GridWise Alliance Open Letter to State Commissioners

November 12, 2009

Dear Commissioner:

The GridWise® Alliance, a coalition of over 100 companies working to make our electric grid smarter for the public good, has been actively tracking the federal smart grid funding awards offered via the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009. With the announcements of the investment grant awardees on October 27, we noted that, while nearly every state received an award, only about 100 awards were granted from over 400 well-reasoned and qualified applications. We congratulate those of you who won awards; we feel certain that your consumers will reap significant benefits as these projects are deployed.

Many utilities worked closely with their state commissions to ensure that their cost-benefits cases were made and that their proposals received strong support from their commissioners before they applied for funding. Some commissions even made the projects contingent on receiving stimulus funding. And yet as many as 3000 utilities did not win awards.

It is important to note that in addition to technical merit, DOE also used program policy factors when making these awards.  As explained in the FOA, "After the technical merit review process is complete, DOE may choose to apply program and policy factors in the selection of grant recipients. In doing this DOE reserves the right to select applications of lesser merit than other applications. DOE’s goal is to ensure that the selection process results in an efficacious portfolio of SGIG projects and provides for an appropriate mix of methods, approaches, concepts, and strategies." Therefore, a non-receipt of an award should not be interpreted as an inferior program.  Indeed, many solid and well thought out programs did not receive awards.

The GridWise Alliance applauds the critical thinking and leadership your state commission has provided for the advancement of a smarter grid. We would like to recommend that your state commission continue supporting these crucial projects, regardless of the federal award. We believe strongly that the public interest can be served by implementing smart grid projects based on potential savings to consumers, increased reliability, enhanced security, and a cleaner, more efficient electric system.

Understandably, commissioners must assess and determine whether those smart grid investments are just and reasonable; we encourage your commission to continue discussing the benefits of these projects with utilities operating in your state. We believe strongly that our nation must take action now to evolve our electric system for the 21st century’s economic development.

The GridWise Alliance is poised to help as you begin to assess these projects. Feel free to call for additional smart grid information as you move forward with your regulatory processes.

Sincerely,

 
Katherine Hamilton
President
GridWise Alliance