Building the Electricity System of the Future:

Abstract:

Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) are shaping the future electricity system, but few studies have examined how RTOs make decisions. RTOs are voluntary organizations authorized by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and they bring together energy system stakeholders with competing interests and goals. Transmission owners, utilities, state public utility commissions, industrial consumers and citizen and environmental advocacy groups work to shape the future grid. This talk will explore how these stakeholders negotiate market rules and access and oversee electric system operations and planning. Different RTOs have different priorities, organizational structures and are driven by different internal and external pressures. I will present initial results from a multi-university project comparing decision making on renewable energy planning, transmission, and market integration within three different RTOs.

Co-sponsored with ASU LightWorks

Brown bag talk – bring your lunch.