Category Archives: 2018

CPES Policy Committee Update: May 8, 2018

This update features policy, regulatory, legislative, and regional developments in Connecticut and New England. The policy updates are compiled by the CPES New Energy Professionals Team. If you are interested in learning more about the New Energy Professionals, the Policy Committee, or if you have ideas for future policy updates, we would welcome your input and feedback. Please send comments to Kathryn Dube, CPES Executive Director, via email: kdube@ctpower.org.

In this Update:

  • ISO-NE Summer 2018 Outlook
  • ISO-NE Winter 2018 Markets Report  
  • Recently Published ISO New England Webinars
  • ISO-NE successfully completes FERC audit of competitive transmission planning process, financial requirements, and more
  • Gov. Malloy Announces Cybersecurity Action Plan for CT
  • Energy Bill Sails Through Senate Over Ferocious Opposition by Environmental, Solar Groups

REGIONAL AND INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS

ISO-NE SUMMER 2018 OUTLOOK
Under normal weather conditions, New England is expected to have sufficient resources to meet peak consumer demand for electricity this summer, according to ISO New England. ISO New England prepares short-term forecasts for the summer and winter seasons, taking into account estimated contributions from all resources, including those with and without an obligation through the capacity market to supply electricity; unplanned resource outages; imports from neighboring regions; and resource additions and retirements. These estimates help inform ISO New England’s planning on how to operate the grid during the upcoming peak season. Read the press release here.

ISO-NE WINTER 2018 MARKETS REPORT  
ISO New England’s report, prepared by the Internal Market Monitor (IMM) of ISO New England, reviews wholesale energy market outcomes for the three-month period from December 1, 2017, through February 28, 2018. The Winter 2018 Quarterly Markets Report notes that the total wholesale cost of electricity (including energy, capacity, and ancillary services) during the three-month period was $3.43 billion, double the market value of $1.7 billion during the winter of 2017. The quarterly report includes a section on market performance during the December/January cold spell, as well as a section reviewing the results of the 12th Forward Capacity Market Auction (FCA #12). See the full report here.

RECENTLY PUBLISHED ISO NEW ENGLAND WEBINARS
ISO New England’s presentations and recordings of the May 1, 2018, FCM New Capacity Qualification for Demand Resources and FCM New Capacity Qualification for Generation and Imports webinars are now available on the ISO New England website. The webinars review the requirements associated with the submittal of the new capacity qualification package for the Forward Capacity Auction for the 2022-2023 Capacity Commitment Period (FCA #13).

ISO-NE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETES FERC AUDIT OF COMPETETIVE TRANSMISSION PLANNING PROCESS, FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS, AND MORE
On April 18, 2018, ISO New England received a successful audit report from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Division of Audits and Accounting (DAA). The audit evaluated the ISO’s compliance during the period of July 10, 2013, through June 30, 2017, with the ISO Open Access Transmission Tariff; FERC Order No. 1000, which established new electric transmission planning and cost allocation requirements; and FERC’s accounting, reporting, and record-retention requirements. The DAA found no incidents of noncompliance. For details, read Final Audit Report: Audit of ISO New England, Inc.’s Compliance with its Transmission, Markets and Services Tariff; and Commission Accounting, Reporting, and Record Retention Requirements (April 2018).

CONNECTICUT

GOVERNOR MALLOY ANNOUNCES CYBERSECURITY ACTION PLAN FOR CT
Last week, Governor Malloy announced the release of a Cybersecurity Action Plan for Connecticut and called for an enhanced cybersecurity defense and resilience to meet the increasing array of cyber risks facing the state. Read the new strategy here, and the press release here.

ENERGY BILL SAILS THROUGH THE SENATE OVER FEROCIOUS OPPOSITION BY ENVIRONMENTAL, SOLAR GROUPS
With only days to spare, the most consequential energy legislation in years sailed through the Senate and now moves to the House of Representatives. There have been days of discussions over the last month among the committee’s leaders and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The Governor’s office, the environmental advocacy community, business interests and affected industries have kept close watch. But Senate Bill 9, proposed by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to implement the state’s updated Comprehensive Energy Strategy (CES), is still facing controversy, even though it has undergone massive changes since it was approved by the Energy and Technology Committee.

CONNECTICUT LEGISLATIVE SESSION
The 2018 Regular Session of the Connecticut General Assembly will adjourn on May 9, 2018.  General information about the Energy and Technology Committee is available at: https://www.cga.ct.gov/et

 

CPES Policy Committee Update: May 1, 2018

This update features policy, regulatory, legislative, and regional developments in Connecticut and New England. The policy updates are compiled by the CPES New Energy Professionals Team. If you are interested in learning more about the New Energy Professionals, the Policy Committee, or if you have ideas for future policy updates, we would welcome your input and feedback. Please send comments to Kathryn Dube, CPES Executive Director, via email: kdube@ctpower.org.

