{"id":42008,"date":"2024-12-10T10:39:53","date_gmt":"2024-12-10T16:39:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/?p=42008"},"modified":"2024-12-16T08:02:08","modified_gmt":"2024-12-16T14:02:08","slug":"consumers-for-a-better-grid-2024-year-in-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/blog\/2024\/12\/10\/consumers-for-a-better-grid-2024-year-in-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Consumers for a Better Grid: 2024 Year In Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Well, we\u2019ve made it to the end of 2024. As we take a breath to gather ourselves for the coming year, it\u2019s good to reflect on all we\u2019ve accomplished in the past year and chart a course for all that remains to be done. CUB, through its Consumers for a Better Grid campaign<\/strong><\/a>, has been working diligently on behalf of Illinois consumers at the power-grid operator PJM Interconnection and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). A few highlights from the past year \u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

January:<\/strong> We started the year by organizing consumer advocates across the two Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) that manage the power grids in Illinois,\u00a0 MISO and PJM, <\/span>to call for better interregional transmission planning<\/a><\/strong>. We have a special interest in ensuring that planning between the two regions is done efficiently, because proactively planning interregional transmission can lower costs and improve reliability in Illinois (especially in the face of extreme weather).<\/span><\/p>\n

Learn more about transmission<\/span><\/i>: <\/span>Who pays for transmission lines? Take a look at your power bill<\/i><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

February:<\/strong> State legislators in Illinois, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia <\/span>announced a shared effort<\/strong><\/span><\/a> to bring better transparency to PJM. CUB\u2019s Clara Summers testified in front of the Maryland state legislature in support of the bill.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Clara at the National Environmental Justice Conference and Training Program in April.<\/p><\/div>\n

March:<\/strong> The Chicago Tribune <\/span>shined a light on<\/a><\/strong> PJM\u2019s broken interconnection queue process. \u201c(PJM) has unnecessarily set our transition to cleaner energy back by years,\u201d said Clara Summers, the <\/span>Consumers for a Better Grid<\/a><\/strong> campaign manager at\u00a0<\/span>CUB<\/a><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

April:<\/strong> CUB\u2019s Clara Summers was invited to speak on a panel at the National Environmental Justice Conference and Training Program. The decisions made at RTOs impact the affordability, reliability, and cleanliness of our electricity. Environmental justice communities feel these issues most acutely, as they often deal with energy burden, frequent power outages and power plant pollution.\u00a0 But getting access to RTOs is very difficult for the public. Consumers for a Better Grid<\/a><\/strong> is working to change that.<\/span><\/p>\n

May:<\/strong> CUB Executive Director Sarah Moskowitz and Campaign Manager Clara Summers attended PJM\u2019s Annual Meeting in Baltimore. At the meeting, Clara presented to the PJM Board about needed improvements to the decision-making process. We also joined other consumer advocates in filing formal comments to FERC, agreeing with proposed rules barring generators from forcing consumers to pay for reliability standards the generators are required to meet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

June:<\/strong> CUB joined environmental organizations in filing a protest with FERC, asking that the federal agency require PJM to comply with Order 2023 by streamlining the interconnection process and modernizing the grid.\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cPJM is dragging its feet on the clean energy transition and doing everything it can, instead, to create exceptions for itself,\u201d we told the Chicago Tribune<\/strong><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/b>July:<\/strong> This was a banner month for us. In the space of a few weeks, we joined a protest filed with\u00a0 FERC advocating for <\/span>fair treatment of energy efficiency<\/a><\/strong> in the market. We also filed a protest <\/span>opposing anti-consumer changes to PJM\u2019s Consolidated Transmission Owners Agreement<\/a><\/strong>, with legal support from Earthjustice. Finally, a proposal that we co-sponsored with Maryland advocates <\/span>passed a PJM stakeholder vote<\/a><\/strong> with resounding support. (The vote begins a <\/span>discussion on how to design and evaluate cost-effective alternatives to running expensive, polluting power plants past their desired close date. There\u2019s a lot more work to do, but this is a step in the right direction!)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

