DOE Compiles Publicly-Available Transmission Data in its in Annual U.S. Transmission Data Review

Posted on April 3, 2018 by Katherine O'Konski

Yesterday, DOE released its 2018 Annual U.S. Transmission Data Review, which gathers and presents, in a unified framework, data on the U.S. transmission system from the Energy Information Administration, Edison Electric Institute, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, and FERC.  DOE explains in the report’s introduction that the agency “has broad responsibility for developing and supporting the implementation of energy policies that serve the public interest.  Ensuring that timely and accurate data on key subjects is widely available to the public is one of those responsibilities.”

The Annual U.S. Transmission Data Review focuses on six topics:

  • The amount of existing transmission infrastructure—the transmission lines, transformers, circuit breakers, capacitor banks, and other equipment that make up the transmission systems—as well as planned transmission construction and investment;
  • The reliability performance of the transmission system in recent years;
  • Transmission system utilization (i.e., how the transmission system as a whole is used in day-to-day operations to facilitate electricity flows);
  • Management of current transmission constraints, defined as limitations on power flows resulting from individual pieces of equipment, operational limits, and transmission system capacity to deliver electricity from one area to another;
  • Transmission congestion—when transmission constraints limit the ability of system users to transfer power in the amounts they desire—including the economic costs of congestion developed by individual market operators; and
  • Transmission planning emerging from FERC-mandated regional transmission planning processes, as well as other, interconnection-wide planning activities.
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FERC to Address Impacts of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

Posted on March 29, 2018 by Jeff Bayne

This month, FERC issued a Notice of Inquiry and two Orders to Show Cause relating to the December 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.  That tax overhaul, among other things, reduced the federal corporate tax rate from a maximum 35% to a flat 21% rate.  FERC had received letters from a number of entities, including a bipartisan group of state attorneys general and ratepayer advocates, requesting that FERC act to ensure that the savings from lower tax rates are passed through to consumers.

The first Order to Show Cause is directed to thirty-three entities with FERC-jurisdictional stated transmission rates.  The federal corporate tax rate is one component of a stated transmission rate and these rates currently do not reflect the new, lower rate of 21%.  The second Order to Show Cause is directed to fifteen entities with FERC-jurisdictional formula rates that have a fixed line item in their formula rates for a 35% federal corporate income tax rate and which may prevent the use of the new lower tax rate.  FERC found that these stated and formula rates may no longer be just and reasonable and ordered that each of these entities either propose a revision to its rate to reflect the new federal corporate income tax or show cause as to why it should not be required to do so.

FERC’s Notice of Inquiry seeks comment on the effects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on FERC-jurisdictional rates (both electric and gas pipeline rates) and potential ways to adjust FERC-jurisdictional entities’ transmission or transportation revenue requirements so that customers do not overpay for service.  In particular, it asks whether and, if so, how FERC should address the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’s changes to accumulated deferred income taxes and bonus depreciation.  Comments are due by May 21, 2018.

Separately, FERC has also proposed a rule that would establish a process for determining which FERC-jurisdictional natural gas pipelines may be collecting rates that are too high and would require interstate natural gas pipelines to file a one-time report on the rate effect of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

At the state level, many states, such as Hawaii, Tennessee, Montana, and Massachusetts, as well as the District of Columbia, are taking action to ensure that tax savings are passed through to retail utility customers.

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Utilities Group Sings Praises of Electric Vehicles to Congress

Posted on March 27, 2018 by Jessica Bell

Earlier this month, a group of utilities, including Edison Electric Institute and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, wrote to Congress to ask for an extension of the federal electric vehicle (EV) tax credit.  The existing tax credit of up to $7,500 (determined based on each vehicle’s traction battery capacity and the gross vehicle weight rating) is to be phased out as sales increase.  The phase out will begin for each manufacturer once that manufacturer sells 200,000 qualifying electric vehicles for use in the United States, which according to the letter, will likely be this year for many manufacturers, particularly Tesla and General Motors.

The group of utilities state that the credit “is essential to foster the rapid adoption and deployment of electric vehicles, which in turn will boost our economic and national security and continue to create the next generation of well-paying American jobs.”  Further, they “look forward to a time when EVs may help support grid services, the integration of renewable resources or demand response, thereby enhancing the efficiency of the electric grid.”

The credit was on the chopping block at the end of last year, but was ultimately preserved. It does not appear that last week’s omnibus removed the cap, as the utilities group had requested.

A Department of Energy site maintains a list of eligible vehicles and the status of any phase outs.  States may also offer different incentives for purchasing EVs (search by state here or check out Tesla’s roundup).

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2018 State of the Electric Utility Report Predicts Continued Growth in Renewables and Distributed Energy Resources; Cites Regulatory Uncertainty and Cybersecurity as Continuing Challenges

Posted on March 20, 2018 by Katherine O'Konski

Last month, Utility Dive released its 2018 State of the Electric Utility Report, a summary of the outlook of electric utility professionals in the United States and Canada.  Using responses from a survey administered to around 700 electric utility employees, the report aims to understand the challenges facing the electric utility industry and the means by which utilities plan to update their assets, practices, and business models to respond to those challenges.  A webinar addressing the report is also available on-demand, and may be accessed here.

First among the report’s key takeaways is that utilities are moving toward a lower-carbon and more distributed fuel mix, “despite federal efforts to support fossil fuel production and generation.”  Utility professionals reported the most confidence in growth for solar, distributed-energy resources (DERs), storage, wind, and gas.  Survey respondents expected significant decreases in coal- and oil-fired generation, and significant increases in utility-scale solar.  As a result of these trends, utility professionals cited DER policy, bulk power system reliability, and reliable integration of renewables as pressing issues for the future.

Utility professionals also cited regulatory uncertainty as a top concern, and reported regulatory challenges in justifying investments in emerging technologies like energy storage, microgrids, and electric vehicles.  Survey respondents also reported widespread uncertainty regarding their changing power mix.  Citing the Trump Administration’s actions to repeal the Clean Power Plan and to lend cost recovery to merchant coal and nuclear plants, the report concludes that federal policy and regulatory changes may be partly to blame for this uncertainty.

Cybersecurity issues were also among utility professionals’ most pressing concerns.  Eighty-one percent of survey respondents reported that they are focused on cybersecurity threats and continue to face challenges with respect to developing effective responses.  The report notes that the increase in deployment of smart thermostats, appliances, and other internet-connected devices will increase digital complexity and attack surfaces, and therefore require more intensive cybersecurity protection.

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EIA Data Shows Real-Time Impacts of Weather Events on Energy Infrastructure

Posted on March 15, 2018 by Jessica Bell

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) provides a wealth of, well, information for users interested in better understanding energy infrastructure.  Recent updates to the U.S. Energy Mapping System include features such as power plants with a 1 MW or greater capacity, electric retail service territories, and coal mines.  Using data from other federal agencies, such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, users can now include additional layers in their maps.  For example, the energy disruptions layers display historical and real-time weather events.  The flood vulnerability datasets can be added to see where infrastructure may be subject to rising sea levels, storm surges, and flash flooding.  Mapping specific to the Gulf of Mexico layers real-time storm information with the locations of oil and gas wells.  Descriptions, sources, and update status of each layer is available in EIA’s guide.

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