The states have been active as well… State Activity Utilities in non-ISO areas will begin planning for transmission needs on a regional basis and will take into consideration the impacts of federal, state, and local public policies such as renewable energy and energy efficiency portfolio requirements on grid investments. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected challenges to the order. FERC Order 1000 would require that utilities in those areas plan for transmission on a regional basis, including consideration of non-wire solutions such as distributed generation, energy efficiency, and demand response. Which leads us to transmission planning… FERC Order 1000Įstablished energy markets such as PJM and CAISO plan for transmission needs on a regional basis however, large portions of the country are not covered by independent system operators (ISOs), mainly in the West (outside of California) and Southeast. Also gathering are opponents such as FirstEnergy, which has a pending complaint to remove demand response entirely from the capacity market. Demand response aggregators such as EnerNoc are actively intervening in support of FERC’s order. In October 2014, the Appeals Court granted a stay of its decision pending an appeal by FERC to the U.S. Indeed, what is changing is that demand response is becoming a year-round capacity resource. In a article, it notes that demand management and energy efficiency are becoming much more integrated into the daily operations of the grid and are expected to continue to grow in coming years. According to Greentech Media, FERC order 745 is not the only issue shifting in the capacity markets. The impact of the court’s action may be miniscule. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., vacated the order stating that establishing prices for a retail product such as demand response programs is under state, not federal, jurisdiction. The order recognized that demand response programs could reduce price volatility. The order required grid operators to pay a locational marginal price for demand response resources in real-time and day-ahead markets. Impact of State and Federal Initiatives FERC Order 745įERC order 745 was issued in 2011.

Death spiral on its side completely