Utility Regulation 2.0 A Day of Milestones
Posted on October 25, 2017 by Amelia Lamb
Tags, Conference & Events
The eighth annual CUB Policy Conference, Utility Regulation 2.0: Empowering What’s Possible, has come and gone. Taking place on Friday October 13, the conference convened many of the Pacific Northwest utility industry’s chief decision makers, analysts and advocates for a day full of engaging conversations on the structure and future of utility regulation.
The theme of reexamining how utilities do business encompasses all kinds of legislative and regulatory bodies, from local and state agencies to federal and even international climate accords, as well as the choices made by the utilities themselves. As Bob Jenks articulated in his opening presentation, trends like grid modernization investments, EV integration, and the diversification of power markets present new, complex challenges to the sector that require collaborative and innovative solutions.
Utility CEOs with CUB Executive Director Bob Jenks (from left): Stefan Bird - Pacific Power, Darrel Anderson - Idaho Power, Maria Pope - PGE, Elliot Mainzer - BPA, David Anderson - NW Natural
Our opening panel featuring NW utility CEOs, touched on various routes the utilities are taking to address some of these challenges, such as the recent completion of BPA’s grid modernization plan, and Idaho Power’s Demand Response programs. Overall, the message from the CEOs was a hopeful one: there is a lot of enthusiasm for finding ways to move more decisively toward clean energy, maximize opportunities for efficiency, and explore alternatives to the current rate design structure and negate the need for regular utility rate cases, which are expensive and time consuming.
Panelists: Long Term Rate-Base Vs. Short Term Markets (from left): Liz Jones - Oregon CUB, Ben Fitch-Fleischmann - Ecosystem Research Group LLC, Juan Pablo Carvallo Bodelon - Lawrence Berkeley Lab, Wendy Gerlitz - NW Energy Coalition, Franco Albi - PGE
The conference breakout topics dug into the weeds on diverse topics from local and state climate regulations, and grid flexibility, to EV integration and the effect customer choice has on the 21st Century utility. The midday highlight was CUB’s second annual Consumer Champion Award, honoring Oregon Senator Lee Beyer (District 6) who has been a true friend to Oregon’s residential utility customers over his long and prestigious career. Senator Beyer followed the ceremony with a keynote address, Energy Policy, Ratemaking, and Climate: Where Do We Go Next? Pointing to the speed at which solar power and EVs have penetrated the market, as well as long-term trends such as customers increasingly purchasing power from entities other than traditional utilities, Senator Beyer closed his speech with a call “not to let inertia carry us forward haphazardly”.
Oregon Senator Lee Beyer receives the 2017 Consumer Champion Award, with CUB Board President Paula Pyron (left) and Bob Jenks (right)
We were pleased to have Ruchi Sadhir, energy policy advisor to Oregon Governor Kate Brown, close the day by sharing the latest information about the Governor’s work on clean energy to address climate change and a preview of her trip to Bonn, Germany in November for the UN Climate Change conference.
CUB also took the opportunity of the gathering to solicit branding concepts from the crowd for the “next generation” of energy policy in Oregon. We got some great suggestions, including “Keep Oregon Wired”, “Power Up!”, Grid Longevity Oregon Wants (GLOW)”, and “Oregonize The Grid!” among many others.
EV Peak Load and Flexibility Panelists (l-r): Ingrid Fish - Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, Jeanette Shaw - Forth, Brendan McCarthy - PGE
CUB is able to facilitate these important conversations because of our sponsor partners; we could not do this event without their support. A big shout-out to the following 2017 Conference Sponsors:
Polar Bear – Avangrid Renewables, Pacific Power, Portland General Electric
Grizzly Bear - NW Natural, Northwest Power and Conservation Council
Brown Bear – Bonneville Power Administration, Idaho Power, Oregon Department of Energy
Honey Bear – 3Degrees, Avista Utilities, Energy Trust of Oregon, Enhabit, Forth, IBEW Local 125, McDowell Rackner & Gibson PC, Natural Resources Defense Council, NW Energy Coalition, Renewable Northwest, Research Into Action
Media Sponsor – Energy Data’s Clearing Up
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10/25/17 | 0 Comments | Utility Regulation 2.0 A Day of Milestones