State Legislative Energy Priorities

Deck: 

What to Expect in 2021

Fortnightly Magazine - March 2021
This full article is only accessible by current license holders. Please login to view the full content.
Don't have a license yet? Click here to sign up for Public Utilities Fortnightly, and gain access to the entire Fortnightly article database online.

The energy sector is rapidly changing — from the growth in natural gas and clean energy to the evolving electricity market structures and the expansion of distributed energy resources such as rooftop solar and energy storage.

There is also a sizeable increase in the cost and number of threats from natural disasters, cyberattacks and other events, which impact the energy infrastructure. State legislatures play a critical role in shaping energy policies that support the evolving energy sector and protect critical energy infrastructure.

In 2020, state legislatures considered a variety of energy measures — from transportation electrification and other efforts to reduce emissions economy-wide, to support for clean energy and new energy storage technologies.

Colorado, Florida, New Jersey, Utah, and Virginia all passed measures supporting transportation electrification, with these states focused on expanding access to electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Transportation electrification will likely remain a topic of interest for state legislatures in 2021. Already, twenty-two states have introduced measures supporting the adoption of electric vehicles, but also considering questions such as:

Who owns electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), such as charging stations?

Can electric utilities, regulated by the PUC, own charging infrastructure?

This full article is only accessible by current license holders. Please login to view the full content.
Don't have a license yet? Click here to sign up for Public Utilities Fortnightly, and gain access to the entire Fortnightly article database online.