Recent developments in competition and innovation for regulated electric utilities

Facilitating Power Grid Decarbonization with Distributed Energy Resources: Lessons from the United States

“…Retail rate design in the United States has historically relied on flat, average volumetric energy charges to recover fixed and variable costs. DERs deployed on the customer side of the meter reduce utility energy sales and raise concerns among utilities about NEM: net energy metering fixed cost recovery and revenue sufficiency (51). To address this challenge, regulators and utilities are beginning to offer residential customers three-part rates that include demand charges, along with volumetric energy charges and fixed customer charges as a means to address fixed cost recovery concerns and providing customers an incentive to manage their demands (52).…”

“…The cost-shifting is caused by compensating DG-exported generation at full retail rate during times when it is not providing utility system benefits commensurate with full retail electricity costs (56). Net billing that retains the netting feature of NEM but compensates exported DG generation at a price other than full retail rate has been the most common NEM alternative in the United States, and states have started developing more granular methodologies to properly value the DER contribution to the power system (51).…”

California Consumers’ Beliefs and Trust in Electric Utilities

“…We examine trust in the context of a critical infrastructure: the U.S. electric grid. The U.S. electricity delivery system is in transition, moving toward greater incorporation of renewable energy sources and distributed production of electricity (e.g., through customer rooftop solar panels), as well as increased use of information and communication technology (e.g., Satchwell and Cappers 2018; Specht and Madlener 2019). This transition is widely expected to require more communication and coordination between customers and industry actors (e.g., Mueller 2017).…”