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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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September 13, 2017
For Climate Progress, Solutions Sprout from Cities, States
- Christopher James
At this past summer’s meeting of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), I served on a panel of experts discussing what might happen to America’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the wake of the Trump administration’s… View Summary +
July 11, 2017
There’s Far More Opportunity Than Crisis in California Renewables Curtailment
- Jim Lazar
California curtailed renewables this spring. This sets off alarm bells in some quarters because it suggests that solar and wind are overbuilt and present a big challenge to the grid. The concerns, however, are misplaced, and solutions are… View Summary +
February 24, 2021
RGGI’s Program Review Offers a Chance to Revisit Local Air Quality Needs
While there is substantial evidence that the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) has been very successful at reducing carbon and other emissions across the multi-state region, there is still important work to be done to document and ensure air… View Summary +
April 18, 2015
Do Pay-for-Performance Capacity Markets Deliver the Grid Resiliency Outcomes We Need?
- Michael Hogan ,
- Michael O’Boyle ,
- Sonia Aggarwal
Competitive wholesale power markets are designed to sustain needed investment through market participants hedging risks in response to transparent pricing in the energy and ancillary services markets. But in practice, it’s been a challenge to realize market prices fully reflective… 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 +
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 +
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 +
July 7, 2020
In a Time of Transition, Regulators Can Drive Cutting-Edge Cost Allocation Reform
- Jim Lazar ,
- Mark LeBel
The need for change in how we measure the cost of providing electric service by customer class is obvious to any attentive observer of the dramatic changes now underway in the electric utility industry. Electric Cost Allocation for a… View Summary +
July 13, 2020
Striking the Balance in Energy Efficiency Regulation Between Utility Incentives and Customer Costs
- Janine Migden-Ostrander ,
- Martin Kushler
As Americans continue to face rising affordability challenges and struggle to pay their utility bills, consumer advocates are understandably concerned about keeping bills as low as possible. Energy efficiency is the lowest-cost resource and provides customers with the opportunity to… View Summary +