The combined four-city mutual aid response to HBPW included 17 lineworkers with 11 utility work vehicles, including bucket and digger trucks.
In a Facebook post, HBPW reported with continued efforts the morning of Jan. 3, “we have restored service to all parts across our service territory. We estimate we have 25 or fewer individual services that need to be restored. Several of those require additional repairs from electricians before our crew can reconnect service but we are standing by when needed.”
The quick recovery efforts “could not have been possible without the assistance of our mutual aid partnership and the extra tree removal assistance,” the utility said.
In Monroe City, electric crews repairing outages were assisted by a crew of four lineworkers from the city of Higginsville. After power restoration at Monroe City was complete by noon on Jan. 2, the Higginsville crew traveled to Hannibal to join in the HBPW restoration effort.
Meanwhile, City Utilities (CU) Electric Department in Springfield, Mo., on Jan. 1 reported that it responded to numerous outages throughout the CU service territory. “Overnight, CU line and tree crews began responding to outages as weather permitted. The majority of the outages have been created by limbs and trees contacting the power lines. However, there is at least one utility structure that has been damaged. Additional line and tree crews are arriving to assist CU crews,” the utility reported.
On Jan. 2, the utility said that its crews were working on the final remaining outages from the New Year’s Day ice storm, with approximately 70 customers remaining without electric service as of mid-day.
“While our goal and efforts are to restore power to all of our customers there are some that will require work to be completed by a licensed electrician before we can reestablish service,” CU noted.
The storm created outages throughout the CU Electric service territory with approximately 50 percent of feeders being impacted.
City Utilities line crews began responding to outages shortly after 1:00 a.m. on New Year’s Day as the storm began impacting the city. Response was slowed and affected by the continuing weather pattern as it dropped rain and ice as temperatures fell in the Springfield area, CU said. Line crews were assisted by numerous contract line and tree crews to restore service to customers.
EPA finalizes ozone NAAQS, retains current standards
January 4, 2021
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
January 4, 2021
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Dec. 23 announced its decision to retain, without changes, the 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) set by the Obama-Biden Administration.
The EPA said it is following the principles established by the Trump Administration to streamline the NAAQS review process and to fulfill the statutory responsibility to complete the NAAQS review within five years. The action marks the second time in Clean Air Act history that the agency has completed an ozone NAAQS review within the congressionally mandated five-year timeframe, according to the EPA.
The agency noted that since the beginning of the Trump Administration, it has re-designated eight nonattainment areas as in attainment with the 2008 eight-hour ozone standards.
In May 2018, EPA issued a “Back-to-Basics” memo to improve EPA’s process for reviewing the NAAQS. The memo laid out goals to get EPA back on track with Clean Air requirements, statutory deadlines, and the issuance of timely implementation rules. The Dec. 23 action is the first NAAQS review to do so and charts a path to continue this statutory responsibility in the future.
The Clean Air Act requires EPA to set NAAQS for “criteria pollutants.” Currently, ozone and related photochemical oxidants and five other major pollutants are listed as criteria pollutants.
The law requires EPA to periodically review the relevant scientific information and the standards and revise them, if appropriate, to ensure that the standards provide the requisite protection for public health and welfare.
In the prior review of the ozone standards, which was completed in 2015, the Obama-Biden EPA increased the stringency of the levels of the ozone standards to 70 parts per billion (ppb), from the 2008 standard of 75 ppb.
Additional information about EPA ozone standards is available at: https://www.epa.gov/ground-level-ozone-pollution. APPA submitted comments in support of retaining the 2015 primary (public health) and secondary (public welfare) standards at 70 ppb.
EPA is making the ozone NAAQS rule
Great Lakes Utilities seeks front-of-meter, behind-the-meter solar proposals
January 4, 2021
by APPA News
January 4, 2021
Wisconsin-based joint action agency Great Lakes Utilities (GLU) is seeking proposals for front-of-meter and behind-the-meter solar projects under a recently issued request for proposals (RFP).
The Energy Authority is the administrator for the RFP.
