Economic Value of the Integration of Consumption Preferences in Electric System Planning Webinar

The electric power industry has traditionally operated with pricing set by tariffs. Most product and commodity prices are set by market forces of supply and demand, moderated by competition.

This webinar gives an overview of the SGIP white paper, “Economic Value of the Integration of Consumption Preferences in Electric Systems Planning,” and examines the potential benefits to operators and customers of using market prices for electricity to influence consumption decisions, rather than fixed tariffs (usually set by regulation).

For sure there are challenges because there is not yet a robust energy market at the consumer level. Some states and utilities have supply competition at the wholesale level only. Other states have tried to fashion tariffs and programs to achieve policy objectives, but there is still a disconnect from market pricing.

This webinar will present the motivating factors and benefits for moving toward retail competitive pricing to influence electricity demand, as well as describe the white paper’s metric to be applied by decision-makers in determining the value of industry alternatives.

This metric is an improvement over the prior industry least-cost-planning objectives that ignored customer consumption preferences. Changes in technology, varieties of customer needs and preferences, and a more diverse energy supply provide motivation to include economic consideration of consumer options.

This SGIP webinar/white paper proposes a scheme that is not dissimilar to open access, transparent markets. The metrics correspond to the equilibrium-clearing price to satisfy supply and demand. The importance and relevance of this metric to the electric power industry will be described in detail.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Industry stakeholders: utilities, regulators, energy suppliers, suppliers of electric products, energy aggregators, Distributed Energy Resource (DER) providers (including renewables and storage), consumer advocacy groups, consumer device manufacturers and appliance makers.

Speakers:
Dr. Kenneth Wacks, Management & Engineering Consultant
Dave LeVee, Principal of PwrCast Inc.