California still reigns in grid modernization efforts
The non-profit GridWise Alliance recently released its Grid Modernization Index in collaboration with Clean Edge Inc., a clean energy group based in Portland, ranking California first in the nation for its steps to modernize the electric grid.
The 30-plus page report from the GridWise Alliance, which represents stakeholders that design, build and operate the electric grid, takes a deep dive into grid modernization efforts across the country and ranks them by state. This year’s other top winners include Illinois, Texas, Maryland, Oregon, Arizona, the District of Columbia, New York, Nevada and Delaware.
The top 10 spans red and blue states as well as states with regulated and non-regulated utilities.
“Years ago I learned that major decisions like this are driven by three primary factors, institutional perspective, personal perspective, and analytic perspective,” Steve Hauser, CEO of the GridWise Alliance, told Daily Energy Insider. “Often the most attention is paid to the latter. Does it work, is it cost effective, who benefits and how much?”
The rankings are based on performance in three categories: State Support, Customer Engagement and Grid Operations. A provided summary breaks the findings down into seven key takeaways about grid modernization on the whole, including:
– an accelerated pace of modernization
– a sharper focus on modernization spurred by increases of cyber mischief and natural disasters
– traditionally leading states continue to lead, as many states are just starting to modernize
– some early leaders are starting to slow their pace of modernization
– utilities are becoming more interested in addressing customer demands along with managing their own usage
– clean energy targets by states, cities, and corporations are a driving force behind DERs
California was the overall winner for the second time in a row. “California has procurement targets for electric vehicles (EVs), energy storage, renewable energy, and energy efficiency. It also requires its three IOUs (investor-owned utilities) to submit detailed plans for siting, valuing, integrating, and managing demand-side resources,” the report said.
California’s score of 82 came in 9 points ahead of Illinois, its next closest rival. The Illinois NextGrid program helped the state gain favor. The program includes an “18 month consumer focused study to address critical issues facing Illinois’ electric utility industry in the coming decade and beyond.” The Illinois Commerce Commission is managing the study.
Texas came in No. 3 partially on the strength of investments into its Advanced Metering Infrastructure. The city of Austin also got a call out for its use of advanced inverters through the “Austin SHINES” project.
Maryland came in fourth again scoring strong in Grid Operations and Customer Engagement but lagging a bit in State Support. Oregon moved up two spots from last year and also did well in everything except State Support. Arizona saw a rise in its State Support and moved up three spots from last year. Even though the District of Columbia is not a state it also saw improved support numbers and improved grid operations.
New York can thank its Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) initiative for boosting its position eight spots from last year. The Brooklyn/Queens Demand Management efforts by Con Edison were cited as “a good example of an innovative approach to grid modernization, as is the New York Power Authority’s initiative to become the country’s first ‘digital’ utility.”
Nevada clocked in at No. 9 using its expertise in Customer Engagement as a strong point. Transportation electrification helped Delaware round out the top 10 as the state incentivizes homeowners and businesses to install EV charging stations and the University of Delaware develops and deploys vehicle-to-grid technology.
While the report didn’t reveal any huge surprises, Hauser did observe a near total lack of progress in some arenas.
“I’m always surprised that 40 states still score less than 50,” he said. “Some of those states are making rapid progress and within a year or two will jump above 50 for sure. Half of the states score less than 30 points. I would like to see that changing faster, but I do believe the momentum and level of interest is certainly increasing.”
