Testimony on Vectren's Proposed Natural Gas Plant and Coal Retrofits

Massachusetts Comprehensive Energy Plan: Comments on Stakeholder Meeting Presentation

Client: Conservation Law Foundation

Author: Liz Stanton, PhD

July 2018

On behalf of Conservation Law Foundation, Clinic Director and Senior Economist Liz Stanton, PhD, reviewed draft assumptions for Massachusetts 2018 Comprehensive Energy Plan modeling and produced a memo reviewing these assumptions. This memo was submitted as an attachment to Conservation Law Foundations comments on the Plan.

Link to Memo

Review of Massachusetts Efficiency Program Administrator's April 2018 Draft 2019-2021 Energy Efficiency Plan

Client: Conservation Law Foundation

Author: Liz Stanton, PhD

July 2018

AEC-2018-07-WP-01

On behalf of Conservation Law Foundation, Clinic Director and Senior Economist Liz Stanton, PhD, prepared an Applied Economics Clinic white paper of Massachusetts efficiency program administrator's April 2018 draft 2019-2021 energy efficiency plan. The detailed review and assessment included testing the sensitivity of the Plan's benefit-cost ratios to changes in assumptions regarding the cost of carbon emissions and the value of non-energy benefits to low-income households.

This report is one of three AEC publications on behalf of Conservation Law Foundation and other stakeholders in the Massachusetts Energy Efficiency Advisory Council.

Link to White Paper

Massachusetts Battery Storage Measures: Benefits and Costs

Client: Clean Energy Group

Author: Liz Stanton, PhD

July 2018

AEC-2018-07-WP-02

On behalf of the Clean Energy Group, Clinic Director and Senior Economist Liz Stanton, PhD, prepared an Applied Economics Clinic white paper. Dr. Stanton assessed the cost-effectiveness of battery storage in Massachusetts, using the Massachusetts' efficiency program administrators' benefit-cost ratio methodology and found that both single- and multi-family batteries are found to be cost effective.

This white paper is part of a series of AEC publications on behalf of Clean Energy Group analyzing costs and benefits of battery storage in Massachusetts.

Link to White Paper

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

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

Link to Tyler Comings' July 2018 Surrebuttal Testimony

Power Plant Nationality

Client: Global Development Policy Center, Boston University

Authors: Ricardo Lopez, PhD

July 2018

On behalf of the Global Development Policy Center at Boston University, Senior Researcher Ricardo Lopez identified Japanese-owned and US-owned power plants in the Platts database on behalf of the Global Development Policy Center at Boston University.

Testimony on Stranded Costs of Public Service Company of Colorado's Comanche 1&2 Coal Units

Client: Sierra Club

Tyler Comings

March and July 2018

On behalf of Sierra Club, Senior Researcher Tyler Comings provided an Applied Economics Clinic testimony on March 2018 in Docket No. 17A-0797E. Mr. Comings provides an expert opinion on the Public Service Company of Colorado's application to accelerate the depreciation of Comanche Units 1 and 2 and the associated rate plan to offset this expense. He concludes that the accelerated depreciation of Comanche Units 1 and 2 and offsetting mechanism is in the public interest; the success of the Renewable Energy Standard Adjustment has afforded the Company the opportunity to offset the accelerated depreciation; and the Company's proposal is reasonable but should consider other options for future stranded assets. In his July 2018 surrebuttal testimony, Mr. Comings responds to criticisms raised in cross-answer testimony, concluding that the retirement of Comanche coal-fired Units 1 and 2 saves money and reduces risks to ratepayers.

Link to Tyler Comings' March 2018 Answer Testimony

Link to History of MA Energy Sector Policy Brief

Massachusetts' Clean Energy Policy Overview

Client: Barr Foundation

Authors: Bryndis Woods, Nina Schlegel, and Liz Stanton, PhD

June 2018

On behalf of the Barr Foundation, Researchers Bryndis Woods and Nina Schlegel, along with Clinic Director and Senior Economist Liz Stanton, PhD, prepared an Applied Economics Clinic policy brief which detailed Massachusetts’ history of leadership in clean electric-sector policies. Beginning in the 1980s, through the electric “restructuring” laws and regulations of the 1990s, and then the 2008 Green Communities Act and Global Warming Solutions Act, Massachusetts policy-makers have laid the groundwork for today’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while adding diversity to New England’s electric generating resources. The 2018 ‘Act to Promote a Clean Energy Future’ continues this work, calling for accelerated renewable energy requirements, offshore wind and battery storage targets, and less stringent limits on rooftop solar installations.

Link to Findings Policy Brief

Massachusetts Clean Energy Bill Provisions Boost Jobs and Strengthen the State's Economy

Client: Barr Foundation

Liz Stanton, PhD, and Tyler Comings

June 2018

On behalf of the Barr Foundation, Clinic Director and Senior Economist Liz Stanton, PhD, and Senior Researcher Tyler Comings prepared an Applied Economics Clinic policy brief discussing the pending 2018 ‘Act to Promote a Clean Energy Future’, which includes a range of provisions to address climate change while strengthening the state’s innovation economy. The act includes accelerating renewable energy targets, creating aggressive offshore wind and battery storage goals, and removing limits on rooftop solar. Dr. Stanton and Mr. Comings' study of the economic impacts of these policies found benefits for Massachusetts including new jobs, a stronger economy, more renewable resources, and lower greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, these policies would have little or no effect on consumers’ electric bills through 2030.

