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Incisive commentary from RAP experts
RAP experts keep their finger on the pulse of the energy sector and provide timely analysis of topics impacting stakeholders TODAY.
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May 19, 2020
Transition to just
The global experience with the coronavirus crisis is shining light on the precariousness of everyday life for low-income and vulnerable households. As we are forced to stay at home, higher household energy bills put further pressure on already stretched household… View Summary +
April 29, 2020
Making a Clean-Energy Future an Equitable Future
- Alice Napoleon ,
- Donna Brutkoski ,
- Nancy Seidman
Our jobs, comforts, and ability to survive all depend on something most people take for granted until it goes missing: energy. It powers our lighting, our appliances, our cell phones – our entire daily lives. We need it to search… View Summary +
April 8, 2020
Three New EV Resources from RAP
The market for electric vehicles — from cars to buses to delivery vans — continues to expand around the world, and the pace of innovation is accelerating. While current public health and economic challenges may pose a temporary roadblock, it… View Summary +
January 28, 2020
Updating Embedded Cost of Service Studies for a New Era
- Jim Lazar ,
- Mark LeBel ,
- Paul Chernick
In the first blog post in this series, we outlined how our new manual, Electric Cost Allocation for a New Era, looks comprehensively at the process of dividing utility costs among customer classes — and proposes several ways it… View Summary +
November 13, 2019
Navigare necesse est: Rerouting network companies toward decarbonisation
Changing the course of a sailboat requires coordinated action. The skipper announces the manoeuvre to the crew, turns the rudder and works with the crew to readjust the sails. To achieve the maximum cruising speed with the prevailing winds and… View Summary +
October 23, 2019
A Hearty Bowl of Texas Soup: How ERCOT Keeps the Lights On
ERCOT (or the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas, the independent system operator of that state’s stand-alone wholesale market) has confounded the doomsayers once again. Despite dire predictions that ERCOT lacked sufficient generation capacity, it came through the peak summer season… View Summary +
September 18, 2019
Clean, Flexible and Efficient: A Recipe for Energy Optimization
- John Shenot
The United States is the second-highest emitter of greenhouse gases on the planet — but we are also a leader in technological and economic strength. We have the capability to lead the world in finding solutions to the urgent challenge… View Summary +
August 29, 2019
Electric Cars Are a Lot Like Water Heaters
- Jim Lazar
People unfamiliar with electric cars often fear that a blossoming of EV ownership will bring chaos to the electric grid. For example, I recently spoke with the manager of a beach resort who was fearful of adding an EV charger,… View Summary +
July 1, 2019
Paying our way out of purgatory? Is carbon pricing enough?
After the Pope backs a carbon tax to stem global warming, Louise Sunderland argues that only when coupled with the strategic use of the revenues will carbon taxes be efficient and cost-effective enough. This month, Pope Francis announced that… View Summary +
June 19, 2019
Regulatory Reform is a Game of Hopscotch, Not a Flying Leap
- Jessica Shipley
The changes underway in the electricity industry are well documented: Demand is flat or declining; renewable energy and storage technology costs are plummeting; utilities and third parties are offering customers new technologies and services; and the need to cut emissions… View Summary +