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Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Florida's Public Service Commission should push pause on FPL rate hikes
Recent hurricanes — Helene, Milton and Debby — were strong reminders of the importance of a resilient and reliable electric grid for Florida's families and businesses. Widespread outages and costly storm recovery efforts highlighted the urgent need to strengthen our energy infrastructure. But as we move forward, it's critical that we do so in a way that is effective and fiscally responsible. Florida already has the fourth-highest electric bills in the nation. As demand for power grows and weather patterns become more extreme, modernizing the electric grid is necessary — but it must be done with careful planning and oversight. Long-term investments should be guided by data, not rushed decisions that place higher costs and additional financial strain on consumers. That's why it's important that the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) not get ahead of the comprehensive planning requirements laid out by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in Order 1920. This federal guidance encourages utilities to take a more strategic, long-term approach — one that can help lower costs, reduce outages and ensure reliability. One powerful way to support this smarter approach is through Grid Enhancing Technologies (GETs). A 2023 report by The Brattle Group found that GETs can play a valuable role in improving grid efficiency at every stage of transmission development — before, during and after construction. These technologies can relieve congestion, support system upgrades during construction and improve reliability once projects are completed — all while helping avoid unnecessary or premature capital spending. Opinion: Florida must strengthen its electrical grid before it's too late Despite asking for more time to update their long-term planning frameworks, Florida Power & Light (FPL) is already charging ahead with substantial infrastructure projects. FPL has proposed spending $325 million to rebuild an existing 500-kilovolt transmission line and an additional $700 million on other infrastructure. These are significant investments, and while they may prove beneficial, it's worth asking utilities to demonstrate whether there are more cost-effective options available. FPL's proposed rate increase — nearly 30% by 2029 — would impact households across the state. That's why it's essential regulators take a cautious, transparent approach that prioritizes consumer protection and long-term value. Opinion: Rolling the dice with Mother Nature: Trump's FEMA cuts would be a disaster The chief justice of Florida's Supreme Court recently described the PSC's process as a 'black box' and noted it relies heavily on the utilities' own narratives. Floridians deserve to know that utility investments are grounded in thorough planning, not made hastily or based solely on industry input. Florida's Public Service Commission should press pause on long-term rate hikes until utilities complete cost-effective, data-driven planning as required by FERC. By aligning with FERC's planning requirements and encouraging the use of proven, cost-effective technologies, Florida can build a modern, reliable grid that supports growth and withstands future challenges — without placing an undue burden on ratepayers. Now is the time to plan carefully, invest wisely and ensure every energy dollar delivers real value for the people of Florida. Dawn Shirreffs is the Florida director of the Environmental Defense Fund. This opinion piece was distributed by The Invading Sea, which publishes news and commentary on climate change and other environmental issues affecting Florida. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: FPL shouldn't hike electric rates without proper planning | Opinion
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Alternative technologies key to FERC transmission orders' success: ACORE
This story was originally published on Utility Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Utility Dive newsletter. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Orders 1920 and 1920-A create space for a more holistic transmission planning framework marked by collaboration between transmission providers and state utility regulators, according to an American Council on Renewable Energy report published in April. Alternative transmission technologies, or ATTs, mentioned in the orders — dynamic line ratings, advanced power flow control, transmission switching and high-performance conductors — can speed development of a more reliable, resilient, efficient and ultimately cost-effective transmission network, principals with The Brattle Group and Grid Strategies said in 'Incorporating GETs and HPCs Into Transmission Planning Under FERC Order 1920.' Transmission planners and state entities must overcome four key barriers to ATT implementation at scale: insufficient recognition of their value, misaligned incentives, overly static and deterministic planning practices, and an apparent lack of capacity to perform advanced system analyses, the report said. Former FERC Commissioner Allison Clements hailed Order 1920 as 'a strong step that can considerably enhance grid reliability while making electricity more affordable for consumers' shortly after its issuance last May. But Order 1920 was just an incremental step, one 'forged through compromise,' Clements said. In November, after a diverse collection of clean energy groups and mostly Republican-controlled states challenged the order in federal courts, FERC issued a modified order that it said 'further enhances the role of Relevant State Entities in Long-Term Regional Transmission Planning, especially their role in shaping scenario development and cost allocation.' Among other enhancements, Order 1920-A requires transmission providers to incorporate state entities' input on planners' future scenario development in recognition that those scenarios will reflect states' own plans to meet legislative or regulatory obligations, FERC said. While Order 1920 leaves the details of scenario development to transmission providers, it requires them to develop at least three 'plausible and diverse' scenarios identifying long-term transmission needs and solutions, quantify those solutions' benefits and establish a process for evaluating each solution, according to the ACORE report. Order 1920 sets certain 'broad standards' for these evaluations that guide transmission providers toward more efficient and cost-effective facilities, ACORE said. It describes seven benefits that providers