State Resources Plan Anticipates Stable Electric Prices and Sufficient Resources

The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) issued its draft integrated resources plan (IRP), which identifies future electric needs and ways to meet them through efficiency programs and generation.

In light of expected rate increases from 2017 to 2022, the plan recommends that the state pursue strategies that: (1) help customers reduce consumption and save money when cost factors pressure rates; (2) facilitate the development of low-cost, clean resources that are economic but may face implementation barriers; (3) find more effective ways to meet clean energy objectives without exposing customers to potentially excessive costs; and (4) support in-state jobs.

Specifically, the plan recommends that the state increase Conservation and Load Management budgets from $105 million annually under a business-as-usual budget to $206 million annually. The plan estimates that doing this would result in a net savings of $534 million per year by 2022 compared to a business-as-usual base case.

The plan also recommends that electric companies and competitive suppliers be given more flexibility in meeting the renewable portfolio standard (RPS) in order to avoid having their customers paying large amounts of alternative compliance payments achieving the RPS. The plan recommends that (1) the savings attributable to new energy efficiency programs be allowed to count towards part of the RPS requirements and (2) policymakers consider allowing other resources, such as out-of-region large hydropower, to count towards the RPS requirements.