By Brian Buckley |
In a move that positioned Maryland as a national leader on energy efficiency, last June the Maryland Public Service Commission issued an Order extending the state’s successful EmPOWER Maryland programs while also directing program administrators to develop comprehensive gas efficiency programs, and reach for savings at two percent of retail sales for the electric programs. And less than two…
By Brian Buckley |
Aside from energy efficiency being the least-cost energy resource, a common argument used to support programs is that they create jobs and keep ratepayer dollars in-state. This argument seems at least intuitively correct, since it takes bodies in the field — or perhaps more appropriately, in attics and basements — to install energy savings measures.
But if energy efficiency creates so many jobs…
By Brian Buckley |
Spring has sprung, and it’s time for the latest edition of NEEP’s Policy Tracker. We’re closely watching Maryland’s EmPOWER proceedings after indications of a possible rollback of efficiency programs, while positive developments on the regulatory front are moving New Hampshire and Delaware closer to full program implementation. Read on for more…
Maryland …
By Brian Buckley |
Building upon decades of successful ratepayer-funded efficiency program administration, efforts to bring private, public, and philanthropic capital to energy efficiency are trending throughout the Northeast region and beyond. But, can private finance and ratepayer funded energy efficiency programs peacefully co-exist in a single market? Or should one market mechanism’s rising support…
By Brian Buckley |
While some may view it as “the winter that wasn’t,” early 2016 in fact hosted a flurry of energy efficiency program approvals and policy shakeups, both at the state and federal level. While more than one Supreme Court decision brought energy policy to the the nightly news, long-awaited orders from the New York Public Service Commission, Massachusetts Department of Public…
By Brian Buckley |
In a major departure from traditional thinking that often compartmentalized energy efficiency efforts in a way which limits cross-fuel subsidization, Vermont is in the midst of promulgating final regulations for Act 56. This potentially-landmark bill would encourage the state’s utilities to sell more MWh’s by, amongst other things, electrifying the heating and transportation sectors.
It’s no…
By Brian Buckley |
With the legislative sessions in most states drawn to a close, but active regulatory dockets with many of our region’s regulatory commissions, NEEP’s December 2015 Policy Tracker provides a succinct overview of what our team considers to be the most important ongoing regulatory news in each jurisdiction.
Massachusetts regulators continue their review of the recently submitted 2016-…
By Brian Buckley |
UPDATE: On January 25, 2016, the Supreme Court voted to reverse and remand the lower court's decision, reaffirming FERC's jurisdiction over compensation levels for demand response in wholesale markets.
It’s not every day that the U.S. Supreme Court contemplates the boundaries of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)’s authority under the Federal Power Act, but that’s exactly the…