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SMUD Holds Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for New Substation

August 27, 2023

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
August 27, 2023

California public power utility SMUD on Aug. 24 held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its newest substation, Station G, located in the heart of downtown Sacramento, Calif.

“Aligned with SMUD’s regional decarbonization goals, Station G uses advanced technologies to support the city’s clean energy transformation for decades to come while improving grid resilience and ensuring a dependable power supply for the ever-evolving energy needs of the Sacramento area,” SMUD said.

“Through our innovative and visionary approach, SMUD is introducing a state-of-the-art facility to the region’s power infrastructure, boosting our grid’s world-class reliability, resilience, capacity for electric load and advancing regional decarbonization,” said SMUD CEO and General Manager Paul Lau.

“As we embrace a future powered by carbon-free sources and the adoption of electric technology in our daily lives, SMUD’s advanced and resilient infrastructure is crucial in helping clean the air and drive sustainable progress toward a clean energy future that benefits the entire region,” he said.

SMUD said that the substation’s architecture was designed with aesthetics in mind. Station G “is accentuated by striking lighting elements that harmonize with the surrounding downtown neighborhood, art scene and landmarks.”

Construction on Station G began in August of 2020 and was completed ahead of its projected summer of 2023 completion date.

Department of the Interior Offers $72.5 Million Under New Tribal Electrification Program

August 22, 2023

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
August 22, 2023

The Department of the Interior on Aug. 15 announced the launch of a new program and availability of $72.5 million in initial funding to help Tribal communities electrify homes.

Tribal Nations across the country have their own unique energy and electrification-related needs and implementation capacity, Interior said.

The Tribal Electrification Program “will meet the unique needs of individual Tribal communities by supporting collaborative and community-led planning and implementation.”

The program will provide financial and technical assistance to Tribes to connect homes to transmission and distribution that is powered by renewable energy; provide electricity to unelectrified Tribal homes through zero-emissions energy systems; transition electrified Tribal homes to zero-emissions energy systems; and support associated home repairs and retrofitting necessary to install the zero-emissions energy systems.

For more information on this program, visit the Bureau of Indian Affairs website.

OUC, Kissimmee Utility Authority Hit New Power Demand Records

August 13, 2023

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
August 13, 2023

Florida public power utilities OUC and Kissimmee Utility Authority recently hit new power demand records with soaring temperatures hitting the state last week.

In Florida, Orlando-based OUC on Aug. 10 said that with record heat and heat indexes impacting Central Florida, OUC experienced new peak electric demand for its Orlando and St. Cloud service territories.  

On Wednesday, Aug. 9, demand by OUC’s Orlando electric customers reached 1,349 megawatts, breaking records set on Monday and Tuesday. St. Cloud customers also set a record for electric demand on Wednesday, reaching 271 MW, eclipsing records set on Monday and Tuesday.

Previously, Orlando recorded a peak demand of 1,285 MW on June 25, 2019, while St. Cloud recorded a peak demand of 250 MW on July 3, 2023.

Meanwhile, as the heat index in the Kissimmee, Fla., region topped 110 degrees on Tuesday, Aug. 8, residents set a new all-time record for electricity use.

Kissimmee Utility Authority recorded an instantaneous system peak of 439.2 MW at 5:12 p.m. on Tuesday. On Monday, the utility recorded a system peak load of 435.7 megawatts, shattering the previous record of 416.2 set on July 13, 2022.

Idaho National Laboratory Deploys “Microgrid in a Box” at Hydropower Plant

August 10, 2023

by Peter Maloney
APPA News
August 10, 2023

Idaho National Laboratory, in partnership with Fall River Electric Cooperative, has deployed a “Microgrid in a Box” at the cooperative’s hydropower plant in rural Idaho.

Using the Microgrid in a Box technologies developed by the Idaho Lab and sponsored by the Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office, the researchers demonstrated how hydropower with advanced controls and use of a mobile microgrid, can enable small communities to maintain critical services during emergencies.

The Relocatable Resiliency Alternative Power Improvement Distribution Microgrid in a Box, also known as RAPID MIB, is a portable, self-contained grid system developed by Idaho National Laboratory engineers in collaboration with private industry and government customers.

The Microgrid in a Box system is designed to enable the integration and optimization of multiple energy sources — such as hydropower, solar panels, wind turbines, diesel generators or even small nuclear reactors — to ensure a reliable and resilient power supply in remote or off-grid locations, or during emergency situations or power outages.

