Changes in today’s power system, such as increasing levels of intermittent renewable energy sources, demand response, and electric vehicles, are creating both exciting opportunities and challenges for regulators and system operators. The role of the consumer is also evolving from a passive role to that of an active participant with growing expectations about how and…

Grid operators have historically forecast demand and scheduled generation to meet that demand. But new technologies allow us to use flexible renewable resources and flexible load to ensure that demand and supply stay in balance. The flexibility that these technologies provide allows for a lower-cost and lower-emission power sector. It also enables the cost-effective integration…

U.S. power markets offer a range of environments in which demand response has evolved. Recent U.S. experience is best understood in the context of market fundamentals. While there have been notable successes, the transition to a low-carbon power sector is transforming historical paradigms, including the role of demand response. Traditionally, demand response was principally a…

Space heating is an important opportunity for beneficial electrification—but the types of opportunities vary significantly by region, building type, and policy landscape. RAP’s November 2018 paper on this topic analyzes these opportunities, and it offers guidance on how regulators can evaluate and implement policies and programs to electrify space heating. In a webinar on November…

RAP and the Centre for Policy Research (CPR) formally released our edited volume on the political economy of India’s state power sectors, Mapping Power, on 17 September 2018. This book is the culmination of a two-year effort researching the power sectors in 15 Indian states. Electricity is critical to enabling India’s economic growth and providing a better…

Please accept all cookies below to watch this video. Implemented properly, the electrification of end uses currently powered by fossil fuels can provide significant benefits—lowering consumer energy bills, helping utilities better manage the grid, and reducing emissions. Implemented in a policy vacuum, however, electrification could simply increase energy usage, potentially increasing costs and worsening environmental impacts….

Gleichlaufend mit der Energiewende entwickelt sich rapid die Sektorkopplung—die Verbindung der Sektoren Strom, Verkehr und Wärme. Zunehmend stellen Elektrofahrzeuge und Power-to-Heat-Anwendungen — insbesondere Wärmepumpen — neue Lasten in den dezentralen Stromsystemen dar. Diese Entwicklungen werfen Fragen auf, wie der Verteilnetzbetrieb und das lokale Management gestaltet werden soll sowie deren Regulierung. Das schließt auch Optionen zur…

Commercial and industrial utility customers have the opportunity to use power sector innovations to reduce their energy bills and produce services for the grid. Distributed energy resources, advanced power control technologies, and smart metering can produce private benefits for these customers, but regulators need to know whether the investments will also promote the public interest:…

Please accept all cookies below to watch this video. State and federal utility regulators have traditionally controlled the electric power industry through their decisions. But rapid technology change means cleaner, lower-cost, and more resilient options for meeting customers’ energy needs are or soon will be available. Customers may soon have cost-effective options to meet their…

Please accept all cookies below to watch this video. Effective electricity network tariff design is a powerful tool in the regulator’s toolbox as Europe strives to make energy more secure, sustainable, and affordable. Yet ineffective designs, such as fixed monthly charges, are on the rise in Europe. This is a disconcerting trend, as policy should…