This Is Not an Election Year
Rep. Sloan was elected to his 12th term in the Kansas House of Representatives. He serves on DOE, FCC, and EPA advisory committees and has hosted FERC Commissioners in Kansas. He focuses on energy, telecommunications, and water policy interactions in Kansas and nationally.
Most state legislatures are, or soon will be, adjourned for the year. Except for a few states, legislatures only meet a few months a year and then the legislators return to their homes, businesses, and private lives.
As a legislator who was formerly employed as a government and community affairs representative by a petroleum company, I have experience in trying to educate legislators. And, as a legislator, I am willing to be educated.
Maximize Your Opportunities
I have previously written that electric utilities generally do not invest enough effort in educating legislators on at least three topics. Among them: how the electric system operates, that is, how electricity is produced and delivered, what is the value of fuel diversity, what impacts power quality. As well as other factors related to the infrastructure and processes of operating a utility.
Other topics include how public policies and technological innovations impact utility operations and system reliability: that is, how state distributed generation and energy efficiency/conservation programs impact system operations and reliability.
Finally, what issues do you see on the horizon that keep you awake at night? What is the short and long-term impact on system reliability and energy costs associated with reduced reliance on coal and nuclear generation?
For most state legislators, this is not an election year. That means we have time to spend with our families, to work, and take vacations, but also to learn. View the summer and fall as opportunities to educate legislators and regulators. Let them get to know the people who actually keep the lights on, and let them know how you are working to contain costs and maintain reliability.
Do not speak only with legislative leaders and committee members. You need the votes of a majority of legislators. You need Republicans and Democrats, urban and rural residents, college - and college of hard knocks-educated, pro-business and pro-environmental protection.
Look beyond today. I encourage you to educate legislators about such topics as how a significant increase in rooftop solar units can impact system operations, how storage devices can alleviate most of those problems, and how storage costs should be handled in statute.
Address how infrastructure opportunities such as compact transmission towers improve system efficiencies, improve view-sheds, improve economic opportunities and provide rate stability to help consumers.
Discuss with legislators how flat or declining energy sales must be addressed to ensure system reliability and provide sufficient financial returns to meet the expectations of operators, shareholders, bondholders, municipal officials, patrons, and other stakeholders. Explain that there will be increasing system operational costs because of distributed generation, energy efficiency incentives and generation costs shifts and how you will minimize their impact on rates.
Suggest how specific alternative revenue streams can require those customers causing or benefitting from investments to adequately cover them.
Go Where Angels Fear to Tread
While you are discussing operational and policy issues, think boldly. All infrastructure projects require public review and multiple government agency approvals. These approval levels may include several state agencies, local governments, and federal agencies. While at the state level it is difficult to address federal agency impediments, you may have opportunities to streamline the project review, approval or modification and construction phases.
Many states have approved construction work-in-progress rates, but this is just the proverbial tip of the iceberg related to streamlining the approval process and recovering investments earlier.
When reviewing infrastructure applications, there generally is no one state agency empowered to resolve inter-agency or inter-government disagreements. There is also no organization empowered to address inter-state or federal-state-local government agency conflicts.
Intra-state Infrastructure: Is this summer the time to develop a coalition of infrastructure interests within a state? The coalition might develop legislation to create an intergovernmental mediation or arbitration agency with the authority to standardize and resolve agency conflicts. These could include resolving conflict over objectives, timelines, project evaluation criteria, public hearings, and rights-of-way considerations.
Interstate Infrastructure: Similarly, is this the year to develop an interstate process to accelerate infrastructure development? The Council of State Governments developed a proposed Interstate High Voltage Electric Transmission Line Siting Compact. It is intended to facilitate the review, approval or modification and construction of interstate transmission lines, including across federal agency-managed lands.
The proposed compact comprehensively addressed roles for states, federal government agencies, tribal governments, and public hearings. It included sections on process, timelines, applicant pre-submission conferences, and more.
The Obama Administration attempted to streamline federal agencies' infrastructure application review processes, but with minimal success. Perhaps a variant on the proposed Council Compact could be proposed by members of Congress, at your suggestion, as a means of expediting approval and construction of necessary infrastructure across state lines.
As the electricity marketplace evolves due to customer demands, technological innovations, aging infrastructure, flat demand, and other factors, now may be the time to be truly innovative in how utilities address the infrastructure approval process. This could be a worthy topic for discussion with your state and federal legislators.
Use Trips and Events
Most state legislatures belong to the National Conference of State Legislatures and the Council of State Governments. Both have national meetings and subject-specific task forces; the Council also has regional organizations with regional task forces. Sponsor field trips. I visited AEP's Mountaineer Carbon Capture and Sequestration pilot project, as a way to educate energy policy leaders. Provide speakers on vital and emerging issues.
Most legislatures do not provide funds for legislators to travel in state or regionally for educational opportunities. Most legislators will use personal or campaign funds to cover such costs if the potential reward is great enough in terms of information to be gained and the uniqueness of the location.
Most legislators are asked to speak before civic groups. While often the requested subject is what is going on at the legislature, a brief dialogue on how the electric system works and what challenges are faced would be an excellent presentation for a Rotary or Kiwanis Club meeting. That also gives the legislator an opportunity to convey that he or she is working on issues with long-term importance to the audience members. You can help develop such presentations.
Conclusion
You have six months to capture our imaginations, educate us, and prepare us to help you meet the economic and operational challenges on the horizon. Talk with your key legislators and your allies, such as other utility executives, labor unions, and contractors, about how best to collaboratively meet the challenges of maintaining system reliability and affordability in environmentally friendly ways. While at the same time meeting public policy requirements, customer expectations, and technological opportunities.
Identify, develop, and promote legislation that will enable you to anticipate and meet challenges. Then you will not need to scramble for help when it is time to respond to changes in market, technology, or political conditions.