At the ribbon cutting for the Microgrid in a Box project, Idaho Lab researchers simulated a critical load while showing how the hydropower plant could be used to restore the grid after a simulated electrical grid blackout.

“There are hundreds of hydropower plants like this one serving small communities across the country,” Thomas Mosier, leader of Idaho National Laboratory’s Energy Systems Group, said in a statement. “What we’ve demonstrated are new technologies that can enable these communities to use the hydropower resources they already have to restart and maintain stable power to essential services, even during an emergency event.”

“Restarting a grid isn’t as simple as flipping a switch,” Kurt Myers, leader of Idaho Lab’s Energy and Grid Systems Integration group, said in a statement. “It requires a steady power input that many small utilities alone can’t provide. Combining the tech built into the Microgrid in a Box with the existing capabilities of the Fall River plant, we’re showing how communities with limited resources can recover and continue to function during an emergency.”

GAO Report Highlights Transformer Supply Chain Issues Raised by Public Power Utilities

August 7, 2023

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
August 7, 2023

A new report issued by the Government Accountability Office highlights many issues that have been consistently raised by public power utilities related to the ongoing transformer supply chain crisis. 

Those include long manufacturing lead times, increasing manufacturing capacity will take time, material and component shortages that limit capacity expansion, labor shortages, and competition from foreign producers.

The report also details efforts undertaken by utilities to address these issues on their own including maintaining spare equipment on site, strategically managing, and modifying inventory in stock, and other efforts to harden infrastructure (such as security enhancements) to avoid having to replace components.

The report, “DOE Could Better Support Industry Efforts to “Ensure Adequate Transformer Reserves,” was issued to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees.

The American Public Power Association was contacted by GAO staff last year to provide information regarding APPA efforts to address supply chain issues related to transformers.

While the subject of the GAO report focuses on large power transformers (LPTs), public power was able to provide information to GAO that shows the similarities between LPTs and distribution transformer lead times and supply issues, as well as other grid components being constrained.

The report concludes that utilities and DOE have taken steps to address challenges, but that DOE has not done enough to support industry efforts. 

The agency “has yet to develop a plan that sets actionable objectives to operationalize these options and strategies. Without such a plan to guide DOE’s efforts, those efforts could stall or remain incomplete, further delaying potential solutions and support that utilities and other stakeholders need to address supply chain challenges,” GAO said.

GAO makes two recommendations for action by DOE.

First, the report states that the Secretary of Energy should establish a plan, including time frames as appropriate, to guide the agency’s efforts to develop solutions and support for addressing transformer supply chain challenges.

Second, the Secretary of Energy should establish a plan, including time frames as appropriate, to guide the agency’s support for utilities and facilitate greater participation in industry-sharing efforts.

Florida Municipal Power Agency Voices Concerns About EPA Proposed Greenhouse Gas Rule

August 4, 2023

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
August 4, 2023

The Florida Municipal Power Agency recently filed comments with the Environmental Protection Agency voicing concerns about EPA’s proposed greenhouse gas rule for electric utilities.

The rule, which targets CO2 emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants, presents unique challenges in Florida, FMPA noted.

FMPA is a wholesale power agency owned by municipal electric utilities in Florida.

Florida relies on natural gas generation for 75% of its power supply, “by far the highest percentage in the United States. It would be one of the most impacted states by EPA’s proposed rule, which would introduce experimental ‘green’ hydrogen to partially fuel natural gas power plants by 2032,” FMPA said in a news release related to the comments.

The Florida Reliability Coordinating Council also filed comments on the proposed rule. The FRCC reported the rule would likely reduce natural gas generation levels between 20% to 40% for natural gas units, creating significant reliability risks in Florida, FMPA pointed out.

“Florida is not situated to comply with the rule within the proposed time frame and it would result in 8% unserved energy, or the equivalent of blacking out all of Florida’s residential customers for two months, according to FRCC analysis,” said Jacob Williams, CEO and general manager at FMPA. “To meet the proposal, permitting and building out the ‘green’ hydrogen production, transportation and storage facilities for most of the natural gas plants in Florida would take much longer than eight years and will be extremely costly.”

FMPA estimates EPA’s proposals could increase energy costs between 100% to 200% for all Florida customers. “This, combined with Florida families using more electricity than the average U.S. family due to heat and humidity and already rapidly increasing energy prices, creates challenges for customers,” FMPA pointed out in the news release.

