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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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April 4, 2024
A New Chapter of Growth for RAP
- Regulatory Assistance Project
The Regulatory Assistance Project is beginning a new chapter of growth and thought leadership as we continue bringing clarity to the complexity of the clean energy transition. After thoughtful discussions between Richard Sedano and the RAP board of directors, Sedano… View Summary +
May 15, 2023
Prudent Gas System Planning Can Minimize Risk
- Elaine Prause
According to the American Gas Association, from 2018 to 2020, natural gas utilities added an average of 753,619 customers and 20,724 miles of pipeline each year. This equates to adding more than one customer per minute and more than… View Summary +
May 8, 2023
In the Electrification Push, Familiar Tools Get Repurposed
- Jessica Shipley ,
- Camille Kadoch
Stephen King wrote, “Sooner or later, everything old is new again.” Many “new” regulatory approaches to encourage building electrification are actually just new applications of tried-and-true methods policymakers have been using for years. Take, for example, clean heat standards, which… View Summary +
February 27, 2023
To Serve Everyone, IRA’s Climate Grants Need Inclusive Participation
As expansive and even overwhelming as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) seems to be, it is important to remember that the IRA authorizes a number of different programs that will benefit states — programs, for example, that may… View Summary +
January 25, 2021
Why Rate Design in New England Needs a Refresh
- David Littell ,
- Donna Brutkoski
Looking ahead to 2030 and then beyond to 2050, the majority of New England states have set ambitious clean energy goals. The growing adoption of new technology empowers energy customers to play a direct role in making these goals happen… View Summary +
September 7, 2018
Replacing copper with negawatts—how RIIO-2 could revolutionise network regulation
Ofgem’s recent framework decision on improving its performance-based regulation scheme, RIIO, indicates that it may be ready to take a much-needed step toward levelling the playing field between supply-side and customer-side resources. However, it is not yet clear what the… View Summary +
June 11, 2018
Fuel-Switching: We Just Did This in 1990, So Why Are We Doing It Again?
RAP senior advisor Jim Lazar tells a story about doing a cost and environmental analysis on behalf of the Association of Northwest Gas Utilities in 1990, in which he compared space and water heating run on natural-gas-generated electricity to… View Summary +
August 10, 2017
Effective Leadership During Times of Change: Start by Talking to Stakeholders
- Jake Brown
For years, most utilities have operated quietly, keeping the grid humming along while providing reliable and affordable electricity. That system has served us well. Today, transformational change is sweeping through the power sector, challenging utilities to not only provide energy,… View Summary +
January 19, 2017
States will Decide Future of U.S. Energy
- Frederick Weston
With the coming change of administration in the U.S., speculation on the future of the Clean Power Plan (CPP) is running high. During the campaign, the president-elect made his views on climate change—it’s a hoax perpetrated by China—perfectly clear; and,… View Summary +
December 15, 2016
How Europe can Deliver on Energy Efficiency
- Jan Rosenow ,
- Edith Bayer
The European Commission’s recently released Clean Energy Package, has a 2030 target of 30 percent energy savings. An important policy instrument to deliver these are Energy Efficiency Obligation (EEO) schemes. According to new RAP research, not only are EEOs a… View Summary +
February 2, 2016
The Next Quantum Leap in Electric Efficiency—Game On
Ten years ago, the most aggressive electric efficiency efforts in the country were achieving first-year electric savings of about 1.0 percent of annual sales. Today, at least five different states have—or plan to—double those levels of savings, achieving between 2.0… View Summary +