Law & Lawyers

Nancy Fitzroy Top Innovator Award for Environment and Safety: Xcel Energy

Top Innovators

“We saw a need in the nuclear industry to reduce costs and improve safety. We’ve implemented a multitude of drones and robotics to replace people in hazardous environments, have eliminated that safety hazard, and the equipment is relatively low cost compared to the amount of savings. It’s been a win-win.”
Byline: 

Andrew Brown, John Miller, and Kirk Olsen

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Idaho National Lab on Distributed Energy

Microgrids

“The Microgrid in a Box can be plugged in just about anywhere. You would need a step-up transformer for the utility connection. Normally, to try to serve a building with it, but also have it tied to distribution, you’d be between the utility distribution transformer and the building.”
Byline: 

Kurt Myers with Paul Kjellander

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Decarbonization: Ann Rendahl

Washington UTC

“The greatest risks are cost and affordability, even with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Inflation Reduction Act, and all federal funds coming to utilities from those laws. Washington has a state Clean Energy Fund that supports utility investments in the clean energy transition, but it does not cover the significant costs of investment.”
Byline: 

Ann Rendahl

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Transforming Resource Adequacy

A Reliable, Clean Energy Future

“As a way forward, regulators and policymakers need to modernize the way they support the development, planning and operation of the bulk power system, which is beyond the certainty of resource capacity.”
Byline: 

Jim Robb and Mark Lauby

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Loans Available

DOE Loan Programs Office

“The program can scale up to $250 billion of lending up to 30 years, depending on life of the asset, at a rate as low as U.S. Treasuries plus three eighths of a point. Those benefits have to flow through to regulated customers. An unregulated project, say a merchant coal plant being replaced with solar and storage, that low-cost financing benefit can accrue to the developer.”
Byline: 

Leslie Rich

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Role of State Consumer Advocates

NASUCA

A roundtable with NASUCA President Chris Ayers (North Carolina), Vice President Michael Moody (Michigan), Treasurer Tom Content (Wisconsin); the Executive Committee’s Michele Beck (Utah), Bill Fine (Indiana), Nanette Edwards (South Carolina), Patrick Cicero (Pennsylvania), David Lapp (Maryland); and Executive Director David Springe.
Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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Big Microgrid in Bronzeville

Exelon

Exelon subsidiary ComEd began its Community of the Future program in 2016 with the Bronzeville Community Microgrid in Chicago. PUF journeyed there to see firsthand how ComEd is taking Chicago into the future with the first utility operated microgrid cluster.
Byline: 

Honghao Zheng et al.

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Last Dots Are Connected

NARUC

“The future is bright for NARUC with First Vice President Julie Fedorchak and Second Vice President Tricia Pridemore coming up the line. They’re two hard charging women who are great to work with and have a sense of purpose.”
Byline: 

Michael Caron

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