The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) became officially enforceable as of May 25, 2018. GDPR establishes sweeping regulations around the use, protection, privacy, and export of data for all individual persons within the EU. The regulation impacts both EU and non-EU organizations that house the data of EU citizens.
Late last month, the Missouri Public Service Commission (MPSC) and Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) approved the $15 billion stock-for-stock merger of Missouri-based Westar Energy and Kansas-based Great Plains Energy, parent company of Kansas City Power and Light (KCP&L). As a condition of the merger, these two companies will operate under a new holding company that will be named Evergy, Inc. The approvals of the KCC and MPSC were the two final hurdles to the deal as FERC approved the merger earlier this year and the shareholders of each company voted in favor of the combination in November 2017.
Data is being produced at an exponential rate in all sectors, accelerated by mobile technology, the internet of things, and easily accessible, cost-effective, cloud-based computing. Driven by the proliferation of sensor technology and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), utilities are also collecting more data than ever as smart grids get smarter.
To coincide with the release of the latest Energy Industry Update, ScottMadden joined forces with Energy Central to present an interactive webinar, “ScottMadden’s Energy Industry Update: Recalibration.” During this session, our industry experts shared their views and fielded questions related to changes to corporations buying renewable power, Clean Power Plan (CPP) repeal and replacement, and energy storage.
We are well over a year into a new Presidential administration, changes in policy and priorities—as well as changes in personnel in agencies like the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission—continue to affect the energy industry. But changes in our business context are not limited to policies. Technology development continues, increasing interest in energy resources like solar and energy storage. How are states and the private enterprise responding?
On April 10, D.C. Council members Mary Cheh and Charles Allen introduced the Distributed Energy Resources (DER) Authority Act of 2018, calling for several notable and unprecedented changes to distribution planning. Specifically, the bill introduces a new independent body that would undertake several activities normally performed by electric utilities, including non-wires alternative (NWA) planning and evaluation, customer data sharing, and distribution resource plan (DRP) development.
On April 24, 2018, the New York Public Service Commission (PSC) initiated a new proceeding as part of New York’s Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) to explore the role of electric utilities in providing infrastructure and rate design to accommodate the needs and electricity demand of electric vehicles (EVs) and charging infrastructure.
On April 11 and 12, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) held a technical conference to address the participation of distributed energy resource (DER) aggregations in markets managed by independent system operators (ISOs) and regional transmission organizations (RTOs) and, more broadly, the potential effects of DERs on the bulk power system (Dockets RM 18-9 and
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In February 2018, the Missouri Senate passed a bill aimed at simplifying the rate case process and providing incentives to encourage Missouri utilities to invest in infrastructure improvements. Senate Bill 564 (SB 564) will affect Missouri utilities Ameren Missouri, Empire District Electric Company, Kansas City Power & Light (KCP&L), and KCP&L Greater Missouri Operations (GMO). This bill now lies with the Missouri House of Representatives, where the House Utility Committee has proposed HB 2256, an amended version of SB 564. If passed by the House in an upcoming vote, the bill will head back to the Senate for further legislation and negotiation. Previous attempts to modernize the current rate case framework have not been fruitful; however, a successful outcome for this bill could offer Missouri utilities an improved rate structure by January 2019.
Jennifer Nelson, manager at ScottMadden, joined the firm following the acquisition of Sussex Economic Advisors, LLC, on June 1, 2016. Her journey to ScottMadden includes multiple moves and various work experiences, and it’s incredible to see how it all ties together.
Sussex Economic Advisors is now part of ScottMadden. We invite you to learn more about our expanded firm. Please use the Contact Us form to request additional information.