Florida has one of the highest rates of residents living on a fixed or low income, especially with the state’s significant retiree population. Of FMPA’s members, which include all 33 public power utilities in the state, nearly half of the communities have average incomes that are 50% or less of the U.S. average.

“Our top priority remains providing affordable and reliable power to each of the 4 million Floridians served by our members,” said Williams.

In its comments, FMPA encouraged EPA to delay the rulemaking and consult with other federal agencies about the unique economic and power reliability consequences of its proposed rules.

The rule was published in the Federal Register on May 23, 2023.

Senate Committee Passes Bill that Includes $1.2 Billion to Boost Grid Supply Chain

July 24, 2023

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
July 24, 2023

The Senate Committee on Appropriations on July 20 approved the Fiscal Year 2024 Energy and Water Development appropriations bill, which includes $1.2 billion to be spent through 2026 to “enhance the domestic supply chain for the manufacture of electric grid components.”

This supply chain funding is being reprogammed through various programs authorized under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. These include sections 40101, Grid Resilience for State and Tribal Formula Grants, 40106, Transmission Facilitation Program, 40107, Smart Grid Grants, and 40125(d) Modeling and Assessing Energy Infrastructure Risk.

The new funding provided under the appropriations bill can be used for “financial assistance, procurement, technical assistance, and workforce support.”

The provision was added as part of a “manager’s amendment” to the original version of the appropriations bill and authored by Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), a member of the Committee on Appropriations and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Also, the report accompanying the appropriations bill expresses concerns over a notice of proposed rulemaking to increase energy conservation for distribution transformers.

The report’s language follows a provision in the House Committee on Appropriations Energy and Water Development Bill delaying the distribution transformer proposed rule by five years.

The American Public Power Association strongly supports the report language, the $1.2 billion in additional funding and the House provision blocking the proposed rule.

Combined, these provisions provide funding to address the underlying supply shortage issue and affirm that the Department of Energy needs to take into consideration concerns voiced by APPA relating to increasing efficiency standards, it said.

For over a year, the electric sector has been informing DOE about the severity of the supply chain challenges that have prolonged and complicated distribution transformer production and availability.

In June, 47 U.S. senators sent a letter to Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm saying that DOE should reconsider its proposed rule to increase conservation standards for distribution transformers.

In April, more than 60 House members urged Granholm to withdraw the proposed rule.

In February APPA, the Edison Electric Institute, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, and other impacted trade groups, sent a letter strongly urging DOE to reconsider its intention to increase energy conservation standards for distribution transformers.

Overall, the appropriations bill would provide $17.3 billion for the Department of Energy’s non-defense energy programs — $17.7 billion if excluding the proposed savings from a proposed $400 million rescission from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve account. Also excluding the effects of past and proposed SPR rescissions, the Senate Appropriations Committee bill provides a $293 million increase over FY 2023 spending, a $825 million increase over the House Committee on Appropriations bill, but a $2.2 billion cut from President Biden’s proposed budget.

The Senate Committee bill joins with the House Committee on Appropriations in rejecting the Biden administration proposal to move the State and Community Energy Programs, Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains Program, and the Federal Energy Management Program from the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to become their own separate offices.

However, unlike the House, the Senate bill agrees with the administration proposal to move the Grid Deployment program from within the Office of Electricity to become a standalone office within DOE.

States, Tribal Nations Receive Grants Totaling $207.6 Million for Grid Resilience

July 11, 2023

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
July 11, 2023

The U.S. Department of Energy on July 6 announced nine states and three tribal nations as the third cohort to receive a combined total of $207.6 million in grid resilience state and tribal formula grants.

Here are details on how the three tribal nations will utilize the funding:

Nine States Receive Funding

California will use the funding to reduce the frequency and duration of power outages. Selected projects will be used to advance California’s goal of achieving 100 percent clean energy through resilience solutions that deploy zero-carbon energy resources and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. (Amount: $67.5 million)

Kansas plans to promote grid equity by ensuring that funds are distributed equitably, particularly in rural, disadvantaged, and underserved communities. Grants funds will be used to promote resilience projects while advancing projects that attract, train, and retain a skilled Kansas workforce. (Amount: $13.3 million)

