Electricity can be considered the most important economic engine in states. This
power needs to be reliable and low cost for the industrial, commercial and residential
customers that use it. The environment needs to be protected while it is produced
and delivered. Abundant domestically available fuels, such as coal and renewable
resources provide more security for power generation than fuels that are being increasingly
imported such as natural gas and oil.
AEP has prepared a clean energy development bill consolidating many concepts for
financial regulatory certainty from its research of state policy precedents. This
concept bill may be helpful for policymakers to customize for their own jurisdictions.
Its provisions would accelerate deployment of advanced clean coal, and renewable
generation (including demand side supply and energy efficiency), transmission that
facilitates new and existing clean energy and power purchase agreements by ensuring
contemporaneous recovery of investments. State commissions now using least cost
technology comparison tests would have broader authority to guide project developers
toward newer, initially more expensive technologies that are anticipated to be less
costly long term investments. Commissions could approve projects that are reasonable
and necessary, support economic development and are in the public interest.
The concept bill does not include cost reduction incentives such as tax credits.
These could be included, especially for project developers that are not regulated
by commissions.
AEP has developed a Clean Energy Policy Development Toolkit that can be used by
policymakers who should customize it for their jurisdictions. The toolkit includes:
