OPC Applauds Proceeding on Electric Distribution Planning, Cautions Against Deferring to Utilities
BALTIMORE – A proceeding on electric distribution grid planning provides Maryland a tremendous opportunity to advance the interests of consumers in new technologies, to ensure the grid furthers state environmental goals—especially climate change—and to make sure these goals are achieved at the lowest possible cost, People’s Counsel David S. Lapp told the Maryland Public Service Commission today. OPC applauded the Commission for initiating Case No. 9665 on the future of the electric distribution grid.
Distribution planning should focus on performance for consumers, OPC told the Commission. It should facilitate the adoption of distributed energy resources, known as DERs, such as local solar, energy storage, vehicle to grid electricity flow, software solutions, and other new and unforeseen technologies. These solutions should bring consumer and environmental benefits.
“We know that technology moves fast,” Lapp advised. “We need to build the system for the smartphone, not the flip phone. Thinking ahead will avoid sinking costs into technologies that become obsolete or duplicative.”
OPC highlighted the need to consider the products and services the distribution system will need to accommodate and whether the best performance will be achieved through competition or through a regulated utility monopoly. Competition may bring consumer benefits through innovation and lower prices, but that will require reducing barriers to market entry. The Commission should also consider the utilities’ role, OPC said. If utilities are allowed to participate in competitive markets, the Commission will face challenges enforcing impartial competitive markets.
OPC’s presentation explained that utilities currently perform system planning in a “black box,” leaving little scrutiny and a lack of information for customers and other stakeholders. Effective distribution planning means enabling greater transparency, including the sharing of utility-controlled data. It will be critical to conduct outreach, identify customer needs, and engage communities, OPC said.
Lapp cautioned against deferring too heavily to the utilities. “The animating principle in the distribution planning process should be to determine what is in the public interest,” Lapp said. “The utilities’ plans and proposals will only be fully consistent with the public interest by coincidence.”
Today, along with OPC, the Commission heard comments from Commission staff, the Maryland Energy Administration, and a coalition of environmental advocates.
The Maryland Office of People’s Counsel is an independent state agency that represents Maryland’s residential consumers of electric, natural gas, telecommunications, private water and certain transportation matters before the Public Service Commission, federal regulatory agencies and the courts.
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