Utility Transition Hub^TM

Introduction

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provides a suite of financial and tax incentives that can accelerate the energy transition of electric utilities while maintaining affordable rates and reliable supply. Since the bill's passage in August 2022, the IRA has supercharged clean energy investment across the country, with significant contributions from both the public and private sectors. Nevertheless, surging needs from data centers, reshoring of manufacturing, and economy-wide electrification catalyzed by IRA incentives have driven load growth, raising concerns about the ability of electric utilities to stay on track to meet their targets for delivering a clean and affordable energy future.

Utilities are responding to the projected demand growth by increasing proposed additions to methane natural gas additions and announcing delays for coal retirements. Utility plans through 2035 now propose 70 GW of gas additions, up from 50 GW a year ago, and 69 GW of coal retirements, versus 72 GW planned as of last year. These figures come from RMI's review of integrated resource plans (IRPs), certificates of public convenience and necessity (CPCNs, also known as CPNs in some states), and rate case proceedings in the first half of 2024.

Regulators, consumer advocates, and environmental advocates are key stakeholders in regulatory proceedings, each playing a crucial role in guiding utility investment decisions or ensuring that IRA incentives are thoroughly considered in utility regulatory filings. RMI has published numerous reports and articles that provide resources and examples to empower regulators in their decision-making. This toolkit, however, is designed for advocates and other stakeholders who are looking for ways to get involved in regulatory processes to move utilities toward a reliable and affordable transition.

On this toolkit page, users can gain a comprehensive understanding of the available opportunities to engage in regulatory proceedings.

Each text box in the "Landscape Overview" section can be expanded with a click to display additional information about the opportunity, including a brief description, the list of regulatory venues where the opportunity can be explored, and links for further details.

Users can also access a detailed list of resources to support their decision-making in the "Practical Action Guide" section. Clicking on each step will open a pop-up with further descriptions and links for users to explore.

The “IRA Opportunity Map” section provides a utility-by-utility visualization of ratepayer savings created by IRA-enabled levers. The initial analysis focuses on "clean repowering,” an immediate, no-regrets opportunity to address the challenges of interconnection queues by using existing fossil asset interconnection rights to interconnect nearby renewable energy and storage resources.

The “Clean Repowering Site Map” section allows users to navigate clean repowering opportunities around the United States based on the clean repowering technology involved, the size in megawatts, and the location (in longitude and latitude).