August:<\/strong> PJM announced that prices in its little-known \u201ccapacity auction\u201d had skyrocketed\u2013and that means ComEd power prices will go up significantly on June 1, 2025. (ComEd has estimated it will increase bills by an average of $10.50 a month. It could have been even worse, but the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act will provide some protection from the price spike.) The grim news sent us into overdrive, as CUB launched a public information campaign, explaining to Illinois consumers what this all meant and calling out PJM\u2019s poor planning and flawed market rules.<\/span><\/p>\n

Learn more about the capacity market:\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

What are Capacity Markets?<\/i><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Q&A: \u2018Capacity\u2019 price spike means ComEd supply price will shoot up in June 2025<\/i><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Consumer Advocate letter to PJM Board<\/i><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

PJM broke the capacity auction \u2014 but here\u2019s how they can fix it<\/i><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"

Clara was in Washington, DC, in September to meet with FERC commissioners as part of the Consumer Advocates of the PJM States.<\/p><\/div>\n

September:<\/strong> CUB joined consumer advocates from across PJM to gather in Washington, DC, for meetings with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. FERC is the only body with oversight over RTOs like PJM (covering northern Illinois) and MISO (covering the central and southern parts of the state), so it\u2019s critical for them to hear from ratepayer advocates.<\/span><\/p>\n

October:<\/strong> Each fall, state regulators from across the PJM region gather for a meeting of the Organization of the PJM States. CUB\u2019s Clara Summers spoke on a panel about the recent capacity auction: \u201cThe overall question of this panel is whether the 2025-2026 [auction] sent the right price signal,\u201d she said. \u201cThe short and disturbing answer is no.\u201d We backed up our comments on the panel by supporting a FERC complaint led by environmental organizations about Reliability Must Run (RMR) resources.<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Sarah speaks up for consumer interests at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.<\/p><\/div>\n

November:<\/strong> At the beginning of the month, CUB Executive Director Sarah Moskowitz was in the nation\u2019s Capital, speaking on a FERC panel about the need for consumer protections in a changing energy landscape. \u201cThe decisions we make impact vulnerable ratepayers who are already suffering,\u201d said Sarah, the only consumer advocate on the panel.\u201d Just before Thanksgiving, <\/span>CUB joined other consumer advocates in a broad complaint to FERC about capacity market rules.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

December:<\/strong> After a long year of ups and downs, and a lot of hard work advocating for consumers, we received some good news: FERC issued a full rejection of the anti-consumer changes PJM had pushed for in an agreement with transmission owners–called the Consolidated Transmission Owners Agreement, or CTOA. Why is this a big deal? Clara had written about this over the summer: “Transmission owners are the\u00a0 wealthy and powerful energy companies\u2013like Exelon, the parent of utility ComEd\u2013that own the big, high voltage lines that crisscross the nation. If FERC approves the CTOA, transmission owners will get to override more efficient regional projects, and instead build many smaller \u201csupplemental\u201d projects that are more lucrative for transmission companies and expensive to consumers. The deal also includes extra giveaways to the transmission owners to shield them and PJM from scrutiny and make it extra hard to challenge them.”<\/span><\/p>\n