must consider, including: reduced loss of load probability or reduced capital costs to meet planning reserve margins; reduced transmission energy losses; reduced congestion due to transmission outages; and mitigation of extreme weather conditions and unexpected system conditions like those that may have contributed to the massive blackout in Spain and Portugal last month. Compared with traditional wires-based solutions, ATTs are cheaper and faster to deploy, complementary to existing equipment, and — in the case of software- and controls-based grid-enhancing technologies — possible to reverse, ACORE said. In fact, an ACORE review of 25 case studies conducted by transmission providers, power system consultants and others showed that ATTs delivered at least one of the seven benefits in each study. Several case studies showed two or more benefits from ATTs. Relevant state entities can take advantage of their expanded latitude under Order 1920-A to advocate for consideration of additional benefits beyond the required seven, such as deployment time and optionality, that may favor ATTs, ACORE said. For example, grid-enhancing technologies' short payback periods mean transmission operators can cost-effectively deploy them as a temporary solution while planning for more permanent solutions, such as new wires. Likewise, Orders 1920 and 1920-A allow relevant state entities and transmission customers to fund some or all transmission solution costs if they wish, which could improve the transmission providers' cost-benefit calculation for non-wires solutions. And given that transmission providers generally pass transmission costs onto customers, that approach could potentially overcome providers' traditional lack of incentive for cost avoidance, ACORE said.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump Executive Order threatens urgently needed transmission and interconnection initiatives
This story was originally published on Utility Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Utility Dive newsletter. A White House Executive Order claiming authority over federal agencies could delay two vital Federal Energy Regulatory Commission initiatives, former commissioners from both political parties agree. FERC Orders 1920/1920A, reforming transmission planning, and 2023/2023A, reforming interconnection rules, are crucial as the U.S. power system confronts spiking demand growth and increasing extreme weather events, former Republican and Democratic commissioners said. But a February 18 Presidential Executive Order, or EO, requires White House review of independent agency rulings, and court battles over its legality are likely, they also agree. How the EO is applied will determine if the congressionally established bipartisan commission is 'working for the public interest and not the private special interests,' President Trump-appointed Chair Mark Christie acknowledged in a February 21 press conference. 'This administration seems to be putting itself in the place of laws passed by Congress and precedents set by the courts establishing FERC independence,' said President George W. Bush-appointed former Commissioner Nora Mead Brownell. 'That's unhealthy, unwarranted, and unprecedented, and will lead to a great degree of uncertainty and some bad decisions.' The orders could lead to a more robust transmission system and streamlined interconnection of new generation to address the energy emergency declared Jan. 20 by the president — if implementation is not impeded by legal debates. Planning robust transmission Order 1920, issued in May, required regional transmission providers to periodically update transmission planning in anticipation of long term needs, FERC spokesperson Celeste Miller said. Key features include a requirement to consider multiple transmission benefits, allocation of costs to customers according to those benefits, and a bigger role for state stakeholders. The seven specified economic and reliability benefits enumerated in Order 1920 increase the potential value of regional transmission, a FERC staff presentation said. The key feature of Order 1920-A, a revised version of the original order, which took effect in January, was more state stakeholder participation, a FERC staff presentation said. Instead of the seven 1920-specified benefits, it required consideration of 'economic and reliability benefits,' and it sustained 1920's provision of incumbent transmission providers' right of first refusal, or ROFR, of proposed projects, the staff added. In states that allow ROFRs, 'utilities can avoid the competitive bidding process by developing transmission outside the regional planning process,' said former FERC Chair Richard Glick, who was appointed by President Trump and named chair by President Biden. The absence of a federal ROFR is a 'perverse incentive' that can undermine more robust regional planning, he added. The changes made by 1920-A give the states 'far more effective tools,' Chair Christie's concurrence said. It allows states 'sufficient flexibility and authority to protect their consumers from paying unfair or unnecessary costs' and 'should and must inform the compliance process,' he emphasized with italics. 'Orders 1920 and 2023 are two of the most important milestones in a long incremental process,' said President Clinton-appointed former FERC Chair James Hoecker. But 'the concern now is that the compliance filing approval process, which is where the rubber meets the road in regulation, may not be effective if FERC is not allowed to work independently of the administration,' he added. That debate may 'take crucial time away from initiating transmission planning and streamlined interconnections,' Hoecker said. And it is a particularly unnecessary effort to control 'a functioning independent agency with a thousand active cases that pays for itself through fees,' he added. States can protect incumbent utilities or support regional interests, 'but only FERC can guide the compliance process toward competitive bidding for regional projects,' said former Commissioner Brownell. 