In this Update:

  • FERC’s State of the Markets Report 2017
  • ISO New England Winter Recap
  • Setting Regional Solar and Wind Power Records in New England
  • FERC Issues Letter Accepting the Results of the 12th Forward Capacity Auction
  • Docket No. 18-04-25: PURA Investigation Regarding Issues Related to Uncollectible Accounts and Docket No. 10-06-18RE02: Application of Spark Energy, L.P. for an Electric Supplier License – Investigation Into Marketing 

REGIONAL AND INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS

FERC’S STATE OF THE MARKETS REPORT 2017
FERC’s Office of Enforcement’s Division of Energy Market Oversight published their annual assessment of natural gas, electric, and other energy markets developments during the past year.  The Commission’s accompanying presentation is always available on their website.

ISO NEW ENGLAND WINTER RECAP
ISO New England published a recap of the 2017/2018 winter conditions, describing the effect of the historic cold snap in the final week of December and first week of January. For more on how these cold weather conditions impacted grid operations, see ISO-NE’s analysis.

SETTING REGIONAL SOLAR AND WIND POWER RECORDS IN NEW ENGLAND
Over 130,000 solar power installations now span the six New England states, totaling about 2,400 MW (nameplate)—over 5,800 MW are expected by 2027. Almost all this solar power is connected to local distribution utilities or “behind the meter” (BTM) directly at retail customer sites. On April 9, a cool, cloudless day across New England, BTM solar power set a new regional record. Wind, energy-efficiency measures and storage are also contributing to the changing grid, reducing  the region’s emissions. Learn more at ISO-New England’s website.

FERC ISSUES LETTER ACCEPTING THE RESULTS OF THE 12TH FORWARD CAPACITY AUCTION
FERC issued a letter order accepting ISO New England’s filing of the results of the twelfth Forward Capacity Auction, held on February 5-6, 2018 for the June 1, 2021 through May 31, 2022 Capacity Commitment Period. The document has been posted to the ISO’s website. 

CONNECTICUT

RECENT PURA DOCKETS
On April 26, 2018, PURA established Docket No. 18-04-25:  PURA Investigation Regarding Issues Related to Uncollectible Accounts 

On April 25, 2018, PURA established Docket No. 10-06-18RE02:  Application of Spark Energy, L.P. for an Electric Supplier License – Investigation Into Marketing 

CONNECTICUT LEGISLATIVE SESSION
The 2018 Regular Session of the Connecticut General Assembly convened on February 7, 2018 and will adjourn on May 9, 2018.  General information about the Energy and Technology Committee is available at: https://www.cga.ct.gov/et

 

 

 

 

CPES Policy Committee Update April 24, 2018

This update features policy, regulatory, legislative, and regional developments in Connecticut and New England. The policy updates are compiled by the CPES New Energy Professionals Team. If you are interested in learning more about the New Energy Professionals, the Policy Committee, or if you have ideas for future policy updates, we would welcome your input and feedback. Please send comments to Kathryn Dube, CPES Executive Director, via email: kdube@ctpower.org.

In this Update:

  • FERC Issues Final Rules to Improve Regional Market Transparency, Interconnections
  • Connecticut Water Confirms Receipt of Unsolicited Acquisition Proposal from Eversource Energy
  • Upcoming Training and Webinars from ISO-NE
  • FERC Initiates Notice of Inquiry Into Pipeline Certificate
  • Millstone “At Risk” Determination
  • PURA Docket No. 13-08-14RE04 established on April 18, 2018:  PURA Development of the Administrative Processes and Program Specifications for Virtual Net Metering – Application Amendment 

REGIONAL AND INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS

FERC INITIATES NOTICE OF INQUIRY INTO PIPELINE CERTIFICATE 
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) launched an inquiry seeking information and stakeholder perspectives on whether and how to revise existing policies regarding the Commission’s review and authorization of interstate natural gas transportation facilities. For more information, see FERC’s website and the Notice of Inquiry.

FERC ISSUES FINAL RULE TO IMPROVE REGIONAL MARKET TRANSPARENCY, INTERCONNECTIONS
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued two final rules to improve transparency in organized electric power markets and make electricity interconnections more effective and efficient.

  • Transparency Final Rule: Addresses transparency regarding uplift payments, operator-initiated commitments and transmission constraint penalty factors in organized electric power markets.  The rule requires regional market operators to report, on a monthly basis: total uplift payments for each transmission zone, broken out by day and uplift category; total uplift payments to each resource; and the commitment size, transmission zone, commitment reason, and commitment start time of each operator-initiated commitment. The rule also requires regional market operators to include in their tariffs the transmission constraint penalty factors used in their market software, the circumstances under which those factors can set locational marginal prices, and any processes by which they can be changed.
  • Generator Interconnection Procedures and Agreements Final Rule: Addresses reform of generator interconnection procedures and agreements for generators of more than 20 megawatts, and adopts reforms designed to improve certainty for interconnection customers, promote informed interconnection decisions and enhance the interconnection process.