But, in part thanks to our advocacy, FERC rejected the CTOA. This isn\u2019t the end of this fight, for sure, but it\u2019s a big win.\u00a0 (Read CUB’s statement<\/strong><\/a> on this consumer victory.)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026 And that\u2019s just a slice of what we\u2019ve been up to! It is our privilege to advocate for Illinois consumers at PJM and FERC. May 2025 bring more opportunities for clean, affordable energy.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Well, we\u2019ve made it to the end of 2024. As we take a breath to gather ourselves for the coming year, it\u2019s good to reflect on all we\u2019ve accomplished in the past year and chart a course for all that remains to be done. CUB, through its Consumers for a Better Grid campaign, has been working diligently on behalf of Illinois consumers at the power-grid operator PJM Interconnection and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). A few highlights from the past year \u2026 January: We started the year by organizing consumer advocates across the two Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) that manage the power grids in Illinois,\u00a0 MISO and PJM, to call for better interregional transmission planning. We have a special interest in ensuring that planning between the two regions is done efficiently, because proactively planning interregional transmission can lower costs and improve reliability in Illinois (especially in the face of extreme weather). Learn more about transmission: Who pays for transmission lines? Take a look at your power bill February: State legislators in Illinois, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia announced a shared effort to bring better transparency to PJM. CUB\u2019s Clara Summers testified in front of the Maryland state legislature in support of the bill. March: The Chicago Tribune shined a light on PJM\u2019s broken interconnection queue process. \u201c(PJM) has unnecessarily set our transition to cleaner energy back by years,\u201d said Clara Summers, the Consumers for a Better Grid campaign manager at\u00a0CUB. April: CUB\u2019s Clara Summers was invited to speak on a panel at the National Environmental Justice Conference and Training Program. The decisions made at RTOs impact the affordability, reliability, and cleanliness of our electricity. Environmental justice communities feel these issues most acutely, as they often deal with energy burden, frequent power outages and power plant pollution.\u00a0 But getting access to RTOs is very difficult for the public. Consumers for a Better Grid is working to change that. May: CUB Executive Director Sarah Moskowitz and Campaign Manager Clara Summers attended PJM\u2019s Annual Meeting in Baltimore. At the meeting, Clara presented to the PJM Board about needed improvements to the decision-making process. We also joined other consumer advocates in filing formal comments to FERC, agreeing with proposed rules barring generators from forcing consumers to pay for reliability standards the generators are required to meet.\u00a0 June: CUB joined environmental organizations in filing a protest with FERC, asking that the federal agency require PJM to comply with Order 2023 by streamlining the interconnection process and modernizing the grid.\u00a0 \u201cPJM is dragging its feet on the clean energy transition and doing everything it can, instead, to create exceptions for itself,\u201d we told the Chicago Tribune. July: This was a banner month for us. In the space of a few weeks, we joined a protest filed with\u00a0 FERC advocating for fair treatment of energy efficiency in the market. We also filed a protest opposing anti-consumer changes to PJM\u2019s Consolidated Transmission Owners Agreement, with legal support from Earthjustice. Finally, a proposal that we co-sponsored with Maryland advocates passed a PJM stakeholder vote with resounding support. (The vote begins a discussion on how to design and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":null,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"default","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[1692],"tags":[1684,65,389,393],"class_list":["post-42008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-campaign-for-a-better-grid","tag-consumers-for-a-better-grid","tag-electric","tag-electric-bills-2","tag-power-grid"],"cp_meta_data":{"_facebook_share_type":["default"],"_twitter_share_type":["default"],"_linkedin_share_type":["default"],"_pinterest_share_type":["default"],"_instagram_share_type":["default"],"_medium_share_type":["default"],"classic-editor-remember":["classic-editor"],"_edit_lock":["1734357648:5"],"_edit_last":["5"],"_wp_page_template":["default"],"borntogive_page_header_show_hide":["2"],"borntogive_pages_title_show":["1"],"borntogive_pages_Choose_slider_display":["2"],"borntogive_pages_select_revolution_from_list":["3"],"borntogive_pages_slider_pagination":["yes"],"borntogive_pages_slider_auto_slide":["yes"],"borntogive_pages_slider_direction_arrows":["yes"],"borntogive_pages_slider_effects":["fade"],"borntogive_pages_body_bg_wide":["0"],"borntogive_pages_body_bg_repeat":["repeat"],"borntogive_pages_content_bg_wide":["0"],"borntogive_pages_content_bg_repeat":["repeat"],"borntogive_pages_social_show":["1"],"borntogive_strict_no_sidebar":["0"],"borntogive_sidebar_columns_layout":["3"],"borntogive_gallery_slider_pagination":["yes"],"borntogive_gallery_slider_auto_slide":["yes"],"borntogive_gallery_slider_direction_arrows":["yes"],"borntogive_gallery_slider_effects":["fade"],"_wpb_vc_js_status":["false"],"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":[""],"_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":["off"],"_wpsp_is_facebook_share":["off"],"_wpsp_is_twitter_share":["off"],"_wpsp_is_linkedin_share":["off"],"_wpsp_is_pinterest_share":["off"],"_selected_social_profile":["a:0:{}"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":["1692"],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["30"],"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":["6"],"_wpb_post_custom_layout":["default"]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42008"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42008\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42031,"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42008\/revisions\/42031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.citizensutilityboard.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}