Public Access and Participation Plans: A Starter Kit for State Agencies

State government agencies are becoming aware that there is more that they can do to reach communities that may be underserved by agency programs — communities of color, indigenous communities, and low-and moderate-income communities. This policy brief describes steps that agencies can take to engage these communities more meaningfully as partners and stakeholders in government decision-making.

This “starter kit” looks at the typical aspects of government agency contact with the public and provides suggestions for how agencies can take simple steps to improve their engagement. Specifically, it discusses ways to improve public meetings, how to make agency websites more accessible, elements of staff training, and the importance of ongoing improvement. Two appendices look at mission statements and equity statements. In each section, a summary and notes on the topic are followed by model language an agency’s public access and participation plan might include, along with useful resources.

Electricity market reform, beyond the gas crisis

In the past, power market reform happened to increase efficiency, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, or to improve reliability and security of supply. Today in Europe, the desire to further change the market stems from the ongoing energy crisis. As the European Union introduces a new round of electricity market reforms, RAP explores where new market regulation would usefully tackle the root causes of the ongoing energy crisis, meet consumer needs and help Europe move away from fossil fuels.

The current energy crisis is a gas crisis. It is a nightmarish scenario stemming from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resulting supply disruption of cheap pipeline gas, converging with decommissioning of nuclear capacity and low hydro output. Hedging strategies by energy suppliers and consumers fell short and unprecedented wholesale market prices for fossil gas made consumer gas and electricity bills explode.

Strategies must therefore improve hedging in the market if Europe is to mitigate the energy crisis – and prepare for the next. To this end, RAP recommends replacing the role of fossil gas with renewables, demand-side flexibility and energy efficiency. More precisely, this requires:

• Recognising and promoting demand-side resources as a vital system resource.
• Building out more solar and wind, and doing so better and faster.
• Protecting basic consumer needs better than in the past.

For policymakers weighing whether to implement these actions, the authors explain the various considerations.

Standards for EV smart charging: A guide for local authorities

The electrification of road transport is happening – and it is already having a profound impact on the energy system and our cities. As more and more people drive electric, smart charging can ease the integration of the newcomers into the grid.

Smart charging enables charging to automatically happen at times when electricity costs are lowest – without compromising the needs of vehicle owners. As a result, smart charging creates a powerful opportunity to use more renewable energy and better utilise existing grids, accelerating the energy transition while reducing costs for all.

Cities are essential actors in making smart charging happen at a large scale. Every time they publish a public procurement procedure and every time they issue permits for EV infrastructure, it is in their hands to make smart charging work better — now and in the years to come.

But how can local authorities deploy a future-proof, robust smart charging network, with technology rapidly evolving?

Important standards supporting smart charging – such as vehicle-to-grid (V2G) – are not yet available for charging stations built today. To avoid becoming obsolete before the end of its expected lifetime, infrastructure must be ready for future upgrades.

Authors Luka De Bruyckere of ECOS and Jaap Burger from RAP offer a guide for local authorities to help ensure that cities can take these standardisation developments into account when procuring charging infrastructure.

Smart cities, you’ve got a friend in electric cars: How to unleash the potential of smart charging through public procurement

The electrification of road transport is happening – and it is already having a profound impact on the energy system and our cities. As more and more people drive electric, smart charging can ease the integration of the newcomers into the grid.

Smart charging enables charging to automatically happen at times when electricity costs are lowest – without compromising the needs of vehicle owners. As a result, smart charging creates a powerful opportunity to use more renewable energy and better utilise existing grids, accelerating the energy transition while reducing costs for all.

Cities are essential actors in making smart charging happen at a large scale. Every time they publish a public procurement procedure and every time they issue permits for EV infrastructure, it is in their hands to make smart charging work better — now and in the years to come.

But how can local authorities deploy a future-proof, robust smart charging network, with technology rapidly evolving?

Important standards supporting smart charging – such as vehicle-to-grid (V2G) – are not yet available for charging stations built today. To avoid becoming obsolete before the end of its expected lifetime, infrastructure must be ready for future upgrades.