CONNECTICUT WATER CONFIRMS RECEIPT OF UNSOLICITED ACQUISITION PROPOSAL FROM EVERSOURCE ENERGY
Connecticut Service, Inc. plans to continue with its merger with San Jose Water Group, despite a proposal from Eversource Energy earlier this month. Eversource announced Thursday that it sent a proposal to Connecticut Water to acquire its outstanding shares for $63.50 per share in cash. Shareholders would also have the option to receive the equivalent shares in Eversource in lieu of a monetary payment. Connecticut Water, headquartered in Clinton, said it received Eversource’s “non-binding, unsolicited” proposal and the company’s board of directors unanimously decided to decline it.

UPCOMING TRAINING FROM ISO-NE
Intermediate Wholesale Electricity Markets (WEM 201)  May 15- 27, 2018.  This three-day course provides an intermediate-level treatment of energy market concepts, including unit commitment, locational marginal pricing (LMP), reserve co-optimization, market interactions, settlement mechanics, and Financial Transmission Rights (FTRs).  
PRD–Real-Time Operational Expectations, May 22, 2018 10:00 am. – 12:00 p.m. This webinar will focus on real-time operational expectations for demand response resources (DRRs) and demand designated entity (DDE) staff under price-responsive demand (PRD) effective on June 1, 2018.  Topics include expectations for (1) response to normal and emergency dispatch instructions, (2) DRR real-time re-submittals, and (3) communications with ISO New England system operators.  

ISO IS HOSTING TWO WEBINARS ON ITS FORWARD CAPACITY MARKETS
FCM New Capacity Qualification for Demand Resources, May 1, 2018, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. This webinar will review the requirements associated with the submittal of the new capacity qualification package for demand resource projects requesting participation in the Forward Capacity Auction for the 2022-2023 Capacity Commitment Period (FCA #13).
FCM New Capacity Qualification for Generation and Imports, May 1, 2018, 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. This webinar will review the requirements associated with the submittal of the new capacity qualification package for generating and import capacity resource projects requesting participation in the Forward Capacity Auction for the 2022-2023 Capacity Commitment Period (FCA #13). It will also include a segment on import capacity resources with Elective Transmission Upgrades (ETU).

CONNECTICUT

MILLSTONE “AT RISK” DETERMINATION
Following the February decision under Executive Order 59 and June Special Session Public Act 17-3 by state regulators to allow nuclear plants to compete in an auction with new and existing solar, wind and hydropower energy producers for fixed-price contracts with state-regulated utilities. On April 4th DEEP and PURA issued a notice of request for written comments on their proposed procedure and criteria for determining if a power generating facility is at “at risk.”  Comments were due April 11 and a half dozen were filed.  An article from New London Day summarized the comments, including those from Dominion, Eversource, and NRG Energy.  According to DEEP and PURA’s notice, PURA proposed to initiate the “at risk” proceeding this April, with DEEP initiating an RFP proceeding before May 1.

PURA DOCKET ESTABLISHED ON APRIL 18, 2018

  • Docket No. 13-08-14RE04:  PURA Development of the Administrative Processes and Program Specifications for Virtual Net Metering – Application Amendment 

CONNECTICUT LEGISLATIVE SESSION
The 2018 Regular Session of the Connecticut General Assembly convened on February 7, 2018.  General information about the Energy and Technology Committee is available at: https://www.cga.ct.gov/et

 

 

 

 

CPES Policy Committee Update: April 17, 2018

This update features policy, regulatory, legislative, and regional developments in Connecticut and New England. The policy updates are compiled by the CPES New Energy Professionals Team. If you are interested in learning more about the New Energy Professionals, the Policy Committee, or if you have ideas for future policy updates, we would welcome your input and feedback. Please send comments to Kathryn Dube, CPES Executive Director, via email: kdube@ctpower.org.

In this Update:

  • Wrap-up from the March Consumer Liaison Group (CLG) Meeting       
  • 2018 Legislative Session Information

REGIONAL AND INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS

WRAP-UP FROM THE MARCH CONSUMER LIAISON GROUP (CLG) MEETING          
Materials from the March 1, 2018 Consumer Liaison Group meeting are now available on ISO New England’s website. The CLG meets four times a year. Meetings are open to the public and include:

  • Remarks from a guest speaker—typically, an industry or business executive, policymaker or regulator—who provides a unique perspective on a particular topic or issue
  • A panel discussion often representing industry, the ISO, regulators, and consumer perspectives
  • An update from the ISO on regional energy issues and initiatives that have or will be taking place at New England Power Pool (NEPOOL) and ISO stakeholder meetings that can have an impact on electricity prices 

At the March meeting, CLG members heard from Commissioner Michael Giaimo from the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission and a panel on the evolution of the region’s wholesale electricity markets.  Anne George, Vice President of External Affairs and Corporate Communications for ISO New England, provided an update on the ISO’s Operational Fuel-Security Analysis, the final results of Forward Capacity Auction #12, and preliminary wholesale electricity costs for 2017.  

