51st State Ideas I The Role of the Utility (Distributed Sun)

51st State Ideas I The Role of the Utility (Distributed Sun)

  • Transmission and distribution are natural monopoly roles
  • The monopoly customer sales function of utilities no longer works
  • Generation should be deregulated, but interconnection is a natural utility role

Distributed Sun envisions deregulating generation and competitive smart transmission

According to Distributed Sun, transmission and distribution are natural monopoly roles, with generation and delivery of power as competitive. Smart transmission (the non-wires component) should be deregulated to allow for competitive services, with the utility acting as the distribution system operator. Distributed Sun argues that consumers are no longer best served by the utility’s monopoly customer sales function, with competition offering better structured consumer offerings and optimized billing and data experiences. Finally, by deregulating generation, interconnection becomes a natural utility role, with interconnection costs paid for by the utility and added to the rate base, ensuring economies of scale and the lowest system cost for interconnection.

Author: Jeff Weiss, Distributed Sun

This report was not written by or originated from any member of SEPA staff and SEPA does not endorse any opinions expressed in this paper.

51st State Ideas | A Whitepaper Discussion

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