A changing electric grid ramps up the work of Maine’s utility regulators

The News Guy

4 months ago

A changing electric grid ramps up the work of Maine’s utility regulators

A solar array on top of the capped landfill in South Portland in 2022. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer, file

Maine’s utility regulators have increased spending and are hiring more staff to keep up with an increasingly complicated workload reworking the state’s grid to deliver low-carbon power.

Two particularly thorny issues account for much of the Public Utilities Commission’s time: connecting renewable power to the grid, and advancing grid modernization to handle rising demand brought on by greater use of electric vehicles and electrification of heating and cooling in buildings.

“It used to be keep the lights on and keep the price affordable,” Public Advocate William Harwood said. “Now, it’s keep the lights on, keep the price affordable and keep us moving toward climate goals.”

The agency’s Electric and Gas Division employs 14 analysts, up from six in recent years, and the legal team has increased to 15 from 10 since 2019, said PUC Chairman Philip L. Bartlett.

Overall, the agency’s 77 jobs are up from 63 in 2019, according to its annual reports. Staff include accountants, engineers, lawyers, financial analysts, economists, consumer specialists and administrative and support staff.

The PUC’s Regulatory Fund Assessment, financed by ratepayers, was up nearly 49% in 2023, to nearly $11.3 million, from $7.6 million in 2019.

Deregulation of electricity in the late 1990s and early 2000s required utilities to sell their power generators, adding to the workload of regulators, Harwood said. What once was a smaller group of industry players – the utilities, PUC and Office of Public Advocate – is now joined by numerous generators that include renewable power developers seeking to connect to the grid, he said.

The number of wind and solar energy projects in the interconnection queue – those waiting in line to be linked to the grid – has multiplied. The PUC reported to the Legislature that two Versant Power projects representing a capacity of 10 megawatts in 2018 surged to 67, representing 190 MW, in 2020, before falling off to 53 projects with 69 MW in 2023 following state legislation limiting incentives.

Regulators reported a similar jump for CMP: from six projects representing a capacity of 33 MW in the queue in 2018 to 326 projects representing 665 MW in 2020, and declining to 18 projects last year, with 17.4 MW.

‘ADDED COMPLEXITY’ AND AN INCREASED WORKLOAD

In just one week in June, the PUC added two cases to its workload: considering whether hardening the electric grid could help reduce outages following storms, and evaluating a cost-benefit analysis of Maine’s solar energy market. Regulators are taking another look at the rules that determine how certain classes of solar developers are paid for power generated by their projects.

“We’ve definitely seen a significant increase in our workload,” Bartlett said. “We’ve also seen some added complexity.”

The PUC handles an average of 350 dockets a year, a spokeswoman said. In 2023, regulators opened 329 cases, down from 360 in 2022, which was a slight increase from 330 each in 2019 and 2020, according to PUC annual reports.

David Littell, a PUC commissioner from 2005 to 2010 and energy attorney who represents Versant Power, said regulators’ workload has increased within dockets, though not necessarily in the number of cases. He cited regulators’ work integrating more renewable energy to connect with the grid, which is a constant factor in their workload. He said he hasn’t noticed a heavier workload than in the past. The PUC is delegating more work to the staff than previously, contributing to increased hiring. Adding more staff “makes sense,” he said.

Grid planning has taken up a lot of staff resources, he said. The Legislature has directed the PUC to engage utilities, the public advocate, environmentalists and others to identify priorities the utilities must address when predicting electricity demand, whether utilities’ equipment will meet that need and how much spending may be required.

State energy legislation that provides guidance and authorization to regulators seeks to boost “beneficial electrification,” the use of the grid to accommodate electric vehicles and electric heating and cooling of buildings. The Legislature’s Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee has been “extremely busy over the last five years,” said Sen. Mark Lawrence, D-York, co-chairman.

Lawmakers have been meeting more frequently outside of the annual legislative sessions to write bills for an early start when the Legislature convenes, he said. It’s not been easy for Lawrence, who is no expert in energy.

“I’m an attorney, not an engineer,” he said. His message to the experts: “Explain this to me like I’m in the third grade. Break down these complex issues.”

CONNECTING RENEWABLE POWER TO THE GRID

Developing rules for connecting renewable energy, such as wind and solar, to the grid has been a constant issue before regulators. Maine’s program, known as net energy billing, rewards credits to generators for renewable power dispatched to the electric grid. Delays due to studies and the cost to ratepayers who subsidize the program have been time-consuming issues for regulators, solar developers and others.

“Every time we’ve worked to make changes, we’ve seen additional shortcomings or problems that have not been anticipated,” Bartlett said. “That rule has been open almost nonstop since I’ve been on the commission.”

Bartlett was appointed to the PUC in 2019 by Gov. Janet Mills.

The PUC is trying to strike a balance and help smaller projects not be “hung up” by larger projects, Bartlett said. Referring to small rooftop solar arrays, “you hate to have them wait for studies because there are two 5-megawatt projects trying to interconnect,” he said.

“Trying to get that balance right has been a challenge,” Bartlett said.

Rules for so-called interconnection were developed when the requests to link to the grid were occasional, he said. “Utilities handled them as they came,” he said.

The PUC also is devoting more time to review dockets with increased spending proposals by the utilities intended to improve reliability, such as grid upgrades, and prepare the grid for greater electrification “because there are, for some of our rate cases, more pieces to them,” Bartlett said. The Legislature has agreed to extend to one year, up from nine months, the time needed for the PUC’s review of the dockets.

In addition, a grid modernization docket, updating Maine’s electrical infrastructure, is a first for the PUC.

“We’re kind of learning as we’re doing it,” Bartlett said.

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