States in the Lead
For all the talk about the heavy hand of Washington in the energy field, the states are still the place to be when new policies for cap-and-trade, renewable energy and energy efficiency are tried.
At the recent EnergyBiz Leadership Forum, two people with a close-up view at the state level - heck, they help shape that view - gave ample evidence that rules and encouragement of everything from carbon restrictions to green energy to smart meters is occurring in the states.
"State policies are not necessarily supporting how the federal government responds to these challenges, but are in fact leading the way," said David Coen, a member of the Vermont Public Service Board and the current head of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners.
Just a few examples are the multi-state cap-and-trade system in the Northeast known as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, energy efficiency popularized in Vermont by programs like Efficiency Vermont and the Green Mountain State's legislature recently directed the public service board to develop a multi-utility, multi-technology feed in tariff program. Coen reported that first-day applications reached nearly 200 megawatts of renewable power and the program cap is for 50 megawatts.
"My point is, states have been in the driver's seat when it comes to setting the nation's energy policy and with the likelihood of Congressional action on climate change unclear, it looks as if it will remain that way for the near term," he said.
Although he didn't say it this way, state leadership is actually preventing some federal policies that many in the industry would like to see. I'm talking about expanded federal transmission authority, which has been vehemently opposed at the state level and has been stymied in Congress.
"As the association that represents state utility regulators, the ones who site and approve new transmission, we are unconvinced that the system is broken," he concluded.
An interesting take, for sure, as multi-state renewable energy markets are developing and putting that thesis to the test.
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