Dive brief:
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According to the Citizens Utility Board’s inaugural report, Nevada, Washington, and Idaho are the top three states for utility performance in terms of affordability, reliability, and environmental responsibility. These combined measures rank West Virginia, Hawaii, Alaska, and Hawaii last among all the states and the District of Columbia.
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This report was compiled using federal data.Electric Utility Performance: State-by-State Data ReviewCUB, a Chicago-based ratepayer watchdog, said that ” aims to chart progress of utilities through energy transition.” The group stated that the rankings show a weak link between investments in advanced metersing infrastructure (AMI), and reliability in certain states.
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“You can’t improve on what you don’t measure.” David KolataCUB executive director, Jeremy Sullivan, stated Friday in an interview. “We want this data to be more accessible. It’s important to document the energy transition’s progress as we begin to think about it.
Dive Insight
CUBs report is available as investor-owned utilities Preparing to spendCapital expenditures for the next two years will amount to $140 billion, an increase of $79 million in 2011.
Duke Energy, for example plans to spend more $130 billion in 10 years and $63 billion over the next five. This was Steve Young, Duke executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, said February 10, 2010. a quarterly earnings callWith investor analysts
Young reports that more than 80 percent of Duke’s capital plan will be used to fund investments for the company’s “fleet Transition” and grid modernization. Young stated that Duke’s rate base will increase by 6.5% to 7 percent per year with the new plan. Duke owns utilities throughout Florida, Indiana and Ohio, North Carolina, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Kolata says that CUB hopes regulators, policymakers, and stakeholders will be able to use the groups report to monitor utilities’ performance during the energy transition.
“We must move beyond simply saying, “Okay, here’s how much utilities spend. We have to move towards What are we actually getting as the consequence of that?” Kolata stated. Kolata said. If we find that the rate base is increasing, but that there are no improvements in reliability or performance, it raises some very serious questions.
CUB reports that the report is based on 2019 data of the Energy Information Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, and Census Bureau.
Electric Utility Performance Rankings
| Rank | Affordability | Reliability | Environment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Utah | Nevada/Arizona (tie) | Washington |
| 2 | Washington | Oregon | |
| 3 | Idaho | Nebraska/Delaware (tie) | South Dakota |
| … | … | … | … |
| 49 | Alaska | Louisiana | West Virginia |
| 50 | Connecticut | Maine | Indiana |
| 51 | Hawaii | West Virginia | Kentucky |
CUB believes that more research is needed to discover what drives the rankings. The group stated that there were some tentative conclusions to be drawn from this report.
CUB’s report showed that some states heavily dependent upon coal-fired generation such as West Virginia, Indiana, and West Virginia had below-average affordability metrics. It also disproved the idea that fossil fuels are generally less expensive than alternative sources of power.
CUB says the state rankings show that the relationship between AMI reliability and AMI is not always strong. CUB stated that while some states do well with AMI upgrades (e.g. Nevada and Florida), others like Michigan, Oklahoma, and Ohio, which have invested heavily in grid modernization, have poor reliability performance.
CUB stated that while smart grid infrastructure is likely to be a prerequisite for future improved resilience, it does not appear to be enough to improve reliability.
CUB also found out that states with the lowest per-unit electricity costs have the highest average residential bills.
CUB says that although the weather is a factor in the difference, energy efficiency and other clean energy resources reduce power bills over time. This is especially true for restructured countries.
CUB stated, “Consumers pay bills at the end-of-the day, not rates. Therefore, analysis of any program, policy suite, or program must examine the impact over the time on energy bills.”
CUB reported that states that are at the top in any one category tend to be high performers across all categories. The same pattern holds true for states that are at the bottom of any metric. CUB said that although it needs further investigation, this suggests a socio-policy landscape that produces consistent results.
Kolata stated that CUB plans to examine in future reports the factors that contribute to utility performance outcomes.