Recent activities of the OE State and Regional Policy Assistance Program include:

  • Supporting the collaborative efforts of the Western Governors Association (WGA) and its subsidiary Western Interstate Energy Board on electricity policy issues by conducting various studies at their request. Particular support is to WIEB's Committee on Regional Electric Power Cooperation as it works to encourage better electricity policy coordination among Western States in a range of subject areas.
     
  • Sponsoring dialogues/coordination among governors on regional electricity infrastructure.
     
  • Supporting the work of the Western Governors Association to identify Western Renewable Energy Zones and other renewable resources, together with coordinated needed transmission investments and associated State policies.
     
  • Co-facilitating with EPA the development and now implementation by the nation's electric and gas utility, State energy regulators, and related organizations of their own National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency which has themselves calling for increases, including individual commitments, of energy efficiency delivered to electric and gas ratepayers.
     
  • Aiding the State of Hawaii with its goal of obtaining 70 percent of its 2030 energy from clean sources. OE expert consultants provided electricity policy assistance to the State of Hawaii and others that helped produce an October 20, 2008, signed by the State of Hawaii and the Hawaiian Electric Companies to accelerate the accomplishment of Hawaii's energy objectives in the regulated electric utility sector.
     
  • Assisting the National Governors Association with its 2007-2008 Securing a Clean Energy Future initiative in work with its member governors on utility-related energy efficiency as well as clean generation. Past assistance to NGA (2001-2006) has been on general electric infrastructure, including transmission and transmission siting issues.
     
  • Funding the National Council on Electricity Policy (NCEP), an umbrella group of the nation's State legislatures, governors, State electricity regulators, and energy offices, together with DOE and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which assists State policymakers with the examination of State and regional level electricity policy issues. The National Council on Electricity Policy was established through the encouragement of DOE in 1994 to enable better coordination between federal and State entities responsible for electricity policy and programs with the understanding that improved intrastate, regional and federal coordination can result in more informed policy decisions.
     
  • Facilitating efforts to build regional consensus among Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and Pacific Northwest States on improving demand response in retail and wholesale markets. These efforts are all lead and managed by State officials. OE's role is solely to provide facilitation.
     
    • OE's efforts to assist regions explore distributed resource initiatives began through its support of the New England Distributed Resources Initiative, which was created by the New England States to develop a comprehensive, coordinated set of demand response programs for New England regional power markets.
       
    • Currently OE is assisting the Mid-Atlantic Distributed Resources Initiative Working Group, where the Mid-Atlantic States are working together to identify and remove barriers to the deployment of distributed generation, demand response and energy efficiency in the Mid-Atlantic region.
       
    • OE is assisting the Midwest Demand Response Initiative, created by the Midwest States in collaboration with the Organization of MISO States, to examine and consider the increased demand response in wholesale and retail electricity markets as appropriate for the Midwest.
       
    • OE is assisting the Pacific Northwest Demand Response Project of Pacific Northwest State electricity officials who have begun a collaborative process to encourage the appropriate development of demand response in the region.
       
  • Assisting individual States on design and/or implementation of their Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS). OE provided technical analysis and developed the policy design for many of the State RPS programs. Much of the technical assistance over the years has been provided by national RPS expert Ryan Wiser of LBNL, among others, who also publishes an annual RPS status report
     
  • Assisting the National Council of State Legislatures, which answers requests for assistance from State legislators and their staff on State-level electricity policies.
     
  • Assisting State regulators, legislators, and governors offices (at their request) on best-practice design of State renewable portfolio standards, utility energy efficiency, distributed generation, and transmission siting State-based policies.
     
  • Supporting the biannual ACEEE conference on utility energy efficiency, which is one of the nation's preeminent meetings for utility and related energy efficiency professionals. View the 2007 final report on DOE's co-funding which includes access to all the presentations.
     
  • In 2007, 46 States requested and received assistance under the OE State and Regional Policy Assistance Program on a wide range of electricity policy-related subjects, a small sample of which is represented on this page.
     

Review past projects that OE has supported.