Blog
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.
Filter >>
Content Filter:
August 21, 2018
We All Wish We Were More Flexible: Electrification Load as a Grid Flexibility Resource
Imagine you are preparing dinner for guests arriving at 6 p.m. when you learn that they’ve been delayed. And imagine that, instead of keeping the food hot, you had to throw all of it away and start cooking again for… View Summary +
March 14, 2019
Renovating Energy Policy to Encourage Beneficial Electrification
- Jessica Shipley ,
- Donna Brutkoski
RAP’s recent papers on the beneficial electrification of space heating and water heating draw a picture of great potential. Electrification of these fossil-fueled end uses could cut carbon emissions significantly while saving consumers money and providing power system operators with… 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 +
February 5, 2020
For MADRI, the End of an Era … and the Beginning of Another
- John Shenot
Over the past 15 years, a group of power sector professionals have followed — and fostered — developments in an era of enormous change for the sector. In December, the group met in Washington DC for the 54th and final… View Summary +
August 17, 2020
With the Shift Toward Electrification, Decoupling Remains Key for Driving Decarbonization
- Rachel Gold ,
- Jessica Shipley
States across the United States are increasingly prioritizing electrification of transportation and buildings to meet their decarbonization goals. Utilities are an important driver of this investment, so it’s critical that their business incentives be aligned with the public policy goals… View Summary +
November 1, 2021
It’s Time to Consider the (Non-Pipeline) Alternatives
For many years, the topic of regulation of gas distribution utilities has been far from the limelight and has not received the kind of attention that electric utility regulation attracts. But there are an increasing number of reasons to take… View Summary +
December 21, 2021
The Complex Landscape of Net Metering Reform in California: Why an Installed Capacity Charge?
Rooftop solar in California has grown from an infant industry two decades ago to a 10-gigawatt resource that contributes significantly to customer and electric system needs today. The state is blessed with ample sunshine in many regions, and its urgency… View Summary +
January 31, 2022
The Complex Landscape of Net Metering Reform in California: Ensuring A Smart TOU Rate Foundation
California, long a leader in rooftop solar, is now wrestling with the complications — as illustrated by the current debate over the California Public Utility Commission’s proposed decision on “net energy metering 3.0,” released last month. Before the end of… View Summary +
May 24, 2022
A Song in the Key of E: Emissions, Efficiency, Equity, and Electrification
- Frederick Weston
A lot of folks out there (including we at RAP) have, for the last four decades, been devising ways to make utilities more economically efficient, their customers more energy-efficient, and the power system cleaner, sustainable, more equitable, and non-emitting. But… View Summary +
November 3, 2016
Retooling Regulation: a Closer Look at Integrating Energy and Environmental Policy
- Christopher James ,
- Ken Colburn
Part one of this series described why it is increasingly necessary to integrate energy and environmental planning and introduced one way to do so, the E-Merge approach. Improvements in public health science, detection technologies, and modeling over the last… View Summary +