'Utilities and utility regulation need to go beyond protecting the incumbent against competition to protecting consumers as well,' she added. The Trump EO may similarly take vital time away from implementing the Order 2023 interconnection reforms, stakeholders said. Streamlined interconnection Generation awaiting transmission interconnection approval grew from 2,041 MW in 2023 to to 2,598 MW in 2024, a single year increase of 27%. Order 2023, which required compliance filings by May 16, 2024, addresses those worsening delays. The burdensome 'first-come, first-served' process of studying interconnection applications must shift to a more efficient 'cluster study process,' according to Order 2023, which FERC issued in July 2023. It also imposed penalties for transmission providers that fail to complete studies on time and stricter financial readiness, cost allocation, and site control rules for interconnection applicants. Transmission providers must now consider advanced transmission technologies, enable co-location of resources at a single interconnection point, and use more granular data, FERC's Explainer said. Order 2023-A , issued in May, adjusted deadlines, definitions of readiness for study and site control, and cost-sharing for system upgrades by generators at a single interconnection point, the 2023-A Explainer said. It also detailed penalties for queue withdrawal and guidelines for projects that could impact other projects, it added. Subsequently, both the PJM Interconnection's Reliability Resource Initiative and the Midcontinent Independent System Operator's Expedited Resource Adequacy Study controversially proposed interconnection 'queue jumping' for favored resources to address the current reliability 'emergency' resulting from electricity demand spikes, several commissioners said. Commissioner Judy Chang's dissent to the PJM plan's approval called it 'the worst of both worlds' by compromising 'open access principles with no guarantee it will resolve PJM's reliability issue.' The dissent demonstrated the great value of independent FERC debate in addressing the current 'emergency,' several former commissioners said. 'One of FERC's roles as an independent agency is to define an emergency,' said former Commissioner Brownell. A data center builder and a key community manufacturer might both want to interconnect generation, but both require careful FERC scrutiny 'because both may not be emergencies,' she said. The biggest threat of the EO is its potential impact on FERC's freedom to exercise that kind of independent scrutiny, the former commissioners said. The executive order Commissioners appointed by both Republican and Democratic Presidents said the implementation of Orders 1920 and 2023 could be delayed by the debate over the Trump EO's legality. Federal agencies must 'submit draft regulations for White House review — with no carve-out for so-called independent agencies,' the Executive Order asserts. And they must 'consult with the White House on their priorities and strategic plans, and the White House will set their performance standards,' it adds. But the executive branch doesn't have 'the expertise and knowledge' of the laws guiding FERC, like the Federal Power Act and the DOE Organization Act, said George W. Bush-appointed former FERC Chair Joseph Kelliher. They 'are unlikely to understand the issues' or 'review the flood of significant regulatory actions in a timely manner.' Former Chair Hoecker agreed. 'In my recent interactions with railroad and highway regulators about co-locating transmission in existing rights of way, it is clear how complicated building transmission seems' outside the energy sector, but 'FERC is a master at complex oversight and applying the law in a very constructive way.' Executive branch interpretations of FERC orders without knowledge of relevant laws would likely lead to time-consuming judicial reviews 'and the courts would tend to reaffirm the precedents,' Kelliher said. The EO's 'stated concern with accountability extends the president's power over independent agencies, but that was limited by the precedent set by the Humphrey's Executor decision,' he added. Unless that precedent is overturned, a president cannot ignore the Supreme Court, Kelliher said. The first independent agency, the Interstate Commerce Commission, was created by Congress in 1887 to ensure 'merit-based regulatory decisions instead of politically-based decisions,' and 'FERC is probably more disposed to merit-based decisions that reflect the litigated record than any other independent agency,' he added. The Trump EO would 'politicize decisions by regulatory agencies, and politically driven decisions will not tend to be merit based,' Kelliher said. The EO's potential to impede compliance filing reviews is a concern, said former FERC Chair Jon Wellinghoff, who was nominated by President George W. Bush and designated chair by President Obama. But, more importantly, the legal debate could impede 'the diligent, continuous monitoring of the FERC orders' implementations,' he stressed. The reviews are less concerning because the White House is unlikely to get into 'the details of transmission planning, interconnection, and demand side resources,' Wellinghoff said. The EO calls for independent agencies to submit proposed regulations for review, but 'as Chair Christie pointed out, major orders undergo some review already,' he added. To those points, Hoecker and Glick agreed. The EO will likely not impact FERC significantly, Wellinghoff continued. But 'there are elements within the administration who may, from a non-independent administrative political position, attempt to impose certain actions on FERC that would be contrary to the public interest,' he said. 'It is important for FERC to have independent commissioners acting in the public interest' because, more than politicians, 'they understand the intricacies of a very technical industry,' Wellinghoff said. All the former commissioners are concerned about time lost to legal questions. The debate over FERC's independence could delay 1920 and 2023 compliance filing approvals, said former Commissioner Brownell. 'And right now the U.S. economy urgently needs the changes that will be driven by implementation of those orders,' she added. Trump-nominated former Commissioner Allison Clements agreed. 'Any time wasted in legal or political reviews will further limit this country's effort to build a more reliable, affordable power system,' Clements said. 'The executive order is flatly and plainly illegal and it will not be upheld in the courts,' she added. 'The executive branch has every opportunity to influence public policy by working with Congress to pass laws,' Brownell said. 'And it can carefully vet commissioners before they are appointed and replace them if necessary,' she added. 'Congress needs to give FERC the authority it needs to be the adult in the room on issues like cost allocation and siting,' Brownell added. Otherwise, the EO 'will have a chilling effect on markets because investors will be unlikely to risk hundreds of billions of dollars on investments regulated by politically-influenced non-transparent decisions.' Recommended Reading White House claims authority over FERC, other independent agencies
