New York's REV, Demo Projects Point Toward 21st Century Electricity System

Utilities and electricity regulators in the United States and Europe are facing new electricity market realities: flat load growth, rapid adoption of distributed energy resources (DERs), emission reduction requirements, and ambitious goals for renewable energy deployment. In Q2 2016 alone regulators across 42 states took more than 100 different regulatory actions addressing DER adoption, positively or negatively including measures on fixed charges, net metering, solar valuation, third-party ownership, and community solar.  New York’s Reforming the Energy Vision proceeding (REV), launched in 2014, stands out as an example of a regulatory strategy that promotes more efficient energy use, better integration of renewables and onsite power, and more customer choice.

Specifically, REV is part of a broader push to achieve the following energy goals for New York’s electricity system by 2030:

• 40% reduction in energy sector greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 1990 levels, ultimately decreasing total carbon emissions 80% by 2050;
• 50% of all electricity generated by renewable energy sources;
• 23% decrease in energy consumption in buildings from 2012 levels.

REV looks to fundamentally reorient the way electric utilities operate and make money.  Under REV, regulated utilities will become operators of a Distributed System Platform (DSP), not just delivering power to customers from central power plants but also facilitating transactions between customers and third-party providers of DER products and services.  Through this platform, customers large and small will be able to actively participate in electricity markets and connect with a range of service providers that can help them manage their electricity use and generate power themselves.

Read more at New York's REV, Demo Projects Point Toward 21st Century Electricity System