GHG Daily
2/9/2016
The principles decision-makers must follow to make the regulatory and market structure updates needed to prepare utilities for a changing marketplace can also be applied to the Clean Power Plan, the Obama administration’s program of carbon emissions standards for existing coal-fired power plants, one expert said in a new discussion paper.
“There has been significant analysis and discussion of the Clean Power Plan and the utility of the future as distinct topics, but much less focus on how the two forces will interact. This paper explores the synergies between these two transformational trends that, in combination, could lead to a lower-carbon electric grid with more options and new services for electricity customers,” wrote Joseph Kruger, a visiting scholar at Resources for the Future who spent 17 years at the Environmental Protection Agency. “This paper recommends a ‘future-ready’ approach for the Clean Power Plan that will accommodate different market and regulatory structures.”
These principles, according to Kruger, should include promotion of innovation, keeping things simple via “proven market-based structures that avoid extra administrative steps, and leaving room for state and regional priorities, among others.