CLG meetings are generally attended by consumers and consumer representatives (including state consumer and ratepayer advocates), state business and industry associations, chambers of commerce, individual businesses, trade groups, nonprofit organizations, and other end users.  Dates for the remaining 2018 meetings are posted online.

CONNECTICUT
The 2018 Regular Session of the Connecticut General Assembly convened on February 7, 2018 and will adjourn on May 9, 2018.  General information about the Energy and Technology Committee is available at: https://www.cga.ct.gov/et/.

CPES Policy Committee Update: April 10, 2017

This update features policy, regulatory, legislative, and regional developments in Connecticut and New England. The policy updates are compiled by the CPES New Energy Professionals Team. If you are interested in learning more about the New Energy Professionals, the Policy Committee, or if you have ideas for future policy updates, we would welcome your input and feedback. Please send comments to Kathryn Dube, CPES Executive Director, via email: kdube@ctpower.org.

In this Update:

  • ISO New England’s Draft Load Forecast Indicates Energy Usage and Peak Demand Will Decline Slightly Over the Next 10 Years
  • Wind, Fuel Cell Developers Pitch Over Two Dozen Projects
  • Regional Transmission Investment: Spring 2018 Update
  • Doosan GridTech Wins Deal for Energy Storage System
  • Connecticut Kicks off Grid Modernization Effort
  • PURA dockets established on March 28, 2018
  • March 29, 2018 Energy & Technology Committee Meeting Minutes

REGIONAL AND INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS

ISO NEW ENGLAND’S DRAFT LOAD FORECAST INDICATES ENERGY USAGE AND PEAK DEMAND WILL DECLINE SLIGHTLY OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS
The primary factors are continuing installation of energy-efficiency measures and behind-the-meter photovoltaic (BTM PV) arrays throughout the region. ISO NE’s long-term forecast for electricity use is developed each year using state and regional economic forecasts, 40 years of weather history in New England, federal appliance efficiency standards, the results of both the ISO’s energy-efficiency (EE) forecast and solar photovoltaic (PV) forecast, and other factors. Learn more at ISO’s website.

WIND, FUEL CELL DEVELOPERS PITCH OVER TWO DOZEN PROJECTS
DEEP received 27 bids this week in response to a competitive RFP that seeks to select potentially hundreds of thousands of megawatt hours of clean and renewable energy. Hartford Business Journal Article

REGIONAL TRANSMISSION INVESTMENT: SPRING 2018 UPDATE
ISO New England recently published the March 2018 update to the Regional System Plan (RSP) Project List, which details Pool Transmission Facility (PTF) projects needed to ensure reliability in New England. Since the October 2017 update, 22 upgrades were placed in service and no new projects were added. Since 2002, a cumulative total of 768 project components representing an investment of $10.4 billion have been placed into service to help ensure that New England’s transmission system continues to reliably and efficiently move wholesale electricity across the region. See the RSP update presentation at ISO’s website.

DOOSAN GRIDTECH WINS DEAL FOR ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM
Doosan GridTech Inc., a major provider of utility-integrated energy storage solutions, has won a deal to install an energy storage system for American energy provider Consumers Energy. Read the article

CONNECTICUT

CONNECTICUT KICKS OFF GRID MODERNIZATION EFFORT
Utility representatives and other stakeholders shared their views on evolving cost drivers, changing customer demand and new technologies at the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority’s first-ever technical conference on grid modernization.

PURA DOCKETS ESTABLISHED ON MARCH 28, 2018

  • Docket No. 14-07-19RE05:  PURA Investigation Into Redesign of the Residential Electric Billing Format – Review of Summary Information, Implementation and Display 
  • Docket No. 14-07-19RE04:  PURA Investigation into Redesign of the Residential Electric Billing Format – Next Rate Information 
  • Docket No. 06-12-07RE08:  Application of Liberty Power Holdings, LLC for an Electric Supplier License – Remand – Reopening

CONNECTICUT LEGISLATIVE SESSION
The 2018 Regular Session of the Connecticut General Assembly convened on February 7, 2018.  General information about the Energy and Technology Committee is available at: https://www.cga.ct.gov/et/

  • The Energy and Technology Committee held a committee meeting on March 29, 2018.  The meeting minutes are available here.