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Applied Economics Clinic
  • Home
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    • Our People
    • Mission and Funding
    • 990 Filings
    • Governance and Disclosure Statements
  • Our Work
    • Publications
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    • Pro Bono Fund
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    • MassCEC Empower Grant

Testimony on Indiana Michigan Power IRP

Client: Sierra Club

Author: Senior Researcher Tyler Comings

Senior Researcher Tyler Comings filed testimony before the Michigan Commission on the Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). Mr. Comings found several major flaws with I&M's calculations which unfairly biased the results in favor of keeping its contracted power from some of the oldest coal units in the U.S. He also argued that this contract should be re-evaluated and that, in the event of its termination, related costs should not be passed on to ratepayers.

Link to Testimony

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tags: Tyler-Comings
categories: Renewable Energy, IRP, Indiana, Michigan, Coal Plants
Monday 10.17.22
Posted by Liz Stanton
 

A Whole New Ballgame: Indiana Coal and the New Energy Landscape

CAC Coal Pic.png

Client: Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana

Authors: Liz Stanton, PhD, Bryndis Woods, Joshua Castigliego, Eliandro Tavares and Sagal Alisalad

February 2020

Clinic Director and Senior Economist Liz Stanton, PhD, Researchers Bryndis Woods and Joshua Castigliego and Assistant Researchers Eliandro Tavares and Sagal Alisalad prepared a report on behalf of the Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana that responds to several myths that persist regarding claimed benefits of aging coal-fired generators over renewable wind and solar. The report finds that legacy power generation sources like coal are characterized by a lack of flexibility, making them costly and inconvenient to integrate with more modern renewables.

Link to Report

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tags: Liz-Stanton, Bryndis-Woods, Joshua-Castigliego, Eliandro-Tavares, Sagal-Alisalad
categories: Coal Plants, Indiana, Renewable Energy
Friday 02.07.20
Posted by Liz Stanton
 

Testimony on Indiana Michigan Power Company's Integrated Resource Plan

rockport-plant-don-sniegowski-flickr.jpeg

Client: Earthjustice

Author: Tyler Comings

January 2020

AEC Senior Researcher Tyler Comings filed testimony on behalf of Sierra Club on the Indiana Michigan Power Company (I&M) Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) in Michigan, focusing on two coal units (Rockport 1 and 2). Mr. Comings found that I&M was justified in proposing retirement  of Rockport 1 in 2028 and letting its lease expire for Rockport 2 in 2022. Mr. Comings found that there was additional savings from retiring the Rockport 1 unit even earlier than I&M was proposing: 2025 instead of 2028. He also recommended additional Commission oversight of the Company's share of output from the Kyger Creek and Clifty Creek coal units.

Link to Testimony

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tags: Tyler-Comings
categories: Coal Plants, Indiana, IRP
Thursday 01.23.20
Posted by Liz Stanton
 

Report on Indiana Michigan Power Company 2018-19 IRP

Wildcat Wind Farm, Indiana

Wildcat Wind Farm, Indiana

Clients: Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana and Earthjustice

Authors: Liz Stanton, PhD, Anna Sommer, Chelsea Hotaling, Chris Neme

December 2019

Clinic Director and Senior Economist Liz Stanton, PhD contributed to comments on Indiana Michigan Power Company's most recent Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which are filed with the Utility Commission to demonstrate that utilities' decisions to retire and/or add electric generation are in the public interest. While technical, these evaluations provide an important benefit to utility customers and the Indiana public more widely. Third-party review of these and other utilities filings is critical to vet for errors, uncover questionable or self-serving assumptions, and make hidden value-judgments transparent. Important issues found in reviewing Indiana utilities’ 2016 Plans include biases both against retiring coal generation and against adopting new efficiency measures and renewable resources. This testimony is part of a joint AEC and Energy Futures Group series of comments on Indiana utility Integrated Resource Plans (IRPs) on behalf of Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana and Earthjustice.

Report on Indiana Michigan Power Company IRP

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tags: Liz-Stanton
categories: Indiana, IRP, Utilities
Thursday 12.05.19
Posted by Liz Stanton
 

Testimony on Duke Energy Indiana's Coal Fleet

Duke Energy Edwardsport Coal.jpg

Client: Sierra Club

Tyler Comings

November 2019

Senior Researcher Tyler Comings filed testimony on the cost of Duke Energy Indiana’s coal fleet in Cause No. 45253 before the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission. Mr. Comings concluded that the Edwardsport plant was uneconomic and should be retired as soon as possible. He also recommended disallowances of costs associated with the coal fleet, a requirement for evaluating earlier retirement of the units, and that the Commission open an investigation into Duke’s “self-commitment” of its coal units and the practice's impact on customers.

