Community Solar and Choice Aggregation: Our Path to Public-Community Control of Electricity
The evolution of electricity systems from early development to regulatory compacts to restructuring in the 20th-century capitalist landscape, advocating for community control and choice in electricity services.
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Presentation Transcript
Democratic Party Bernalillo County Ward 17B RESOLUTION ON COMMUNITY SOLAR AND CHOICE AGGREGATION OUR PATH TO PUBLIC-COMMUNITY CONTROL OF ELECTRICITY Power to the People!
SCIENCE AND 20THCENTURY CAPITALISM HOW FOR-PROFIT CORPORATIONS CAME TO OWN ELECTRICITY SYSTEMS And MONOPOLIZE ELECTRICITY SERVICES
EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF ELECTRICITY SYSTEMS Thomas Edison combined light bulb with direct current (1882). Hundreds of small start-ups provided electricity to local, mostly affluent customers (1882 1907). Start-ups consolidated into larger companies: GE (Edison) and Westinghouse. See, for example, The Power Brokers: The Struggle to Shape and Control the Electric Power Industry by Jeremiah D. Lambert (Cambridge, Ma: The Mit Press, 2015).
LOCAL TO REGIONAL SYSTEMS NATURAL MONOPOLIES Alternating Current (AC) won out over Direct Current (DC). Large regional, vertically integrated utilities (transmitting AC) ruled the day; they owned: Generation facilities; Transmission facilities; and Distribution facilities. Sam Insull (Chicago Edison): proposed natural monopoly. See, for example, Gina S. Warren, Vanishing Power Lines and Emerging Distributed Generation, 4 Wake Forest J.L. & Pol'y 347 (2014).
REGULATORY COMPACT: DEAL WITH THE DEVIL One electric utility per regional system. Utility must provide nondiscriminatory service at regulated rates. 10 companies controlled 75% of electricity (1920s). Every state except Delaware enacted rate regulation (1907-1930). Federal government (FERC) began to regulate transmission.* See, for example, Hon. Richard D. Cudahy & William D. Henderson, From Insull to Enron: Corporate (Re)regulation After the Rise and Fall of Two Energy Icons, 26 Energy L.J. 35 (2005)
HOW ARE RATES REGULATED? Public utilities must present their proposed rates to state regulatory commissions: Revenue Requirement = Operations and Maintenance Costs + Return on Equity (ROE)x Investment (For example, ROE of 9.5% x Capital Investment aka Rate Base ). Cost Allocation = Allocate revenue requirement to each of the rate classes according to the costs caused by that class ( cost causation principle ). Attorney Gen. v. New Mexico Pub. Regulation Comm'n, 2011-NMSC-034, 17, 150 N.M. 174, 258 P .3d 453, 458, citing Hobbs Gas Co., 94 N.M. at 733, 616 P .2d at 1118.
RESTRUCTURING: 1999-2008 Movement to restructure (dismantling vertical integration): Federal law: public utilities must interconnect with qualifying facilities;* State laws: public utilities must sell their generating facilities;** Transmission and distribution by public utilities in deregulated states; Rate caps while competitive markets developed; but By 2008, competition was not strong. *Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, 16 U.S.C. 2601 (2012).; Congress passed PURPA to promote competition especially through the participation of newly developed small gas-powered electric generating plants. ** Eighteen states have deregulated retail electricity: https://www.electricchoice.com/map-deregulated-energy-markets
NEXT STEPS Renewable Energy Economy Transition (Zero Carbon Footprint) State law: public utilities must emit zero carbon by 2045. Implications what can we expect??* Centralized generation of fossil fueled power? Decentralized generation of solar power? Centralized generation of utility-grade solar? Is natural monopoly regulation for public good? Will consumers need protective regulation? No!! Maybe? Maybe? As is, Probably Not. Yes!! * NMSA 1978, 62-16-4 (2004, also known as the Renewable Energy Act, as amended 2019).
COMMUNITY SOLAR SB84* Enacted & Signed 2021! What is Community Solar? Towns/Cities/Native American Governments, non-profits and others could build/develop community-owned solar facilities to - Sell solar energy to neighbors including low-income residents - With use of public utility s (local) distribution system. * Sponsors, Senators Liz Stefanics and Linda Lopez and Representatives Patricia Roybal Caballero and Andrea Romero, led the heroic charge to enact the bill and get the governor to sign it on April 5, 2021 (after several years when this proposed legislation fell short).
COMMUNITY (LOCAL) CHOICE AGGREGATION Community (Local) Choice if enacted would allow Towns, Cities, Native American Governments to: Aggregate (Pool) the energy needs of their communities; and Buy electricity from whomever they choose (public utilities, cooperatives, independent producers, municipal utility); and Resell that electricity to constituents using public utility distribution system; and Prioritize maximizing renewables and minimizing energy costs. * Senators Jeff Steinborn, Willie Shendo and Liz Stefanics introduced a Local Choice Bill (SB 374 in 2019 and SB 83 2021).
GRASSROOTS ACTIVISM: WHAT HAS WARD 17B DONE? Pushed through Resolutions to State Central Committee.* Urged legislators to vote for SB 84 using Ward s Community Solar Resolution as tool. (It was issue of accountability to grassroots!) Coordinate efforts with statewide organizations such as Retake our Democracy and Adelante Caucus.** *Ward 17B successfully pushed adoption by County Resolutions Committee and State Central Committee of resolutions in 2020 on: (1) Community Solar and Local Choice; and (2) Right to Appointed Counsel in Deportation Hearings. **See Retake our Democracy at https://retakeourdemocracy.org/ **See Adelante Caucus at https://nmdemocrats.org/adelante-caucus/
GRASSROOTS ACTIVISM: WHAT IS STILL TO BE DONE on Community Solar? GET INVOLVED IN MOVEMENT TO KEEP THE COMMUNITY IN COMMUNITY SOLAR!! Organize community education and meetings.* Participate in Public Regulation Commission s (PRC s) rulemaking beginning June 24, 2021.** * Community Meeting on Community Solar will take place: ________________________ . ** First PRC Community Solar Rulemaking Workshop will take place on Thursday, June 24, at 9:00 a.m. via Zoom. For more information, refer to Case No. 21-00112-UT on PRC website at http://www.nmprc.state.nm.us/#gsc.tab=0
GRASSROOTS ACTIVISM: WHAT IS STILL TO BE DONE On Other Issues? A LOT NEEDS TO BE DONE . GET INVOLVED!! Work on another Resolution on Local Choice Aggregation? Other Issues .??
GRASSROOTS ACTIVISM WHAT CAN YOU DO?? Get in touch with your Ward. * Get involved with your County Resolutions Committee.**