Kentucky will work to improve the safety and reliability of the electric grid serving critical facilities and increase the resilience capacity of critical infrastructure. Grant funds will be used to expand local workforce capacity and increase the resilience capacity of under-resourced communities and vulnerable populations by funding projects with small entities and state facilities that serve critical roles during natural disasters. (Amount: $11.1 million)

Maine’s goal is to improve community and economic resilience while empowering electric customers and communities to be resilient to disruptive events. Selected projects will be used to increase clean energy workforce opportunities and activities will align with ongoing electric grid modernization and state policy climate goals while mitigating disproportionate energy burdens. (Amount: $4.4 million)

Michigan will invest in last-mile delivery solutions for low-income customers and mitigate the risk of severe weather on critical facilities through traditional grid hardening resilience investments. Grant funds will be used to grow Michigan’s skilled workforce for grid resilience activities and support innovative non-wired alternative projects. (Amount: $14.9 million)

Minnesota will prioritize projects that will generate the greatest community benefit and enhance equity by aligning with the Justice40 initiative. With a goal of strengthening prosperity, state officials will focus on expanding good-paying, safe jobs accessible to all workers and invest in domestic supply chains. (Amount: $11.9 million)

Oregon’s goal is to deliver benefits to disadvantaged communities and nine federally recognized Tribes in Oregon as defined by the Justice40 Initiative, while maximizing community benefits that complement grid resilience projects. Grant funds will be used to further refine program objectives, metrics, and criteria for future years to ensure program funds address the most pressing grid resilience needs. (Amount: $19.9 million)

Rhode Island will work to address electric resilience threats through a bottom-up approach to identify innovative projects with robust municipal collaboration. State officials will develop a replicable planning framework which will leverage this funding opportunity with other competitive or private funding opportunities. (Amount: $3.4 million)

Texas will use grant funds to identify gaps in grid resilience and minimize disruption to normal grid operations during weather events with weatherization and modeling technologies, as well as vegetation and fuel load management. Furthermore, Texas will increase the skilled workforce by assuring that any installed resilience measures can be operated and maintained without contractor support, whenever possible. (Amount: $60.6 million) 

Over the next five years, the Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grants will distribute a total of $2.3 billion to States, Territories, and federally recognized tribes, including Alaska Native Regional Corporations and Alaska Native Village Corporations, based on a formula that includes factors such as population size, land area, probability and severity of disruptive events, and a locality’s historical expenditures on mitigation efforts.

The States, Territories, and tribes will then award these funds to complete a set of projects, with priority given to efforts that generate the greatest community benefit while providing clean, affordable, and reliable energy, DOE said.

Additional Grid Resilience Formula Grant recipients will be announced on a rolling basis in the coming months as applications are received.

The fiscal year (FY) 22 and FY 23 application deadline for States and Territories was May 31, 2023. The FY 22 and FY 23 application deadline for Indian tribes, including Alaska Native Corporations, is August 31, 2023, at 11:59 pm ET (with a mail-in option post-marked by this date).

Florida’s Lakeland Electric Pursues Microgrid Pilot Project

July 7, 2023

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
July 7, 2023

Florida public power utility Lakeland Electric is partnering with Block Energy in pursuing a pilot microgrid project, which was detailed by Cindy Clemmons, Manager of Legislative and Regulatory Relations at Lakeland Electric, in a presentation on June 30.

Joining Clemmons at the meeting held by the Lakeland, Fla., Utility Committee were several officials from Block Energy and Michael Beckham, Lakeland Electric’s General Manager.

The microgrid pilot project would include battery storage and solar panels.

In providing background on the project, Clemmons noted that she has been conducting research on available federal incentives over the past two years.

“What I quickly learned is that the large grants that we could get our hands on” involved working with a partner. She identified one grant in particular offered by the Department of Energy through its Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program.

Then, through conversations with energy industry contacts, Clemmons was introduced to Block Energy. She noted that Block Energy is known “for being very focused on the utility and wanting to do business models and projects that benefit the utility. That appealed to us,” she said, noting that the company strives to help utilities stay relevant.

“We formed a consortium with them and went out for the GRIP grant,” Clemmons said. The hope is that Lakeland Electric and Block Energy will hear back on a decision on their grant application in September, she noted.

A big positive related to the project is the fact that “we will get tax credits,” Clemmons noted, through the Inflation Reduction Act. “We will get almost thirty percent back on this project just through tax credits.” The tax credits element “is really going to make this project viable,” she said.