Link to Testimony

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tags: Tyler-Comings
categories: Coal Plants, Indiana
Friday 11.01.19
Posted by Liz Stanton
 

A Future for Indiana Coal: Emissions and Costs of Alternative Electric Generation

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Client: Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana

Authors: Bryndis Woods and Liz Stanton, PhD

October 2019

Researcher Bryndis Woods and Clinic Director and Senior Economist Liz Stanton, PhD prepared a report on behalf of the Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana that examines the cost and emission impacts of various options available to the State of Indiana as it replaces its aging coal generation fleet with other electric-generating resources. The report finds that: replacing aging coal with renewables reduces emissions and saves money and that gas-fired resources do not provide clear benefits as a bridge to greater renewables.

Link to Report

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tags: Bryndis-Woods, Liz-Stanton
categories: Coal Plants, Renewable Energy, Indiana
Monday 10.21.19
Posted by Liz Stanton
 

Load Forecasting Best Practices

pic.PNG

Client: Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana

Liz Stanton, PhD

September 2019

On behalf of Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana, Clinic Director and Senior Economist Liz Stanton, PhD gave a presentation on best practices in load forecasting to the Indiana General Assembly's 21st Century Energy Policy Development Task Force at their September 19, 2019 meeting.

Link to Presentation

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tags: Liz-Stanton
categories: Utilities, Indiana
Thursday 09.19.19
Posted by Liz Stanton
 

Testimony in NIPSCO's 2019 Rate Case

Client: Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana

Author: Liz Stanton, PhD

March 2019

On behalf of Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana, Clinic Director and Senior Economist Liz Stanton, PhD provided written testimony in Cause No. 45159 to respond to specific critiques of North Indiana Public Service Company's 2018 Integrated Resource Plan, offered by Indiana Coal Council Emily Medine, Indiana Coalition for Affordable and Reliable Electricity witness Charles S. Griffey, and Peabody COALSALES LLC witness Michael J. Nasi.

Link to Comments

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tags: Liz-Stanton
categories: Indiana
Wednesday 03.20.19
Posted by Liz Stanton
 

Testimony on NIPSCO's Petition for Approval of Jordan Creek Wind Farm PPA

Client: Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana

Authors: Liz Stanton, PhD

March 2019

On behalf of Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana, Clinic Director and Senior Economist Liz Stanton, PhD, provided written testimony in Cause No. 45195 on the consistency of Northern Indiana Public Service Company's (NIPSCO) 2018 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) with acquiring a renewable energy power purchase agreement (PPA) with Jordan Creek Wind Farm. Dr. Stanton testified that the Jordan Creek PPA is consistent with NIPSCO's 2018 IRP, and that it is also consistent with the timing for procuring wind resources in the IRP's preferred portfolio.

This testimony is one of three AEC testimonies on three Indiana utility commission dockets (two filed and one upcoming) on behalf of Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana, pertaining to Northern Indiana Public Service Company's (NIPSCO) proposed acquisition of wind energy through power purchase agreement (PPA) and/or joint ownership. 

Link to Testimony

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tags: Liz-Stanton
categories: Renewable Energy, Indiana
Wednesday 03.20.19
Posted by Liz Stanton
 

Testimony on NISPCO's Petition for Approval of Roaming Bison Wind Farm PPA

From Roaming Bison website

From Roaming Bison website

Client: Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana

Authors: Liz Stanton, PhD

March 2019

On behalf of Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana, Clinic Director and Senior Economist Liz Stanton, PhD, provided written testimony in Cause No. 45196 on the consistency of Northern Indiana Public Service Company's (NIPSCO) 2018 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) with acquiring a renewable energy power purchase agreement (PPA) with Roaming Bison. Dr. Stanton testified that the Roaming Bison PPA is consistent with NIPSCO's 2018 IRP, and that it is also consistent with the timing for procuring wind resources in the IRP's preferred portfolio.

This testimony is one of three AEC testimonies on three Indiana utility commission dockets (two filed and one upcoming) on behalf of Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana, pertaining to Northern Indiana Public Service Company's (NIPSCO) proposed acquisition of wind energy through power purchase agreement (PPA) and/or joint ownership. 

