Federal

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) is predicting U.S. power consumption will reach record highs in 2024 and 2025. As part of its Short-Term Energy Outlook, the EIA outlined potential rises in consumption by 2% in 2024, reaching 4,096 terawatt-hours (TWh), and by an additional 1% in 2025, reaching 4,125 TWh. Much of the forecast growth in residential electricity is during the summer months.

The Department of Energy (DOE) published a detailed report on how to achieve the rapid evolution of the grid to manage the required growth over the next decade. Titled “Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Innovative Grid Deployment,” the document identifies pathways to accelerate the deployment of “commercially available but underutilized advanced grid technologies and applications.” The report focuses strongly on meeting the challenges posed by demand growth but also on the need to support the integration of clean energy resources and, if this is to be achieved, on the critical importance of enhancing system reliability and resilience.

In May, the White House launched the Federal-State Modern Grid Deployment Initiative. The purpose is to accelerate improvements to the electric transmission and distribution networks to support grid-modernization and resilience objectives. The initiative outlines a series of both federal and state government commitments focused on areas such as the near-term deployment of more advanced grid technologies, development of innovative partnership models, and addressing capacity challenges.

Following feedback from potential applicants, the DOE extended the deadline to June 17 for states, Indian tribes, and territories to apply for grants under the Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grants Program. In total, $562 million will be available to applicants under the present round of funding for initiatives to strengthen and modernize the power grid against wildfires, extreme weather, and other natural disasters. Funding levels will be based on a predetermined formula and will be processed on a rolling basis, meaning grants may be awarded prior to the new application deadline.

Colorado

A bill signed into law by Governor Jared Polis requires taking a range of measures to modernize the state’s electricity distribution systems. Among the key components of SB218 is a requirement for investor-owned utilities with 500,000 or more customers to upgrade their systems to achieve beneficial electrification goals and decarbonization targets. By January 1, 2025, a qualifying utility is required to file a plan for the undergrounding its distribution infrastructure and consider the associated public benefits in its plans.

New Jersey

Senate Bill 258 was pre-filed in March for introduction in the 2024-25 session. It would require each electric public utility to develop and implement a grid-modernization plan. Plans would have to be submitted no later than one year after the bill is approved. Among the key focus areas would be projects that decrease the risk of power outages and “improve the ability of the electric public utility to provide uninterrupted electric power to customers.”

New York

A bill was introduced to advance the state’s transition to clean energy. Referred to as the “Just Energy Transition Act,” Assembly Bill A04866 would require the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to identify strategies to phase out and redevelop fossil fuel facilities and, in parallel, upgrade transmission and distribution infrastructure. In the first stage, NYSERDA would be required to undertake a study in consultation with interested parties. The Public Service Commission would be required to issue a proceeding within 90 days of receiving the study report to implement its findings and issue an order on implementation by July 30, 2026. The present legislative session has adjourned, so the bill is expected to picked up in the next session.

Rhode Island

Senate Bill 2956 would require distribution utilities to develop and file grid-modernization and resilience plans by Oct. 1, 2024, and every subsequent five years. The plans would have to include an evaluation of the potential impacts of climate change on operational, planning, and physical assets as well as timelines for upgrades to existing infrastructure to ensure grid reliability and resilience. The legislative session ended on June 30.

Virginia

Governor Glenn Youngkin signed into law VA SJR47, which requests that the State Corporation Commission, in consultation with the Department of Energy, study performance-based regulatory tools for investor-owned electric utilities (IOUs). The driver behind the resolution was to further align IOU financial incentives with public interest goals, including reliability, resilience, and customer satisfaction. Among the tools the commission has been asked to study are reporting metrics, scorecards, and performance-incentive mechanisms. A report of its findings and recommendations is due by Oct. 12, 2025.

Texas

The Public Service Commission finalized the rules allowing an electric utility to file a “resiliency plan” to enhance the resilience of its transmission and/or distribution system. The rules place the burden of proof on each utility’s plan but in doing so provide significant flexibility to utilities on the types of evidence they can provide. The plans are required to include metrics or criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of any proposed resilience measures. Costs associated with implementing the plans not already included in a utility’s rates may be recovered as part of a Resiliency Cost Recovery Rider or in a future base-rate proceeding. The first submissions have already been received.

Regulator outlines key initiatives to improve distribution system resilience

The Ontario Energy Board has issued a letter providing an update on a series of planned initiatives to improve distribution system resilience. The initiatives are in response to a Letter of Direction for the Minister of Energy that sought proposals to improve distribution sector resilience, responsiveness, and cost efficiency. Among the areas covered by the letter were:

• An update on the role of the Reliability and Power Quality Review Working Group in taking on additional work with regard to defining resilience events and considering the performance expectations of distribution utilities following resilience events
• The launch of a parallel initiative to define how utilities should assess and respond to vulnerabilities in their systems, with a focus on issues such as incorporating climate resilience into planning, prioritizing customer value when investing in system enhancements, and measuring and reporting on restoration of service
• Measures related to cost efficiency, including work to define how performance-incentive mechanisms can complement existing approaches to rate-setting

Ontario distribution association publishes vision for the energy transition – In April, the Electricity Distribution Association (EDA) published a report on actions to make Ontario ready for the energy transition. Entitled “Solving Gridlock: Our vision for a customer-centric energy transition,” the paper highlighted the importance of Local Distribution Companies updating their investment plans to provide the distribution system infrastructure to support the energy transition. It concluded that, under a Net-Zero scenario, annual spending on capital additions, presently about $2.5 billion, may have to double by the mid-2040s and increase by approximately 130% by 2050.

To enable this, the paper recommends both policy and regulatory enablers, which include considerations for alternative funding approaches and the use of performance metrics. The EDA intends to use the findings as a foundation for advocacy for grid-ready investments and technologies to improve grid reliability and resilience.

Making the distribution network fit for Net Zero

The British government has asked the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) to provide recommendations on changes required to enable the electricity distribution networks to support the drive to Net Zero. Part of the backdrop to the NIC study is analysis that demand for electricity in Great Britain will increase by 50% from 2023 levels by 2035 and double by 2050. This has led industry regulator Ofgem and others to highlight the unprecedented scale of investment required in the grids. As a first step, the NIC has launched a Call for Evidence to gain stakeholder insight into the changes required to policy, regulation, and governance to enable the required investment in the distribution networks. A final NIC report to the British government is due by May 2025.

Energy regulator determines annual performance reporting requirements

The Australian Energy Regulator has published its Annual Information Orders, which determine the performance information required to be published on an annual basis by electricity distribution and transmission networks and by electricity interconnectors. The information includes network metrics, service performance, and details of operating and capital expenditure. The revised arrangements will apply for the period from 2024/25 to 2027/28, with the utilities required to provide their first submissions under these revised orders on or before Nov. 30, 2024.