In her presentation, Clemmons detailed a number of other benefits that will flow from the project. She noted, for example, that the microgrid project will have a 100% off-peak design and will be designed so as not to add capacity constraints.

Another positive of the project is that it calls for a utility ownership model. “Everything is controllable by the utility, and we don’t even have to change our rate. It’s a residential rate, so that makes it easier,” Clemmons said.

The utility ownership approach “allows us to be experts. It allows us to dip our toe into what a microgrid is and how it runs.” Another benefit that could flow from utility ownership involves staff development. “There are staff members that we could train, and they become apprentices and learn how to manage a microgrid,” Clemmons said.

At a later point, she said that the projected cost for the project is $2.75 million, which would cover 50 homes participating in the pilot. If the GRIP grant is approved, the project could be expanded to one hundred homes.

“We are covering this in our 2024 budget,” she said, with half coming from production capital and the other half coming from capital for energy delivery.

“I’m still looking for federal funding opportunities,” Clemmons noted, mentioning, in particular, low interest to no interest loans that are forgivable.

“There is no incremental impact to the ratepayers,” she said.  

In terms of the project’s timeline, the first draft of a contract between Lakeland Electric and Block Energy for the two-year microgrid pilot project is under review and “we will bring that to you for approval in the next couple months – we’re thinking either September or October,” she told the committee. If that is approved by the committee, pilot construction would begin in the second quarter of 2024.

Block Energy will install and operate and maintain the microgrid the first two years and then, once the contract expires, Lakeland Electric will take over O&M of the project.

Beckham noted that he and Clemmons were joined by City of Lakeland officials in attending the American Public Power Association’s 2023 National Conference in Seattle, Washington, “and heard quite a bit about microgrids.”

At APPA’s National Conference, Clemmons was awarded the Harold Kramer-John Preston Personal Service Award. This award is given to individuals who have shown outstanding service to APPA.

Report Outlines Potential, Challenges of Clean Energy Microgrids

June 28, 2023

by Peter Maloney
APPA News
June 28, 2023

Clean energy microgrids can provide an opportunity to both enhance resiliency and decrease greenhouse emissions, according to a report by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and the National Association of State Energy Officials.

The report, Clean Energy Microgrids: Considerations for State Energy Offices and Public Utility Commissions to Increase Resilience, Reduce Emissions, and Improve Affordability, outlines the benefits and challenges of clean energy microgrids and offers economic and cost considerations for clean energy microgrid development.

The report examines the necessary technological components of a clean energy microgrid and highlights current and future clean technologies that are becoming more cost effective and competitive.

“The NASEO-NARUC Clean Energy Microgrids guide offers states actionable policy and regulatory considerations to facilitate construction of clean energy microgrids by local governments, state institutions, mission-critical facilities and businesses,” David Terry, president of NASEO, said in a statement.

The report also includes policy and regulatory considerations for state energy offices and public utility commissions to assist in the deployment of clean energy microgrids.

As of year-end 2022, 687 microgrid sites with a capacity of 4,357 megawatts were installed across the United States. Most of the installations, 257, are in Texas followed by California, with 91, and New York with 68, according to a Department of Energy database cited in the report. New York leads in installed microgrid capacity with 662.5 MW installed. Texas is second with 645.6 MW installed, and California is third with 442.5 MW, according to the database.

The most prevalent technology for powering a microgrid is a combined heat and power plant, which accounts for more than 50 percent of all microgrids. Non-CHP combustion plants represent about 30 percent of total microgrid installations. Solar, wind, and hydro generation comprise less than 10 percent of installed microgrids.

In 2020, diesel and natural gas each accounted for 40 percent of the primary fuel of microgrids, which is higher than the 60 percent of fossil fuels powering the electricity sector.

However, the report noted that analysts predict that by 2025 wind, solar, hydropower, and energy storage will represent 35 percent of annual installed microgrid capacity, an increase the authors attribute to an increase in federal and state policies encouraging clean energy development, private sector investment in projects that provide a resilience value, lower costs, and increased funding streams.

“Over the past decade, State Energy Offices have partnered with energy providers, local governments, and utilities to develop microgrid roadmaps and facilitate microgrid installations that enhance resilience and reduce emissions,” Terry said.

Although challenges such as costs and technological limitations remain, State Energy Offices and public utility commissions have several pathways to support the deployment of clean energy microgrids, such as tariffs, incentives, grants, and the expansion of renewable portfolio standards and clean energy standards, the report said.