Analysis of utility acid rain compliance plans: A discussion of issues and methods

Conference · Thu Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1993

OSTI ID:75495

Brick, S ^[1]

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1. MSB Energy Associates, Inc., Middleton, WI (United States)

Utility acid rain compliance plans have begun to roll into public utility commissions around the eastern half of the country. These plans typically represent the combined effort of utility staff and consultants, and have evolved since early drafts of Title IV of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAAA) began to circulate, several years back. The filings themselves often consist of many volumes of technical analysis, supporting documentation, and accompanying testimony. Hundreds of computer simulations are often presented and these, in turn, are underlain by hundreds of assumptions covering a staggering range of variables. Commissions usually have little time and few external resources with which to review and in some cases, preapprove proposed utility actions. There may be a tendency among commissions to forego a comprehensive review, approve utility plans as filed, and hope for the best. There are at least three important reasons, however, why this should not occur: (1) The magnitude of planned CAAA expenditures is large. (2) Preapproval, either formal or de facto, is becoming increasingly common. Although the approval of specific actions is certainly one outcome of the preapproval process, it should not be the sole or even principal outcome. The main focus of preapproval should involve defining an economic and institutional framework for how utilities, with input from regulators and the public, can best meet future customer needs. Done correctly, the preapproval process provides a meaningful, preexisting context which can be used to analyze outcomes. (3) Without adequate review market opportunities may be ignored and compliance costs increased unnecessarily. This article discusses the following topics in detail: CAAA Compliance Plan Review framework; Emission Reduction Alternatives: How Much is Enough?; Assumptions, Analytical Methods, and Evaluation Criteria of compliance plans; CAAA compliance costs and IRP. 2 figs., 3 tabs.

• Research Organization: National Regulatory Research Inst., Columbus, OH (United States)
• OSTI ID: 75495
• Report Number(s): NRRI--93-8; CONF-9205161--Exc.; CONF-9204302--Exc.; CONF-930334--Exc.; ON: DE95008741
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
ACID RAIN
AIR POLLUTION CONTROL
CLEAN AIR ACTS
COMPLIANCE
ELECTRIC UTILITIES
PLANNING
POLLUTION REGULATIONS