Law & Lawyers

Hydro Can Power the Energy Transition or Not If We Don't Act

National Hydropower Assoc.

“There are only about 100 nuclear plants. For hydropower, there are about 2,500. A silent phenomenon is we’re struggling to get the same intensity of concern for hydropower because it doesn’t get as much attention as the nuclear plants do.”

Ontario Power: Proactive Assessment of Climate Change Challenges

Top Innovators

“We have identified which system structures and components could be impacted by climate change. We’ve gone a step further to assess them against the design margins to understand what we need to focus on and plan for in the next 30 or more years. The product is a first-of-a-kind assessment that could be used for any nuclear power plant.”

PG&E: Enhanced Power Line Safety Settings

Top Innovators

“We designed, tested, and deployed new settings with greater sensitivity and faster response times to minimize the likelihood of a sustained ignition when a fault occurred. The solution was quickly deployed and operationalized across our high-fire-threat district.”

Integrated Distribution System Planning and Utility Regulation

What You Need to Know

“Instituting a robust Integrated Distribution System Planning process is a critical step in advancing more comprehensive planning processes that include a holistic assessment of resource requirements and grid modernization strategies across multiple jurisdictions and parts of the electric system.”

FERC Order No. 1920 Opens Door for Grid Innovation

Market-Driven Reforms

“Market-driven innovation must happen at the edge of the grid. A feat achieved by FERC Order No. 1920, which was unveiled in early May. The first objective of FERC Order No. 1920 is to improve the planning process by adding long-term term planning to existing processes.”

An Agile Utility in New England Enhances Its CIS

Eversource, EY

“Our primary goal was continuity for our customers as we went live. Going from a twenty-plus-year-old system to a modern system, requires moving data. That typically requires taking systems offline, which would’ve impacted customers.”

Energy Provider's Dilemma: On-Time or Affordable Transition?

Accenture

“We asked, ‘How much are you willing to absorb on your utility bill to support achieving net zero?’ They said 9% per year. We backed 9% into investment needed over time, and that 2050 net-zero goalpost gets moved to 2085, illustrating the tension between net zero by 2050 and customer affordability.”

Customer-Sited Generation

A Flexible Grid Resource

“In the past ten years, we’ve deployed over 200 MW at more than 150 microgrid sites across the greater Houston community and even before Beryl hit, the Network Operations Center was ready to support local utilities in keeping the lights on as they worked to restore power.”

What Happens Next in the Courts, Part 3

Will the Open Internet Order Survive Appeal?

“Perhaps the most critical issue on review will be whether the FCC properly reclassified Broadband Internet Access Service (BIAS) as a telecommunications service, because the FCC has much more limited authority to regulate information services.”