Opportunities for Utilities and Technology Companies to Collaborate on Resilience
PLAN TO SCALE PILOT
LEARN FROM ONE ANOTHER
ENGAGE REGULATORS EARLY
Have a plan to scale before launching a pilot: Pilot programs are necessary to test new technologies, but they should begin with a detailed plan for full integration if successful. “That plan should say we're piloting it for this purpose, and here are the success metrics,” Hamm said. “The plan should describe what the broader rollout would look like if the pilot is successful, where the budget would come from, and the regulatory filing it would be in.”
Learn from one another: Not every new technology needs to be uniquely piloted at every utility. To accelerate adoption, utilities should proactively share lessons learned from their deployments of resilience-enhancing technologies.
Engage regulators early: It’s not just utilities that need to learn about and get comfortable with novel technologies. Reaching out to regulators early to educate them can expedite approvals if a utility decides to move forward with adoption. “Bring the regulators into things very early in the conversation and actively educate them about the problem statement. What is the need for new technology, and what are the different available solutions?” Hamm said.
Consider alternatives to a rate case: Resilience investments deliver long-term benefits. Because of that, including them in a single-year rate case can be problematic because of the emphasis on quick payback. There are alternatives, including a multi-year rate, which allows the cost of investments in resiliency to be spread out over multiple years. Another option is to include resiliency investments as a separate rider to provide more flexible cost recovery outside a general rate case. Another option is to issue bonds backed by ratepayer revenues, allowing the expense of resilience investments to be spread out over decades.
ALTERNATIVES TO RATE CASE
Future Energy System Transformation Scenarios
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