Unlocking Distributed Energy Resources

Advancements in business models and technologies of distributed energy resources (DER) open new possibilities for electricity generation, transmission, and distribution. Many regulatory practices were designed without consideration of such opportunities, and may erect barriers to deployment of these resources. Our Unlocking Distributed Resources work includes a primer on traditional utility ratemaking that frames DER debates and explores state and federal jurisdiction over DER compensation.

Documents

• Comment of the Electricity Regulation Scholars. Opposes a petition asking FERC to assert jurisdiction over net metering with four arguments, including that excess energy flows from behind a retail meter are not “in interstate commerce” under the Federal Power Act (Jun. 2020).
• The Case Against Direct FERC Regulation of Distributed Energy Resources. Pieces together how FERC’s authority applies to DERs, finds that the resulting fragmented regulatory regime inhibits a cohesive regulatory framework for DERs, and recommends that FERC disclaim jurisdiction over DER energy sales. Note that Part IV of the Electricity Regulation Scholars’ comment contains a more thorough analysis of FERC’s jurisdiction over energy sales from DERs (Sep. 2018).
• Alternative Dispute Resolution at Public Utility Commissions white paper. Provides background information on common forms of ADR, discusses considerations for using ADR in settling public utility disputes, and highlights how PUCs across the country incorporate ADR into their operations (May 2017).
• Comment to FERC on its Proposed Rule about DER Aggregation. Affirms that FERC has legal authority to require market operators to facilitate the participation of DER aggregators and suggests that the Commission articulate a jurisdictional line that allows states to regulate sales from individual DERs (Apr. 2017).
• Comment on NARUC’s Manual on Compensation for Distributed Energy Resources. Urges the Subcommittee to include in the next version: 1) a thorough examination of how deployment of DERs by consumers and non-utility companies affects utility financial performance, and 2) consideration of competition and consumer choice in DER rate design (Sep. 2016).
• Presentation at the Federal Trade Commission’s workshop on rooftop solar. Highlights the critical role of state regulation in how investor-owned utilities have responded to the growth of distributed energy resources (Jun. 2016).
• Primer on Utility Ratemaking – Unjust, Unreasonable, and Unduly Discriminatory: Utility Rates and the Campaign Against Rooftop Solar. Provides an historical perspective on recent and ongoing debates about rooftop solar utility rate reform (appears in The Texas Journal of Oil, Gas, and Energy Law) (May 2016).
• Comment to Department of Energy on the Quadrennial Energy Review. Rebuts the notion that there is a “regulatory compact” between regulators and utilities that underlies regulation (Apr. 2016).