GLU, which provides various services to its 12 member owners, is seeking bids for power purchase agreements and build-transfer submissions with a commercial operation date between 2021-2023 for:
- A portfolio of community-sited, behind-the-meter solar installations and
- A 20-25 megawatt front-of-meter (FTM), utility-scale, Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) capacity Zone 2 solar project to mitigate future market price risk and fuel hedging cost.
Battery energy storage will also be considered for the behind-the-meter projects as outlined in the RFP.
GLU is looking to procure energy, capacity, and renewable energy credits for a term between 10-20 years.
Key elements of project consideration are project viability, price, congestion risk, and deliverability and GLU is only seeking bids for projects physically located within MISO Capacity Zone 2.
GLU is a member of MISO and its average system peak for 2019 was 370 MW with similar load projected for 2020 and beyond.
The projects sought under the RFP are intended to meet capacity shortfall requirements due to upcoming expiration of existing power purchase agreements and to reduce future transmission cost and delivery risk.
Additional details about the RFP are available here.
Tennessee public power utilities restore power in wake of snowstorms
December 30, 2020
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
December 30, 2020
Public power utilities in Tennessee in the last week of December restored power to customers affected by snowstorms that hit the state.
On Dec. 24, Knoxville Utilities Board (KUB) tweeted that its crews were working to restore power throughout the day and monitoring and responding to any outage events throughout the night as snow fell. Crews worked overnight to reduce outages to less than 9,000 after the heavy snow, KUB subsequently reported on Dec. 25.
KUB in a Dec. 26 update said that approximately 60 crews were working to restore power including assistance from Lenoir City Utility Board and Appalachian Electric Cooperative, crews from Nashville and Jackson, Tennessee, and crews from Alabama, Kentucky, and North Carolina.
In the update, KUB reported that large numbers of trees and wires were reported down following the storm. “Although KUB has made significant progress since yesterday, the heavy, wet snow and freezing temperatures are causing additional limbs and trees to fall, creating additional outages,” the public power utility reported in the Dec. 26 update.
KUB noted that crews have had challenges accessing the lines due to the number of downed trees and other damage. “Even getting to the job has been difficult in some cases where snow and ice has made travel treacherous.”
Every job is different, but a typical repair job can take up to four to six hours, while replacing a pole can take a minimum of six to eight hours, the utility said. Given these challenges, a definite time frame for restoration of specific areas was not available, as of the Dec. 26 update. At the time of the 9 a.m. update, KUB reported approximately 3,300 customers without power.
In a Dec. 28 tweet, KUB said that crews continued restoration efforts for just under 20 customers, down from more than 31,000 customers who lost power after Thursday’s snow.
Meanwhile, Tennessee public power utility Newport Utilities (NU) reported on Dec. 30 that as of 9:00 a.m. it had 227 outages remaining. “Multiple crews from surrounding areas are assisting NU electric crews in replacing broken poles and untangling the gnarly mess of downed spans of electric wire. The goal is to restore power to the remaining areas today,” it said in a Facebook post.
And less than 1,000 Sevier County, Tenn., residents remained without power following a Christmas Eve blackout that impacted more than 20,000, reported Tennessee’s WVLT on Dec. 28.
The latest updates on power outages can be found on Sevier County Electric System’s website.
FERC approves SPP’s resubmitted proposal for a Western Energy Imbalance Service market
December 24, 2020
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
December 24, 2020
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Dec. 23 approved the Southwest Power Pool’s resubmitted Western Energy Imbalance Service (WEIS) Market tariff, Western Joint Dispatch Agreements and Western Markets Executive Committee Charter, effective February 1, 2021.
SPP had resubmitted the WEIS proposal after the Commission rejected its initial proposal on July 31. In that order, FERC cited a number of reasons for rejection of the proposal and provided guidance for a new submission if SPP chose to do so.
While APPA has been monitoring developments related to the SPP WEIS, it has not taken a position on SPP’s proposal.
A number of protests of the resubmittal were filed at FERC including Colorado Springs Utilities and Platte River Power Authority. SPP resubmitted the proposal in early October.
The Commission in its Dec. 23 order found that the WEIS Market “will yield diverse benefits to the participating utilities and customers in the Western Interconnection, and that SPP has both addressed the concerns presented by the Commission in the July Order and demonstrated that its proposal presents a just and reasonable regional solution.”
