SEPA Convenes Energy Industry Leaders to Launch New Regulatory Innovation Initiative

“Renovate” seeks to enable the evolution of state regulatory processes to best meet customer needs

WASHINGTON, D.C. — March 18, 2019

A diverse group of national nonprofit organizations and industry thought leaders today announced a new initiative to help evolve state regulatory processes to support the dynamic energy needs of customers and develop more effective ways of working together to identify and deliver new solutions.

Renovate is convened by the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) and was launched in partnership with Rocky Mountain Institute and other leading electric industry and stakeholder groups (see the full list below).

Renovate aims to enable the evolution of state regulatory processes and practices in order to advance the scalable deployment of innovative technologies and business operating models that support the more rapid transition to a cleaner and modern energy grid.

“This groundbreaking initiative will help address the challenges in meeting customer needs and increased expectations for a modern grid enabled by new technologies, while continuing to provide clean, affordable, safe and reliable electric service,” said Janet Gail Besser, managing director of regulatory innovation and utility business models at SEPA.

“Successfully shaping and accelerating the evolution of the energy system to best meet the needs of customers—while driving improved environmental performance, strengthening resilience and keeping user costs stable—requires close collaboration and a spirit of innovation, partnership and shared mission,” Leia Guccione, a principal at Rocky Mountain Institute, said. “Renovate is an important effort to reflect on the innovations that can make current regulatory processes more ambitious and collaborative while building and supporting the coalition of leaders we will need to implement and engage in these new evolved regulatory processes. We look forward to sharing the insights we’ve discovered and contributing to the success of this important endeavor.”

To begin Renovate, a task force including commissioners, consumer and environmental advocates, legislators, and leaders from utilities, solution providers and state energy offices alongside initiative partners identified problem statements to guide the initiative’s focus. The problem statements included emerging issues for all industry participants, such as managing system risk and uncertainty, the increased rate of change and cross-coordination of multiple priorities.

Working with a task force of stakeholder representatives and partners, the next phase of Renovate entails identifying a set of solutions to designated problem statements, and identifying, assessing and benchmarking existing regulatory innovations—both domestically and globally—including the development and publication of key illustrative case studies.

For more information on the Renovate Initiative and to view the full list of partners and task force members, click here.

For media requests, please contact Jordan Nachbar at jnachbar@sepapower.org.

Renovate Partner Organizations:
American Public Power Association (APPA)
Edison Electric Institute (EEI)
Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC)
National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissions (NARUC)
National Association of State Energy Offices (NASEO)
National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)
National Governors Association (NGA)
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA)
Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP)
Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI)
Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA)

About SEPA
The Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) is an educational nonprofit working to facilitate the electric power industry’s smart transition to a clean and modern energy future through education, research, standards and collaboration. SEPA offers a range of research initiatives and resources, as well as conferences, educational events, advisory services and professional networking opportunities. SEPA is founder and co-sponsor of North American Smart Energy Week (a trade show which includes Solar Power International and Energy Storage International among other smart energy topics) and winner of the Keystone Policy Center’s 2016 Leadership in Energy Award.

About Rocky Mountain Institute
Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI)—an independent nonprofit founded in 1982—transforms global energy use to create a clean, prosperous, and secure low-carbon future. It engages businesses, communities, institutions, and entrepreneurs to accelerate the adoption of market-based solutions that cost-effectively shift from fossil fuels to efficiency and renewables. RMI has offices in Basalt and Boulder, Colorado; New York City; Washington, D.C.; and Beijing.