The Policy Tracker: A final Look for 2015

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 2016-18 Efficiency Program Plans, which project electric energy savings at ~2.93% of retail sales.  A decision in this docket is expexted in early 2016.

 

• Vermont is still in the first year of their 2015-17 Plan, and we direct readers toward two alternative dockets of importance: (1) Docket 8488 covers pending standards for energy data aggregation, access, and transfer; and (2) Docket 8550 covers implementation of the recently enacted Act 56, including regulations around market transforming strategic electrification portfolio requirements.

 

• Rhode Island regulators continue to deliberate on National Grid Rhode Island’s 2016 Efficiency Program Plan in Docket 4580, and their 2016 System Reliability Procurement Report in Docket 4581.  Also notable is Governor Gina Raimondo’s December 8, 2015 Executive Order 15-17, which directs state agencies to drastically reduce energy usage and directs the Office of Energy Resources to establish a voluntary “stretch” building energy code.

 

• Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection issued a tentative determination to approve with conditions the proposed 2016-18 Conservation and Load Management Plan.  Final approval is expected by the end of this year. Also notable is an ongoing proceeding around demonstration projects for grid-side system enhancements to integrate distributed energy resources.

 

• Maryland regulators issued a recent order in Docket 9153 approving, in part, requests for additional efficiency program funding to comply with the increased savings targets prescribed by this past June’s landmark Cost-Effectiveness Order.  In most cases, additional funding was only approved for the period until June 2016, corresponding with the next series of semi-annual hearings.  We’ll be closely monitoring the developments in Maryland, a state which received accreditation for being the most improved jurisdiction on ACEEE’s 2015 Annual Scorecard.

 

• New York regulators issued a recent Order in Docket 14-M-0094 continuing NYSERDA’s Program funding until the end of February, when a final Order on NYSERDA’s Clean Energy Fund is expected.

 

• District of Columbia regulators recently re-opened Docket FC 1119, reconsidering their hotly debated decision to deny the merger of Exelon and PHI Holdings, which has already received approval in all other necessary jurisdictions. For an examination of utility mergers and where energy efficiency fits in, see our recent blog on the subject.

 

• Pennsylvania regulators are considering the recently filed 2016-2020 Program Plans submitted by  Duquesne Light and Power, Metropolitan Edison, Penelec, PennPower, WestPenn Power, PECO, and PPL.  It is unclear whether regulators will prescribe revision to accommodate the now published Clean Power Plan Final Rule, but John Quigley, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection noted recently that “there's a lot of juice left to be squeezed out of our Act 129.” NEEP continues to monitor SB 805, a bill that would allow the largest electric customers to “opt out” of Pennsylvania’s highly successful efficiency programs. This would likely result in less efficiency happening over all, and undermine the overall program budgets. At time of publication, the bill was still in play.

 

• New Hampshire regulators are continuing to explore establishment of an Energy Efficiency Resource standard through Docket 15-137, with proposals submitted by the state’s PUC Staff, Utilities, and Advocates.  Under Staff’s suggested proposal (Plan B), the state would see 2017-19 cumulative savings at 2.04% of retail electric sales, and 2.39% of retail gas sales. For some context, from 2011-13, three year cumulative savings were 1.66% retail electric sales and 1.93% retail gas sales.

 

• Maine regulators are preparing to receive Efficiency Maine Trust’s 2017-19 Triennial Plan in the coming weeks after the organization held several stakeholder forums and opportunities for comment.

 

• New Jersey regulators recently selected Applied Energy Group (AEG) as the New Jersey Clean Energy Program’s Administrator.  AEG’s proposal contained Strategic Plan, which can be found here.

 

• Delaware utilities will be compiling their initial energy efficiency program plans for submission in beginning in January. For more information, visit the Delaware Energy Efficiency Advisory Council’s website here.