Link to Project Page

An Analysis of the Massachusetts 2018 'Act to Promote a Clean Energy Future' Report

Client: Barr Foundation

Liz Stanton, PhD, Tyler Comings, Rachel Wilson, Sagal Alisalad, Emrat Nur Marzan, Nina Schlegel, Bryndis Woods, Jason Gifford, Edward Snook, and Po-Yu Yuen

June 2018

On behalf of the Barr Foundation, Clinic Director and Senior Economist Liz Stanton, PhD, along with members of the Applied Economics Clinic (AEC) staff and members of Sustainable Energy Advantage's staff, prepared an AEC report analyzing the Massachusetts 2018 “Act to Promote a Clean Energy Future”. The act includes a range of provisions to address climate change while strengthening the state’s innovation economy, including accelerating renewable energy targets, creating aggressive offshore wind and battery storage goals, and removing limits on rooftop solar. AEC and Sustainable Energy Advantage's study of the economic impacts of these policies found benefits for Massachusetts: new jobs, a stronger economy, more renewable resources, and lower greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, these policies would have little or no effect on consumers’ electric bills through 2030.

Link to Report

The Performance of Indiana Utilities’ Energy Efficiency Programs

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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

Link to Direct Testimony

Energy Snapshots for Governor's Accord States

Clients: The Governor's Accord for a New Energy Future

Authors: Liz Stanton, PhD, and Bryndis Woods

May 2018

On behalf of The Governor’s Accord for a New Energy Future, Clinic Director and Senior Economist Liz Stanton, PhD and Researcher Bryndis Woods conducted a pilot analysis of energy resources and energy markets for some of the Governors’ Accord for a New Energy Future's 17 member states. The pilot analysis provided information on each state’s energy market, including its defining characteristics, future potential for growth, key economic trends, and clean energy and energy efficiency policy coverage.

The ABCs of Boston CCE

Client: Barr Foundation

Tyler Comings, Liz Stanton, PhD, and Bryndis Woods

March 2018

On behalf of the Barr Foundation, Senior Researcher Tyler Comings, Clinic Director and Senior Economist Liz Stanton, PhD, and Researcher Bryndis Woods prepared a series of four policy briefs related to Boston's new Community Choice Energy Aggregation (CCE) program:

Boston CCE and Electric Costs: Describes the expected impact of Boston's new CCE program on electric customer costs.

Boston CCE and Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Describes the greenhouse gas emission reductions expected to result from Boston's new CCE program.

Boston CCE and State Clean Energy Laws: Provides a comparison of Boston CCE, the Massachusetts Renewable Portfolio Standard, and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Standard.

Sourcing Green Energy for CCE Programs: Provides an overview of current CCE programs in Massachusetts and around the United States including a discussion of the different methods used to source their green energy.

These policy briefs are part of a series of AEC publications funded Barr Foundation examining how community choice energy (CCE) aggregation programs work and addressing commonly asked questions about Boston's proposed CCE program.

Minnesota Power EnergyForward Testimony

Client: Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy and Fresh Energy

Author: Liz Stanton, PhD

March 2018

Clinic Director and Senior Economist Liz Stanton, PhD submitted testimony in Minnesota PUC Docket No. E-015/GR-17-568 regarding Minnesota Power's petition for approval of its EnergyForward Resource Package critiques the Company's future load and energy requirements, and its estimates of the capacity required for the system.

Link to Surrebuttal

Accessing Energy Efficiency in Massachusetts

Client: Conservation Law Foundation

Liz Stanton, PhD, Emrat Nur Marzan and Sagal Alisalad

February 2018

On behalf of the Conservation Law Foundation, Clinic Director and Senior Economist Liz Stanton, PhD, and Research Assistants, Emrat Nur Marzan and Sagal Alisalad, prepared an Applied Economics Clinic (AEC) report that investigates how well Massachusetts' energy efficiency programs are reaching under-served communities and hard-to-reach families. In 2017, Massachusetts' "Mass Save" energy efficiency programs ranked number one in the annual efficiency scorecard produced by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) for the seventh consecutive year. Mass Save's ranking is not, however, a good indicator of whether or not low-income households are getting the services they need. At present, it is not possible to answer this question completely because Mass Save program administrators have access to - but do not include in publicly available statistics - information regarding low-income households, under-served communities and hard-to-reach families. Working with limited data, AEC found that there are substantial differences in energy savings among Massachusetts’ towns, and lower-income communities are receiving lower efficiency savings. This report presents maps and other figures showing differences in efficiency savings, income, and other community characteristics like language abilities and renter status for both Massachusetts towns and neighborhoods within Boston.

