Pennsylvania PUC seeking comments on electricity storage policy statement
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) is seeking comments from interested parties on a proposed policy statement that sets guidelines for the use of electricity storage by electric distribution companies (EDC).
The PUC has already conducted two rounds of public comment on matters related to electric storage, receiving input from more than 30 organizations, advocates, utilities, state agencies, customer groups, and other interested parties. After that, the PUC voted 5-0 to publish the proposed policy statement for public comment.
The proposed policy statement acknowledges that electricity-storage assets can assist in various engineered reliability solutions. Thus, it concludes that electricity-storage can be used by EDCs to maintain or to increase the reliability or the resilience of the electric distribution system. Further, the statement encourages the consideration of such assets when cost effective and proper and encourages EDCs to consider electricity-storage assets as part of system planning.
“Continued advancement in energy storage technology, namely batteries, has led it to become both a viable generation resource as well as a newly viable non-wires alternative for transmission and distribution planning,” PUC Chairman Gladys Brown Dutrieuille and Vice Chairman Stephen M. DeFrank said in a joint statement. “Energy storage can provide grid stability through services such as peak demand shifting, supplemental power, restoration, and voltage support. Therefore, we are pleased to take this next step in encouraging EDCs to utilize cost effective energy storage as a distribution resource.”
The proposed policy statement will be forwarded to the Governor’s Budget Office for review of fiscal impact and then published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. Upon publication in the bulletin, interested parties will have 30 days from the date of publication to file comments and 45 days to file any reply comments.
Comments can be filed through the eFile system at puc.pa.gov or by mail.
