Author: Graham Warnock, Lead AEG Fellow, Washington D.C.
Like its unique status as a district rather than a state, Washington D.C. has one of the most unique electrical grids in the United States. First, DC is home to one of the oldest microgrids in the country – the Capital Power Plant, which uses natural gas. Second, nearly half of the electricity generated in 2019 came from consumer-sited, small-scale solar PV panels located on homes and commercial buildings. Third, biomass fuel accounted for almost one-third of their net generation. Last, despite the district’s small size, about only 68 square miles, it consumes almost 100 times more energy than it produces.
While D.C. may have a unique and interesting grid, like all other grids in the country, it needs to be modernized. As our nation’s capital, it would make sense for D.C. to have not only one of the oldest microgrids in the country, representing our rich technical history, but also one of the newest microgrids in the country to represent our technical progress and innovation. Like all other grids in the country, D.C.’s grid needs to modernize to maximize resilience and efficiency in the face of increasing threats such as extreme weather events. However, as part of the PJM Interconnection, D.C. relies almost entirely on the other 13 states in the interconnection for their electrical needs. Modernizing this grid will take major efforts on the part of all stakeholders in both the district and within the wider interconnection.
Luckily, these efforts have already begun to take place. With respect to grid modernization, the DC Public Service Commission (DCPSC) issued Order No. 17912 in June 2015, “to identify technologies and policies that can be implemented in the District of Columbia to modernize the distribution energy delivery system for increased sustainability (MEDSIS).” In Phase 1 of the MEDSIS Initiative, the DCPSC held numerous technical workshops and town hall meetings and issued a detailed Staff Report outlining the Commission’s jurisdiction. This report identified existing regulatory barriers to grid modernization and provided a framework for the subsequent MEDSIS Initiative phases.
In Phase 2 of MEDSIS, the Commission contracted with Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) as the MEDSIS Working Group facilitator and began the year-long stakeholder working group through the formation of six working groups: Data and Information Access and Alignment, Non-Wires Alternatives to Grid Investments, Rate Design, Customer Impact, Microgrids, and Pilot Projects. Phase 2 culminated in the submission of the Final Working Group Report on May 31, 2019, offering 32 recommendations and knowledge points to the DCPSC. The report, entitled Modernizing the Energy Delivery System for Increased Sustainability, is a tremendous feat of stakeholder collaboration – offering both specific recommendations from each working group, as well as an interconnected timeline to supplement the deployment of these recommendations – the report is also 408 pages long.
Since January 2020, the PSC has twice adopted recommendations from this report most notably:
Adopting a new distribution system planning process to allow open and transparent stakeholder engagement
Launching the Power Path DC pilot projects governance board
Developing a new retail choice website, DC Power Connect, that will serve as a central clearinghouse for third-party energy suppliers
Establishing a separate microgrid proceeding.
The MEDSIS Initiative offers a glimpse into the tremendous effort required to effectively modernize D.C.’s grid. Though recommendations to a public service commission do not carry the clean energy snazziness of utility solar farmers and wind turbines taller than the Washington Monument, they are critical for D.C.’s goal of delivering 100% renewable energy by 2032. For instance, these recommendations led the PSC to consider "lightened regulation" or "light touch" approach to microgrid rules, issuing a notice of inquiry (NOI) in July 2020 regarding potential development of a regulatory framework for microgrids. Specifically, because the MEDSIS Initiative identified microgrids as an essential component of the city's grid modernization efforts, the July 2020 NOI “refer(s) to exempting a microgrid from traditional commission regulations.” The NOI includes five questions for stakeholders to address such as whether microgrids should be subject to the city's Consumer Bill of Rights, which covers a customer's ability to choose an electricity supplier. Such dialogue between the PSC and microgrid stakeholders is instrumental in solving granular, but profoundly important problems such as, “if the microgrid is connected to Pepco's distribution system, how would the commission's existing interconnection rules apply?” Replies to stakeholder feedback were delivered in September 2020.
From the 2015 through 2020, a tremendous amount of work has been done towards modernizing Washington D.C. grid – most of which was necessary before solar panels would be mounted or batteries could be installed. However, this process offers two conclusions regarding how to equitably modernize a city’s grid. First, it takes a lot of time, which in the context of climate change mitigation, is perhaps the most precious resource available. And second, most of this work will not be seen or discussed by the very citizens whose lives it will impact and improve. Again, as our nation’s capital, D.C.’s grid is one of the most important grids to modernize – it will serve as an example of how to modernize urban grid infrastructure for other cities both in the U.S. and globally. Furthermore, these efforts will require immense, unified stakeholder collaboration to deliver tangible outcomes over the next 10 years. Finally, it is essential to ensure that the pathways to grid modernization properly engage the totality of the communities they will directly affect. No tangible outcome of grid modernization is more important than developing an equitable marketplace to deliver resilient energy supported by a locally engaged workforce.