Electricity 101: Regulatory Foundations and Contemporary Challenges for the Energy Transition
Tuesday, April 27, 2021 at 9:00 am PDT, 10:00 am MDT, 11:00 am CDT, 12:00 pm EDT for 2 hours
Pricing: Complimentary Registration for RMMLF Members | Nonmember $55 | Government $50 | Nonprofit $50
This webinar will provide an introduction to the structure and regulation of the U.S. electricity system, plus, anticipated policy and regulatory changes under the Biden Administration, for lawyers and professionals starting out in the renewable energy project development, electricity, and related fields. The vast U.S. system of power plants and electric transmission and distribution lines that make our modern lives possible is in the midst of a period of rapid change. Electric utilities, all levels of government, and electricity customers have made serious commitments to transform the electric grid to replace fossil fuel power plants with utility-scale and distributed (i.e., smaller scale) renewable resources, develop new battery storage technologies, move renewable power long distances, and better integrate rooftop solar, demand response, and other innovations. All of these developments take place, however, within federal and state statutory and regulatory systems that are nearly 100 years old, creating challenges for planning and implementing energy transition.
Topics to be covered in this webinar include:
- State electricity regulation, including the role of state public utility commissions; state legislative mandates on electric utilities to provide renewable and zero-emission electricity to their customers; energy efficiency programs; and the role of states in RTO/ISO markets.
- Federal electricity regulation, including the Federal Power Act and the Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act; the role of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC); the development of Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) and Independent System Operators (ISOs); and the role of other federal actors.
- What’s Next: The Biden Administration, including President Biden’s executive orders and other directives; trends in distributed renewable energy and storage developments; recent high-profile FERC orders; proposals for new federal regulatory authority; strategies to address energy justice, energy poverty, and energy insecurity; the impact of the pandemic; and opportunities associated with electric vehicles.
ALEXANDRA B. KLASS, Distinguished McKnight University Professor, University of Minnesota Law School, Minneapolis, MN
SHARON JACOBS, Associate Professor of Law, University of Colorado Law School, Boulder, CO
UMA OUTKA, William R. Scott Law Professor, University of Kansas School of Law, Lawrence, KS
SHELLEY WELTON, Associate Professor of Law, University of South Carolina School of Law, Columbia, SC
2 HOURS OF CLE AVAILABLE!