Expected benefits described in the order include having a broader pool of resources available to serve load, which allows participants to meet their energy imbalance needs at lower cost; improved reliability; and better integration and management of higher levels of variable energy resources.
The protestors were aligned in their concerns on most issues.
In the order, the Commission made findings regarding the issues raised by at least one of the protestors.
Among other things, FERC found that:
- A centralized imbalance market can deliver significant benefits, including reliability benefits that are not easily quantified, and FERC policy does not require a quantified cost-benefit analysis of proposals;
- SPP adequately supported its proposal to allocate the initial implementation and ongoing costs of the WEIS Market according to net energy for load;
- SPP provided adequate support for the proposed governance structure. The Commission agrees with limiting voting rights to WJDA signatories because only those signatories have made a financial commitment to the market. Further, SPP provided avenues for stakeholders who are not signatories to participate; and
- The market mitigation plan proposed in the filing addresses the major market power issues identified by the SPP Marketing Monitoring Unit’s study and adequately responds to the Commission’s guidance in the July Order.
The FERC order is available here.
East Bay Community Energy board OKs policy to set target of 100 percent clean power by 2030
December 22, 2020
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
December 22, 2020
The East Bay Community Energy (EBCE) Board of Directors on Dec. 16 approved a policy to set a target of providing its customers with 100% clean power by 2030, which would be 15 years before the state’s energy standard.
EBCE said that the board action sets the local community choice aggregator as one of the largest electricity providers in the country to commit to 100% clean power by 2030 and the largest of other local community choice energy providers that have set similar goals.
Dan Kalb, Chair of the Board for EBCE, noted that the CCA’s commitment to procuring clean energy has already resulted in contracts for over 500 megawatts of new wind, solar, and energy storage. In 2021, EBCE expects to contract for several hundred more megawatts of clean energy.
EBCE on Oct. 29 issued a request for offers to procure long-term renewable energy and storage resources.
The EBCE staff report that the board acted on is available here.
EBCE operates a community choice energy program for Alameda County and eleven incorporated cities, serving more than 550,000 residential and commercial customers throughout the county.
The American Public Power Association has initiated a new category of membership for community choice aggregation programs.
LIPA board approves time-of-use rate proposal
December 22, 2020
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
December 22, 2020
The Long Island Power Authority’s Board of Trustees on Dec. 16 unanimously approved a time-of-use (TOU) rate proposal.
LIPA files a Utility 2.0 and energy efficiency plan each year for consideration by the LIPA Board. The annual plan proposes and requests funding for new initiatives related to modernizing the customer experience, distributed energy resources integration, grid modernization, beneficial electrification, and energy efficiency.
In the 2018 Utility 2.0 plan, LIPA approved a rate modernization initiative, which included funding for an “add-on” to the existing billing system to provide the capability to program and bill advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) enabled rate designs, which serves as the foundation for a phased rate modernization roadmap.
LIPA began work on developing the new TOU rate designs, which include four new residential TOU rates (including one targeted at electric vehicle owners) and one new small commercial TOU rate.
The TOU rates use industry best practices in rate design and customer engagement strategies, fine-tuned through significant upfront research, including visiting and learning from other utilities experienced in AMI-enabled rates and billing.
The new TOU rate designs contain elements intended to improve customer take-up and response, as compared to LIPA’s existing time-of-use rates, Justin Bell, LIPA’s Vice President of Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs said.
The new elements include shorter – three or four hour — peak periods, the ability for a customer to select a peak period suitable for its household from among several options, and super-off-peak nighttime rates.
They will be combined with new tools that enable customers to estimate their potential savings from the new rates and learn how much savings is possible based on their own household’s energy profile, frequently used appliances, and ability to shift usage, Bell said.
The tariffs containing the new TOU rate designs were issued for public notice and comment in September 2020, providing over two months for stakeholders to review and comment on the proposed rates. Public hearings were held in November 2020.
The final TOU rate proposal incorporates feedback received from stakeholders. The tariffs will become effective on Feb. 1, 2021.