This report is one of three AEC publications on behalf of Conservation Law Foundation and other stakeholders in the Massachusetts Energy Efficiency Advisory Council.

News Coverage: Barr Foundation Blog Post

News Coverage: Sampan Newspaper

Link to Maps

Link to Report

Link to Data

Link to AEC/CLF Webinar

Testimony on Eversource Energy's Natural Gas Transportation Agreement Application

Client: Conservation Law Foundation

Liz Stanton, PhD

February 2018

On behalf of Conservation Law Foundation, Clinic Director and Senior Economist Liz Stanton, PhD, provided an Applied Economics Clinic testimony in Docket No. D.P.U-17-175 provides an expert opinion as to whether or not Eversource Energy's application for natural gas transportation agreements are consistent with the Company's energy portfolio objectives, the adequacy of alternatives considered and the consistency with Massachusetts state environmental policies. Dr. Stanton concludes that Eversource Energy does not provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate that their proposed natural gas transportation contracts align with their shared objective to provide the least-cost supply and demand resource mix.

This testimony is one of four on behalf of Conservation Law Foundation that examined the consistency of the applications with each Company's energy portfolio objectives, the adequacy of alternatives considered, and the consistency with Massachusetts state environmental policies.

Testimony on National Grid's Natural Gas Transportation Agreement Application

Client: Conservation Law Foundation

Liz Stanton, PhD

February 2018

On behalf of Conservation Law Foundation, Clinic Director and Senior Economist Liz Stanton, PhD, provided an Applied Economics Clinic testimony in Docket No. D.P.U-17-174. Dr Stanton provided an expert opinion as to whether or not National Grid's application for natural gas transportation agreements are consistent with the Company's energy portfolio objectives, the adequacy of alternatives considered and the consistency with Massachusetts state environmental policies. She concluded that National Grid does not provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate that their proposed natural gas transportation contracts align with their shared objective to provide the least-cost supply and demand resource mix.

This testimony is one of four on behalf of Conservation Law Foundation that examined the consistency of the applications with each Company's energy portfolio objectives, the adequacy of alternatives considered, and the consistency with Massachusetts state environmental policies.

Testimony on Columbia Gas of Massachusetts' Natural Gas Transportation Agreement Application

Client: Conservation Law Foundation

Liz Stanton, PhD

February 2018

On behalf of Conservation Law Foundation, Clinic Director and Senior Economist Liz Stanton, PhD, provided an Applied Economics Clinic testimony in Docket No. D.P.U-17-172. Dr Stanton provided an expert opinion as to whether or not Columbia Gas of Massachusetts' application for natural gas transportation agreements are consistent with the Company's energy portfolio objectives, the adequacy of alternatives considered and the consistency with Massachusetts state environmental policies. She concluded that Columbia Gas of Massachusetts does not provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate that their proposed natural gas transportation contracts align with their shared objective to provide the least-cost supply and demand resource mix.

This testimony is one of four on behalf of Conservation Law Foundation that examined the consistency of the applications with each Company's energy portfolio objectives, the adequacy of alternatives considered, and the consistency with Massachusetts state environmental policies.

Testimony on The Berkshire Gas Company's Natural Gas Transportation Agreement Application

Client: Conservation Law Foundation

Liz Stanton, PhD

February 2018

On behalf of Conservation Law Foundation, Clinic Director and Senior Economist Liz Stanton, PhD, provided an Applied Economics Clinic testimony in Docket No. D.P.U-17-145. Dr. Stanton provided an expert opinion as to whether or not The Berkshire Gas Company's application for natural gas transportation agreements are consistent with the Company's energy portfolio objectives, the adequacy of alternatives considered and the consistency with Massachusetts state environmental policies. She concluded that The Berkshire Gas Company does not provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate that their proposed natural gas transportation contracts align with their shared objective to provide the least-cost supply and demand resource mix.

This testimony is one of four on behalf of Conservation Law Foundation that examined the consistency of the applications with each Company's energy portfolio objectives, the adequacy of alternatives considered, and the consistency with Massachusetts state environmental policies.

News Coverage: UtilityDive

Missed Opportunities for Energy Efficiency in Virginia

Client: Consumers Union (CU)

Liz Stanton, PhD, Rachel Wilson, and Bryndis Woods

February 2018

On behalf of Consumers Union, Clinic Director and Senior Economist Liz Stanton, PhD, Senior Researcher Rachel Wilson, and Researcher Bryndis Woods prepared a report that investigates the impact of various levels of energy efficiency on electric rates and bills of Dominion Energy Virginia (Dominion) customers. Dominion is asking state utility regulators to approve billions of dollars in new spending to increase nuclear and natural gas capacity over the next 10 years in order meet its forecast for future energy demand. These costs would be passed on to consumers in the form of substantially higher utility bills. Applied Economics Clinic found that by investing in energy efficiency, Dominion customers would enjoy lower rates and bills while future energy demand would be met with fewer than half of the new power plants currently proposed by Dominion.

News Coverage: WHSV3 News

Link to Report