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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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November 6, 2015
Smart Rate Design
Rate design is the regulatory term used to describe the pricing structure reflected in customer bills and used by electric utilities in the United States. Rate design is not only the itemized prices set forth in tariffs; it is also… View Summary +
November 10, 2015
Effective Permitting System Needed to Secure Air Quality Gains in China
- Christopher James
Since 2011, the Chinese government has made significant progress in developing comprehensive air quality plans, by adopting new ambient air quality and emission standards, deploying more than 1,000 new air quality monitors, and establishing stringent air quality improvement targets. Most… View Summary +
December 2, 2015
Put the Horse Before the Cart: Align Clean Power Plan Compliance with State Energy Goals
- Ken Colburn ,
- Christopher James
Most states are still sorting through the details of EPA’s Clean Power Plan (CPP) final rule. Given its significant, though generally positive, departure from the proposed rule, and EPA’s initial plan submittal deadline of September 6, 2016,… View Summary +
December 3, 2015
Energy Efficiency Collaboratives, In All Shapes and Sizes, Can Help State PUCs
Most energy proceedings are convened before a state public utility commission, and offer few opportunities for consumers and other stakeholders to participate. However, collaboratives provide an effective opportunity for multiple stakeholders to discuss a variety of issues in a constructive… View Summary +
December 11, 2015
Efficiency First for Germany’s Energiewende
Germany’s “Energiewende” (Energy Transition) represents a national commitment to meet aggressive economy-wide decarbonisation targets and to transform the German power sector from a reliance on nuclear and coal to renewable resources within the next four decades. Germany is unique in… View Summary +
January 12, 2016
Power Sector Transformation Advances, With Choices, Questions, and Big Opportunities
As we head into the New Year, RAP’s U.S. team will be devoting more time to a broad set of issues known as “power sector transformation.” Power sector transformation in the United States will affect the way many of us… 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 +
February 15, 2016
Protecting the Competitive Market for Services in a Changing Power Sector
- Janine Migden-Ostrander
The electric industry is in transition and some jurisdictions are reconsidering the role of the utility and private enterprises offering products and services to customers. New companies are offering services and products, including energy efficiency, demand response, and distributed generation,… View Summary +
February 29, 2016
The Inexorable Shift of the US Power Sector
- David Littell
While the U.S. Supreme Court’s temporary stay on enforcement of the Clean Power Plan has grabbed headlines recently, it’s important that we read deeper, and consider the broader context, of which the CPP is only one part. In recent years,… View Summary +
March 30, 2016
Deja Vu All Over Again
Yogi Berra famously had a quote for every occasion. If asked to describe the effect of the U.S. Supreme Court’s February 9 stay of the U.S. EPA’s Clean Power Plan (CPP), I’d bet he’d say, “… View Summary +