6.1.A. ERMUSR 04-12-2016 - Laserfiche WebLink

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20115 POWER IN ADVOCACY ENERGY BILLS Comprehensive,bipartisan energy policy bills considered in the House and Senate for the first time in 10 years,and supported by APPA: GRID SECURITY: • The North American Energy Securi- ty and Infrastructure Act(H.R.8) VICTORIES IN CONGRESS passed the House by a vote of 249 to 174 and includes several provisions important to On Dec.4,President Obama signed into law the Fixing America's Surface public power.APPA was engaged and Transportation Act of 2015,which included provisions APPA long fought for. provided testimony—by Sue Kelly and • Limited override of state sunshine laws to protect sensitive energy Lakeland Electric's General Manager Joel Ivy. infrastructure information. • No environmental fines for running a generator to avoid a reliability • The Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015(S.2012)passed the Senate emergency per a Department of Energy order. Energy and Natural Resources Committee in • Utilities and federal agencies allowed to share critical information 2015.Championed by Senator Lisa in emergencies. Murkowski(R-Alaska)and Senator Maria Cantwell(D-Wash.),the bill addresses On Dec.18,President Obama signed a year-end tax and omnibus spending bill efficiency,infrastructure,supply,account- that included the Cybersecurity Act of 2015,which ability,and conservation reauthorization. • Provides a framework to facilitate voluntary information sharing • Sue Kelly testified in May before the Senate between critical infrastructure sectors,including public power,and with the Energy and Natural Resources Committee federal government. and emphasized the need to reform • Directs the Department of Homeland Security to establish a portal to share mandatory capachydropower licensing,markets, cyber threats and defenses and exempts public power utilities streamline nb and avoid a federal renewable from disclosing this information under state sunshine laws. electricity standard. ELECTRICITY MARKETS APPA was active on the issue of self- FERC chairman Norman Bay issued two supply—the right of public power utilities important dissents in FERC orders on PJM's to build their own generation or enter bilateral capacity performance proposals,expressing contracts to buy wholesale electricity in RTOs strong concerns about higher prices and with mandatory capacity markets. customer impacts. • "PJM's Capacity Performance Tariff APPA drummed up opposition to a legislative APPA released two reports in 2015: Changes:Estimated Impact on the Cost of proposal—known as'capacity performance' —that would lock in high electricity rates for ■ "Capacity Markets Do Not lncent New Capacity"estimated that PJM's capacity Generation"showed that only 4.8%of performance package of changes would consumers in mandatory capacity market cost consumers$7.3 billion throw h regions,and had it modified. new generation in 2014 was built just for 9 sale into a mandatory capacity market. 2019. 212