GridWise honors states leading the way in grid modernization
Of the 29 states that opted to modernize their grids, GridWise Alliance recently honored four for their roles in leading grid modernization initiatives.
As part of the release of the Grid Modernization Index (2018-2019) Summary Report, GridWise Alliance presented California and Illinois with Leadership Awards and Ohio and Rhode Island for Outstanding Progress Awards.
GridWise, an organization that represents stakeholders that design, build and operate the electric grid, has long worked to education about the need to modernize the nation’s electricity system. Its summary report assesses all 50 states and the District of Columbia on how well they are moving toward modernization using 75 metrics across three categories including state support, customer engagement and grid operations.
According to the organization, California and Illinois lead the way in their continued work on grid modernization efforts.
“California continues to be the grid modernization trailblazer, having instituted distribution system planning requirements and many other leading grid modernization efforts,” Steve Hauser, GridWise Alliance CEO, said. “California uses a multi-pronged approach to support distributed energy resources (DER), including competitive solicitations, multiple DER demo projects, a self-generation incentive program, a net metering tariff, and an energy storage target and default time-of-use (TOU) rates.”
GridWise recognized Illinois for actively implementing various aspects of modernization.
“The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) has hosted NextGrid working groups – releasing preliminary drafts and reports in 2018, offering guidance on regulatory and business model reform, technology deployment and metering, and communication and customer data,” Hauser said.
Ohio was recognized specifically for the Ohio Public Utility Commission’s (PUCO) PowerForward initiative, a yearlong review to enhance the consumer electricity experience in Ohio, which culminated with the release of a roadmap report outlining the state’s electricity future, Hauser explained.
Rhode Island’s policy efforts toward grid modernization also were noteworthy. Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo in 2017 initiated the Power Sector Transformation Initiative, which laid the foundation for National Grid’s Power Sector Transformation (PST) Plan that was approved in August 2018, Hauser said.
The work of electric utilities has helped to propel the grid modernization efforts in many states.
Exelon, with a utilities presence in many of the states scoring at the top of the report, said ComEd’s work to bring about greater reliability and control to energy usage for its customers was part of Illinois’ efforts. It is the fourth consecutive year for Illinois to be recognized as one of the top states in the country for grid modernization.
Illinois, Maryland and the District of Columbia scored in the top 10 and all states served by Exelon’s utilities – Atlantic City Electric, BGE, ComEd, Delmarva Power, PECO and Pepco – are in the top 25 in the report.
“Our investments in smarter and more resilient grid systems are producing greater customer value through enhanced reliability, more choice, control and convenience,” said Anne Pramaggiore, senior executive vice president and CEO of Exelon Utilities. “The scores in the states we serve are a result of our efforts to modernize and transform the grid to prepare for a future of climate challenges and connect our customers and communities to clean, affordable energy services they desire.”
Eight states – Maryland, New York, Arizona, Oregon, Texas, Nevada, Minnesota and the District of Columbia – were ranked “Movers” in grid modernization for their work in implementing regulatory and policy changes, as well as working to re-imagine the grid.
Another 14 states – Colorado, Rhode Island, Michigan, Massachusetts, Georgia, Hawaii, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Vermont, Missouri, Washington, North Carolina and New Jersey – were ranked “Believers” for their programs, initiatives and regulatory actions toward grid modernization, even though some of the progress represented “isolated or early efforts to move toward grid modernization,” the report said.
Seven states – Virginia, Maine, Oklahoma, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana and New Hampshire – were termed “Beginners” for their efforts.
“Given the multiple criteria that can be applied, GMI focuses the analysis on developing an “index,” rather than a “ranking,” the report said. “That is, it is less focused on comparing one state against another, but rather on comparing each state to what its fullest potential might be – expressed in coordinated activities that span across legislation, state policy, customer engagement, and technology deployment.”
“Increasingly, grid modernization is less about specific devices or equipment and more about how the pieces fit together to create a system capable of transforming the traditional grid and the way that customers interact with it,” the report added.
