Published on February 11, 2021
By: Wale Akanni, Senior Analyst
Concentric recently provided regulatory policy support to New York’s investor-owned utilities (the “Joint Utilities”) in response to a policy proposal from the New York State Department of Public Service Staff (“DPS Staff”). The Joint Utilities are a collection of six public utility companies that serve approximately 7 million electric and 2.5 million gas customers across New York.
DPS Staff proposed that the Joint Utilities administer an annual bill crediting program for customers residing close to major renewable energy facilities that are key to achieving New York State’s decarbonized electricity grid mandates.
Concentric evaluated the scale of the proposed bill credits to illustrate that the effect on customer bills would vary widely across municipalities. The scale of the expected bill credit that would apply to an individual customer bill would depend on the benefit rate authorized by the Commission, the generating capacity of the applicable renewable facility, and the population density in the vicinity of the facility. The analysis indicated that applying DPS Staff’s proposed credits to individual customer bills on an annual basis may not be meaningful or even greater than the cost to administer the program. Consequently, the Joint Utilities have recommended alternative approaches that can create meaningful benefits for customers, such as directing funds toward community-led programs.
All views expressed by the author are solely the author’s current views and do not reflect the views of Concentric Energy Advisors, Inc., its affiliates, subsidiaries, or related companies. The author’s views are based upon information the author considers reliable. However, neither Concentric Energy Advisors, Inc., nor its affiliates, subsidiaries, and related companies warrant the information’s completeness or accuracy, and it should not be relied upon as such.