Link to Testimony

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tags: Liz-Stanton
categories: Indiana, Renewable Energy
Wednesday 03.20.19
Posted by Liz Stanton
 

Evaluation of Northern Indiana Public Service Company's 2018 Integrated Resource Plan

Summ+Table.jpg

Client: Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana

Authors: Liz Stanton, PhD, Bryndis Woods, Anna Sommer, and Chelsea Hotaling

March 2019

On behalf of Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana, Clinic Director and Senior Economist Liz Stanton, PhD, Researcher Bryndis Woods, and Anna Sommer and Chelsea Hotaling with Sommer Energy, LLC, published an evaluation of Northern Indiana Public Service Company's (NIPSCO) 2018 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). IRP's are filed with the Utility Commission to demonstrate that utilities’ decisions to retire and/or add electric generation resources are in the public interest. While technical, these evaluations provide an important benefit to utility customers and the Indiana public more widely. Third-party review of these and other utilities filings is critical to vet for errors, uncover questionable or self-serving assumptions, and make hidden value-judgments transparent. We commend NIPSCO's IRP proposal to retire its remaining coal-fired generating units by 2028 and replace all its coal capacity with renewable capacity, and acknowledge the substantial leadership demonstrated by NIPSCO in its current IRP analysis including: conducting an all-source Request for Proposals for new generation capacity, transparently discussing its model input forecasts, outputs and assumptions, and good-faith engagement with stakeholders.

This testimony is part of a joint AEC and Anna Sommers LLC series of comments on Indiana utility Integrated Resource Plans (IRPs) on behalf of Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana and Earthjustice. 

Link to Evaluation

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tags: Liz-Stanton, Bryndis-Woods
categories: Indiana
Monday 03.04.19
Posted by Liz Stanton
 

Report on Indiana’s 2018 Draft Statewide Analysis of Future Resource Requirements for Electricity

owen-rupp-492890-unsplash.jpg

Client: Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana

Authors: Elizabeth A. Stanton, PhD, Ricardo Lopez, PhD, Bryndis Woods, and Tanya Stasio of the Applied Economics Clinic and Anna Sommer of Sommer Energy, LLC

September 2018

On behalf of Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana for use in its comments on the Draft Statewide Analysis, Clinic Director and Senior Economist Liz Stanton, PhD, along with members of the Applied Economics Clinic staff created pursuant to the Indiana Code Title 8, Article 1, Chapter 8.5, this AEC report compares the Draft Statewide Analysis to: 1) the Statutory Mandate (Indiana Code Ch. 8-1-8.5), and 2) to the IURC Director’s Comments and Suggestions.

Link to Report

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tags: Liz-Stanton, Ricardo-Lopez, Bryndis-Woods, Tanya-Stasio
categories: Indiana
Wednesday 09.26.18
Posted by Liz Stanton
 

The Economic Impacts of Repealing Indiana's Energy Efficiency Resource Standard

abstract-ai-art-355948.jpg

Client: Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana

Bryndis Woods and Nina Schlegel

July 2018

On behalf of the Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana, Researchers Bryndis Woods and Nina Schlegel prepared an Applied Economics Clinic policy brief that analyzes energy efficiency savings, saved energy costs, and job impacts since the repeal of Indiana's energy efficiency resource standard (EERS) in 2015. The brief compares what happened as a result of the repeal with what would have been achieved had the program not been repealed. Ms. Woods and Ms Schlegel found that had EERS not been repealed: Indiana would have saved more energy, ratepayers would have saved millions of dollars, and many jobs would have been created. This policy brief serves as a companion to another AEC policy brief, entitled The Performance of Indiana Utilities’ Energy Efficiency Programs, that compares utility sales, energy efficiency savings and program costs over the period 2012 to 2019 across Indiana’s five investor-owned electric utilities.

This policy brief is one of two AEC publications on behalf of Citizens Action Coalition and Energy Foundation that investigate the impact of Indiana's 2014 repeal of its energy efficiency program through passage of the Senate Enrolled Act 340.   

Link to Policy Brief

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tags: Bryndis-Woods, Nina-Schlegel
categories: Energy Efficiency, Indiana
Monday 07.23.18
Posted by Liz Stanton
 

The Performance of Indiana Utilities’ Energy Efficiency Programs

action-energy-alternative-energy-background-1036936 (1).jpg

Client: Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana

Bryndis Woods and Nina Schlegel

June 2018

On behalf of the Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana, Researchers Bryndis Woods and Nina Schlegel prepared a policy brief that compares the energy efficiency programs of five investor-owned utilities in Indiana: Duke Energy, Indiana Michigan Power Company (I&M), Indianapolis Power and Light Company (IPL), Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), and Southern Indiana Gas & Electric Company d/b/a Vectren Energy Delivery (Vectren). The policy brief presents side-by-side comparisons of Indiana’s investor-owned electric utilities’ sales, energy efficiency savings and program costs from 2012 to 2019. This brief serves as a companion to two forthcoming Applied Economics Clinic publications that investigate the impact of two Indiana legislative developments: the 2014 repeal of its energy efficiency program through passage of the Senate Enrolled Act 340 and the approval of its Transmission Distribution and Storage Improvement Charge (TDSIC) state statute, which was passed in 2013 with the Senate Enrolled Act 560.