In a webinar held on 15 December 2022, Luka De Bruyckere from ECOS and Jaap Burger of RAP presented their new guide explaining how to build future-proof infrastructure, and equip cities to make the right choices when procuring new charging infrastructure.

Guest speaker Hugo Niesing from the city of Amsterdam shared his experience in advancing smart charging in a city that leads the transition to e-mobility.

Moderated by Ivo Cabral, Press & Communications Manager, Environmental Coalition on Standards at ECOS.

A recording of webinar can be viewed here.

Taking the burn out of heating for low-income households

The future of heat in buildings is not fossil fuelled. The urgency of the climate crisis, Europe’s 2030 climate targets, the current war in Ukraine and the resulting skyrocketing energy prices all mean we need to massively accelerate efforts to move away from burning fossil fuels in our homes. This is no small task as fossil fuels currently account for over 75% of heat supply, and the residential sector is Europe’s single biggest fossil gas user, responsible for 40% of gas consumption.

The recent energy price volatility and the cripplingly high gas prices make the economics of switching from fossil fuel heating to heating with a heat pump better in 2022 than before the crisis. Those households that can afford it may well be considering the switch.

For lower-income households, however, the high prices make all forms of heating – and most other household expenses – less affordable. For these people, the switch to clean heating is further away than ever. But the risks of remaining locked into expensive fossil fuel use are more acute due to high and volatile prices, rising costs of redundant infrastructure and, potentially, exorbitant costs for hydrogen.

RAP analysis establishes the upfront investment and running costs to switch to heating with a heat pump, before and after the price crisis. Based on this assessment, Louise Sunderland and Duncan Gibb set out strategies to make the switch to clean heating affordable and safe for lower-income households. Targeted subsidies for upfront investment in clean heating technologies are essential, alongside reforms to electricity pricing to help ensure bills are affordable. The study also explores a range of other strategies to secure affordable clean heat such as bringing together combinations of building-level technologies, services and the benefits of cheap renewable electricity generation. We present five recommendations for:

• Prioritising lower-income households in heat decarbonisation strategies.
• Ensuring an ‘energy efficiency first’ approach to reduce heating needs.
• Providing targeted subsidies for clean technologies.
• Rebalancing burdens away from electricity bills and directing social support to electricity bills.
• Focussing Europe’s innovation attention on the needs of lower-income households.

The RAPPORT, Europe edition, October 2022

Modernizing Gas Utility Planning: New Approaches for New Challenges

Significant new uncertainties and options for the gas industry are creating new challenges for regulators who are responsible for ensuring that utility investments are in the public interest.

Many of the unknowns relate to the potential for customers to switch from gas to electricity for heating and other uses and the potential for utilities to replace fossil methane with alternative gases. Gas customers could face higher costs if their numbers decline in favor of electrification or if investments in alternative gases far exceed current resource costs.

Yet current typical tools and processes for regulating gas distribution utilities do not give regulators complete information on which to make decisions about long-term utility investments in this context.

Commissions across the country are recognizing the need to review and update their planning approaches. This paper surveys current efforts to modernize gas utility planning and draws lessons for those considering similar work. At the heart of the paper are five principles for redesigning planning to restore confidence that utility investments will be in the public interest:

1. Build equity into planning so decisions are made with equitable service and distribution of costs and benefits in mind.
2. Consider an expanded range of investment and resource options.
3. Establish integrated gas planning by combining integrated resource planning practices with gas distribution system planning.
4. Use combined energy planning to take the broadest possible view of emissions reduction opportunities.
5. Foster collaboration with state agencies that have expertise in emissions reduction.

Utility Regulation in the US: A Brief Introduction

​In a webinar for the Urban Sustainability Directors Network and the Southeast Sustainability Directors Network, David Farnsworth explored the power industry and how it is regulated in the public interest.

Performance Targets

​In a presentation to a National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners working group, Jessica Shipley offered guidance on designing performance-based regulation that meets public interest policy goals.

Securing Benefits from Transportation Electrification