SEPA Statement on NARUC DER Rate Design and Compensation Manual

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) has issued the following statement from President and CEO Julia Hamm on the release by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) of its new Distributed Energy Resources Rate Design and Compensation Manual.

“Perhaps one of the most critical and, certainly, most contentious issues facing electricity utility regulators, utilities and the customers they both serve is the need to redesign rates to reflect the technological and financial realities of the 21st-century electric system now emerging in states across the country,” Hamm said. “We congratulate NARUC on recognizing the benefits DERs can bring to customers, utilities and the grid — and responding to the challenge of finding new rate designs that fairly value and balance the economic risks and rewards of these new technologies.”

Note to media: Julia Hamm is currently leading SEPA’s Executive Fact-Finding Mission to Australia and will not be available for further comment.

Interviews will be available with John Sterling, Senior Director of Research and Advisory Services, and Christine Stearn, project manager for SEPA’s 51st State Initiative, both of whom will attend NARUC’s 128th Annual Meeting Nov. 13-16 in La Quinta, California.

Sterling will be speaking on a panel entitled “A Roadmap for a Successful Stakeholder Process,” 10:45-11:45 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15. During this session, he will share his expertise and experiences in facilitating stakeholder engagement processes for a range of industry stakeholders, including utilities such as the Tennessee Valley Authority and NorthWestern Energy in Montana.

SEPA’s 51st State Initiative is aimed at helping regulators, utilities and other energy system stakeholders create practical roadmaps for integrating distributed energy resources (DERs) onto the grid and promoting a collaborative approach to policy and regulatory change. Stearn can speak on the initiative’s background and the four doctrines it has developed to guide and promote ongoing business and regulatory transformation in the electricity industry.

To arrange interviews with Sterling and Stearn, contact K Kaufmann, Communications Manager, [email protected] or 202.494.4386.