This policy brief is one of two AEC publications on behalf of Citizens Action Coalition and Energy Foundation that investigate the impact of Indiana's 2014 repeal of its energy efficiency program through passage of the Senate Enrolled Act 340.   

Link to Policy Brief

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tags: Bryndis-Woods, Nina-Schlegel
categories: Energy Efficiency, Indiana
Friday 06.01.18
Posted by Liz Stanton
 

Testimony on Vectren Energy's (Indiana) Demand Side Management and Energy Efficiency Programs for 2016-2018

indiana-1872515_1920.jpg

Client: Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana

Author: Liz Stanton, PhD

July 2017

On behalf of Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana, Clinic Director and Senior Economist Liz Stanton, PhD submitted testimony in Cause No. 44927 DSM-4. Dr. Stanton provided an expert opinion as to whether or not Vectren Energy's (Indiana) 2017-2019 energy efficiency plan is reasonable under Indiana Senate Enrolled Act 412 (2015). She concluded that Vectren’s plan should be rejected as unreasonable until all recommendations given in her testimony are incorporated into Vectren's plan.

This testimony is part of a joint AEC and Anna Sommers LLC series of reviews of Indiana Demand Side Management plans on behalf of Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana.

Link to Stanton Testimony

Stanton and Sommer Working Paper

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tags: Liz-Stanton
categories: Energy Efficiency, Indiana
Wednesday 07.26.17
Posted by Liz Stanton
 

Review of Indiana Utilities' Integrated Resource Plans

Wildcat Wind Farm, Indiana

Wildcat Wind Farm, Indiana

Client: Earthjustice

Authors: Liz Stanton, PhD and Anna Sommer

March 2017

On behalf of Earthjustice, Clinic Director and Senior Economist Liz Stanton, PhD, and Anna Sommer of Sommer Energy, LLC published three recent evaluations of Indiana electric utilities’ Integrated Resource Plans (IRP), which are filed with the Utility Commission to demonstrate that utilities’ decisions to retire and/or add electric generation resources are in the public interest. While technical, these evaluations provide an important benefit to utility customers and the Indiana public more widely.Third-party review of these and other utilities filings is critical to vet for errors, uncover questionable or self-serving assumptions, and make hidden value-judgments transparent. Important issues found in reviewing Indiana utilities’ 2016 Plans include biases both against retiring coal generation and against adopting new efficiency measures and renewable resources.

This testimony is part of a joint AEC and Anna Sommers LLC series of comments on Indiana utility Integrated Resource Plans (IRPs) on behalf of Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana and Earthjustice. 

Report on Indianapolis Power & Light Company (IPL) 2016 IRP

Report on Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) 2016 IRP

Report on Vectren Energy Delivery of Indiana (Vectren) 2016 IRP

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tags: Liz-Stanton
categories: Indiana
Sunday 04.30.17
Posted by Liz Stanton
 

Testimony on NIPSCO's Petition for CPCN Approval of Recovery for Environmental Compliance Measures

Client: Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana

Author: Liz Stanton, PhD

April 2017

On behalf of Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana, Clinic Director and Senior Economist Liz Stanton, PhD provided testimony before the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commissions in Cause No.44872 regarding Northern Indiana Public Service Company's (NIPSCO) request to recover environmental compliance costs related to coal combustion residuals (coal ash).

Link to Stanton Testimony

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tags: Liz-Stanton
categories: Coal Plants, Indiana
Saturday 04.15.17
Posted by Liz Stanton
 

Testimony on Duke Energy Indiana's Demand Side Management and Energy Efficiency Programs for 2016-2018

Client: Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana

Author: Liz Stanton, PhD

March 2017

On behalf of Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana, Clinic Director and Senior Economist Liz Stanton, PhD submitted testimony in Cause No. 43955 DSM-4. Dr. Stanton provided an expert opinion as to whether or not Duke Energy Indiana’s 2017-2019 energy efficiency plan is reasonable under Indiana Senate Enrolled Act 412 (2015). She concluded that DEI’s plan should be rejected as unreasonable until all recommendations given in her testimony are incorporated into Duke's plan.

This testimony is part of a joint AEC and Anna Sommers LLC series of reviews of Indiana Demand Side Management plans on behalf of Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana.

Link to Stanton Testimony

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tags: Liz-Stanton
categories: Energy Efficiency, Indiana
Friday 03.31.17
Posted by Liz Stanton