NARUC, NASEO establish joint task force on comprehensive electricity planning
The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) and the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) recently formed a new joint task force to help develop approaches to align distribution system planning and resource planning processes better.
The Joint Task Force on Comprehensive Electricity Planning will be a two-year initiative to provide a forum for participants from 12 to 15 states to examine planning process intersections to test concepts, learn from experts and outline policy and technical needs. Participants will develop tools and roadmaps that will be available for all NARUC and NASEO members to adapt and refine for use in their states. The U.S. Department of Energy supports the task force.
“The NARUC and NASEO partnership, through the Joint Task Force on Comprehensive Electricity Planning, will help members who are navigating uncharted territory, providing a set of tools to help the integration of new technologies in the power system in harmony with individual state policy frameworks while continuing to provide customers safe, reliable and affordable energy,” NARUC President Nick Wagner said.
Colorado Public Utilities Commission Chairman Jeffrey Ackermann and Governor’s Energy Advisor Laura Nelson, executive director of the Utah Governor’s Office of Energy Development, will co-chair the committee.
“As the electric sector, and surrounding energy economy, undergoes pressure to evolve, there are expectations upon the regulatory process to keep up,” Ackermann said. “This will require an unprecedented level of regulatory and policy coordination at the state level, specifically between regulatory commissions and state energy offices.”
Co-vice chairs for the task force are Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Commissioner Beth Trombold and California Energy Commissioner Andrew McAllister.
The full roster of task force participants will be announced in February 2019, and the first task force working meeting will be held in spring 2019.
