June 26
Xcel Speeds Up $3B in Clean Energy Spending for COVID Recovery
Top consumer smart energy news hand-selected and brought to you by the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative.
Member News
A recent request by the Minnesota PUC and the Department of Commerce to get utilities involved in the state’s economic recovery process prompted Xcel Energy to propose the acceleration of nearly $3 billion in energy investments, highlighting the importance of regulatory signals for utility-led job creation initiatives. Xcel responded to a PUC docket that requested regulated entities to submit a list of investments to spur job growth and economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, following a memo from Commissioner Joe Sullivan.
Both ComEd and Ameren Illinois have released new measures to support customers struggling amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as a result of cooperation with the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) and stakeholders. For ComEd, this took the form of an ICC-approved customer support package that will extend support operations well beyond the ICC’s mandates, establishing a suspension of disconnections and waiver of new late fees until either Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois plan or Aug. 1, 2020, whichever comes first.
As electric utilities and policymakers look for ways to address climate change and decarbonize the economy, electrification is one emerging strategy that is increasingly gaining attention in the industry. With the emissions rate of electricity generation declining year-by-year, electrification is likely to decrease greenhouse gas emissions in many areas. According to the Regulatory Assistance Project, beneficial electrification can also save consumers money and enable better grid management.
With unemployment figures still rising and the COVID-19 pandemic continuing without relief, Dominion Energy Ohio announced that it would increase support to programs for customers in need, provide payment flexibility and waive both deposit fees and late fees. The greater push for payment flexibility continues trends started in March when Dominion Energy voluntarily suspended disconnections for late payments. While the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has since requested utilities offer plans for resumption of normal credit procedures, Dominion’s will be gradual, spread over months.
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Industry News
Cumulative distributed energy resource capacity in the United States will reach 397 GW by 2025, according to a new Wood Mackenzie report. The DER mix is evolving quickly away from nonresidential load management, which made up two-thirds of all U.S. DER capacity in 2015 but will make up less than half by 2025. Solar, electric vehicle infrastructure and residential load management potential now lead all other resources, accounting for more than 90 percent of DER capacity installed between 2016-2025.
Researchers from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Idaho National Laboratory released a study this week showing that motorists could save up to $14,500 on fuel costs alone over 15 years by driving electric vehicles. The comparison was made between EVs and their traditional gasoline counterparts, based on estimates drawn from a baseline scenario that factored in current vehicle use and charging behavior, along with the nature of charging stations and state-by-state differences.
Massachusetts may become just the third state, after California and New York, to begin planning for a managed decline of its conventional natural gas industry. This month the state's attorney general, Maura Healey, asked the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities to open an investigation into the future of natural gas in the state. “In order to combat the climate crisis and meet our clean energy goals, we must transition away from fossil fuels and change the way gas utilities do business in our state,” Healey said in a statement.
Oracle Utilities Opower has reimagined the Home Energy Report (HER). Starting this summer, the new reports can help millions of households save money and reduce their carbon footprint through dynamic new experiences. With new energy insights and applied behavioral science, the new Opower HERs make it easy for utilities to reach all types of customers and achieve outcomes ranging from driving energy efficiency savings to increasing customer satisfaction and digital channel engagement.
