COVID-19 has been an unprecedented challenge in the modern business world that has upended the normal course of business globally. Actions taken to combat the virus on a global level, including social distancing, sheltering in place, and idling of major facets of the economy, have disrupted the typical flow of everyday life and work for people around the world.
For several years, an energy imbalance market (EIM) has been in place in the western United States. Driven by changes in California’s generation mix and renewable portfolio standard, as well as greenhouse gas reduction targets, the Western EIM has become an attractive service for market participants. The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) designed this new market where non-ISO members could participate and share renewable energy, as well as integrate more renewable energy into the region.
Clean tech manager, Paul Quinlan, joined ScottMadden’s research team in 2013. In this role, Paul supports the energy practice through market research and client work. He also serves as co-lead of ScottMadden’s grid edge community of practice and board member of the Southeastern Wind Coalition, a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the wind industry within the Southeast. Through previous experiences with the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association and Clean Energy Durham, Paul brings environmental and sustainable energy expertise to our firm. He holds a B.S. in environmental science and anthropology from Notre Dame University and a Master of Public Policy and a Master of Environmental Management from Duke University.
For electric utilities, the spring is typically a time of preparation for summer peak and storm season. Generating plants conduct maintenance and refueling outages, and the power delivery system is prepared for the inevitable stresses that hot weather, thunderstorms, and hurricanes can bring. COVID-19 is changing all that this year. While preparation for the summer months needs to continue, utilities must now do so in a manner that keeps employees and the public safe from exposure to COVID-19. This on its own will complicate springtime efforts. However, there are additional factors that electric utilities may want to consider as storm season nears.
While renewable energy has experienced significant growth, in part due to focused policies that promote wind and solar, nuclear has faced a wave of actual and announced early retirements. To understand this potential loss of a significant amount of carbon-free generation, ScottMadden assessed “at risk” nuclear assets to better understand the magnitude of the potential impact on carbon emissions from the U.S. electricity sector.
Workforce safety and productivity challenges. The need for frequent, transparent, and consistent communications. New leadership requirements, including management of remote teams. New compliance requirements triggered by the Family First Coronavirus Response Act. The pandemic has created unprecedented business challenges that arose at a pace that few anticipated. Even those with detailed business continuity plans found that the nature of this event (e.g., shelter-in-place orders, uncertainty of duration, immediate impacts to commercial and industrial client work) stretched plans beyond their design.
Each state is a laboratory for how incentives will support the rollout of electric vehicles (EV).
We will get past this at some point. When exactly is still unknown and likely to vary by region, state, or metropolitan area. Another key unknown is this: What aspects of the utility business model will resemble what we remember and what aspects will have changed for the foreseeable future?
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