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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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December 1, 2014
Minimum Bills: An Effective Alternative to High Customer Charges
- Jim Lazar
One wouldn’t necessarily expect the components of an electric bill to make headlines, but recent decisions in some states have caused controversy. The controversy involves the size of the monthly customer charge applied to residential consumers. Until recently, U.S. regulators… View Summary +
February 5, 2015
Tackling 111(d) Compliance Planning: It’s Not a SIP!
- Christopher James
States asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for flexibility in crafting plans to meet the requirements of the proposed Clean Power Plan (also known as 111(d), after the pertinent section of the Clean Air Act), and EPA listened. EPA’s… View Summary +
February 9, 2015
Energy Efficiency as an Air Quality Strategy: Connecting the Dots Using a Mobile Source Analogy
- Ken Colburn
Every year states invest more than $6 billion in energy efficiency programs, which also improve air quality. Yet, states rarely receive any credit for the resulting emissions reductions! The benefits don’t stop with air quality. Energy efficiency not only reduces… View Summary +
May 22, 2015
Complying with the Clean Power Plan While Delivering Affordable, Reliable Power
- Ken Colburn ,
- John Shenot
Yesterday, the National Association of Clean Air Agencies (NACAA) released an important new resource: Implementing EPA’s Clean Power Plan: A Menu of Options (disclosure: RAP provided technical assistance and helped write the Menu). We believe the… View Summary +
June 1, 2015
The Clean Power Plan: Just Say, “No Regrets”
- John Shenot ,
- David Farnsworth
Much of the controversy associated with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed Clean Power Plan has to do with disputes about whether the agency has the authority to set greenhouse gas emissions limits for power plants based only on… View Summary +
June 25, 2015
Reliability Standard: I Do Not Think it Means What you Think it Means
Much like the character Inigo Montoya who, in the movie The Princess Bride questions Vizzini’s relentless repetition of the word “inconceivable,” I find myself wondering whether many of those who insist over and over again that the EPA’s… View Summary +
August 3, 2015
Hit the Ground Running on EPA’s Clean Power Plan: 12 Steps for Effective, Least-Cost Compliance
- John Shenot ,
- Ken Colburn
EPA is expected to finalize its Clean Power Plan (also known as its “111(d) rule”) today. Once published in the Federal Register, states may have only one year (or in some cases, two years) to develop initial… View Summary +
August 6, 2015
Deepening Power Sector Reform in China: The Essential Role of Power Sector Planning
The Power Sector Reform guidance issued in March recognizes the need for a major revamp of power sector planning, and official announcements indicate that the 13th Five-Year Plan is taking up the task. This will be… View Summary +
September 2, 2015
New Chinese Air Law Integrates Energy and Environmental Policy
- Christopher James
The National People’s Congress (NPC) adopted revisions to China’s air law on August 29th that will go into effect on January 1, 2016. Last revised in 2000, the new law is intended to respond to and reduce… View Summary +
October 1, 2015
Skate Where the Puck Is Going to Be
- John Shenot
Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky once said, “A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.” Strangely enough, when I think about what lies ahead for electric… View Summary +