CUB Conference Preview: Utility of the Future

As we draw closer to CUB’s eighth annual energy policy conference, Destination: Decarbonization on October 19 at the Downtown Portland Hilton, the CUB blog is featuring previews of each of our six breakout panels, and some of the questions and issues our attendees can expect panelists to discuss. The first in this year’s preview series is the topic Utility of the Future: The Changing Business Model, which will be moderated by CUB Staff Attorney Mike Goetz.

The Times They Are a-Changin’. While Bob Dylan’s 1964 critically acclaimed third studio album certainly did not center on rapid changes to the utility industry, the phrase seems especially prescient today as utilities, regulators, and stakeholders find themselves at somewhat of an inflection point in industry trends. Utilities continue to grapple with what it means to operate a business in a carbon constrained world with limited load growth. At the same time, new technologies, forward thinking policies, and regulatory and legislative changes across the country are modernizing the grid and electricity system at an accelerating rate.

Rapidly deploying technologies such as utility-scale energy storage, distributed generation including rooftop solar, demand response capabilities, and electric vehicles have the potential to significantly increase the flexibility of a given utility’s system. With more and more renewables slated to come online due to Oregon’s increasing Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), this flexibility will be key as utilities seek to firm up the intermittency issues associated with wind and solar. Robust energy efficiency programs and the proliferation of sophisticated energy exchange markets have decreased the need for centralized fossil fuel baseload generating resources.

Under the broadly construed and oft-misunderstood “regulatory compact”, utilities have enjoyed a reasonable rate of return for capital investments needed to serve customers for over 100 years. Utility Commissions—including the Oregon PUC—are beginning to grapple with whether this traditional model is best suited to regulate the utility of the future that possesses many of the aforementioned characteristics. Many states—most notably New York—have been exploring performance-based ratemaking (PBR) to determine whether additional incentives beyond capital investments may push utilities to act in socially beneficial ways while still enabling them to fulfill their fiduciary obligation to shareholders.

With a diverse array of expert panelists, this discussion will explore different ways in which the utility of the future may be regulated and how it may act. Participating in the panel are Adam Schultz – Senior Policy Analyst at the Oregon Department of Energy, Wendy Gerlitz – Policy Director at the NW Energy Coalition, Jessica Shipley – Associate at the Regulatory Assistance Project, and Irion Sanger – Attorney at Sanger Law PC. Brett Sims from Portland General Electric will also be on board to discuss the company’s plans to adapt to a changing future. We are anticipating a spirited and informative discussion.

Registration is now open for the 2018 CUB Policy Conference, and you can find more information about the day’s agenda, travel and lodging, and other details on the conference website. We are grateful to Polar Bear Sponsors, Pacific Power, and Portland General Electric; Grizzly Bear Sponsors Avangrid Renewables, and NW Natural; and Media Sponsor Clearing Up, for their generous support of this event. Sponsor packages are available at a variety of levels; for more information contact Pamela White at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or (503)227-1984 x10.

Stay tuned for further updates, and previews of our other five breakout topics! You can follow conference news by joining our email list, and on Twitter using the haghtag #CUBCon18.

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