Our mobile-ready workflows enable efficient onboarding, compliance documentation, and policy delivery for distributed teams — including contractors, subcontractors, and union crews. By optimizing task routing and compliance dashboards, organizations can streamline recurring reporting and stay current with energy efficiency standards. Our platform supports lifecycle tracking of policy attestations, technical support documentation, and regulatory reports — reducing downtime and improving audit outcomes.
Goffman also stressed that the regulations aim to provide grid operators with flexibility to ensure that the rules do not affect electricity reliability. EPA has signaled that the agency will consider a future rule on carbon emissions from existing natural gas plants; these facilities are not currently included in the final rules. Of the four new rules that EPA has released regarding fossil-fired power plants, one directly addresses carbon emissions by targeting emissions reductions at power plants.
- “For the people who have to worry about compliance, that is a concern—definitely.” Goffman offered a different take, saying, “We expect that the 45Q incentives tax credits for carbon capture and sequestration may actually incentivize some operators to beat that timeline.”
- If your company is required to report greenhouse gas emissions or chooses to analyze its carbon footprint, you may need information about natural gas delivered by Upper Michigan Energy Resources.
- IMT encourages state and local governments to view PUCs as partners in their climate plans and to consider legislative language that allows and encourages PUCs to include environmental impact in their decision making.
- Utility providers must keep up with the fast paced demands of their customers and regulators.
The economic impact of the ELG rule on existing coal-fired power plants is still hotly contested. Through this rule, EPA is targeting water used by coal-fired power plants that is then returned to bodies of water, which EPA notes can carry mercury, arsenic, selenium, nickel, bromide, chloride, iodide and nutrient pollution. The final rule also does not require PM CEMS for integrated gasification combined cycle EGUs due to technical calibrating issues.
Governance Metrics
She also noted that EPA’s final rules are not the end point for considering environmental justice, as the states are required to engage with stakeholders who may prioritize these issues. “For the people who have to worry about compliance, that is a concern—definitely.” Goffman offered a different take, saying, “We expect that the 45Q incentives tax credits for carbon capture and sequestration may actually incentivize some operators to beat that timeline.” Our predecessors who did 111 rules for criteria pollutants would instantly recognize what we did here … which we believe is entirely faithful to the way the Supreme Court outlined the boundaries of our remit and authority” in the West Virginia decision. “If you look at the way the agencies applied Section 111 to sulfur dioxide or nitrogen oxides, for example, in making best system of emission reduction determinations, this is very much a standard-issue methodology. EPA Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation, Joseph Goffman, argued that the rule governing greenhouse gas emissions aligns with West Virginia v. EPA. The other three rules are expected to have an indirect impact on carbon emissions through affecting the economics and closures of coal-fired power plants.
Common Compliance Challenges and Risks in Utilities Compliance
- Audit failures, missed deadlines for critical upgrades, and cyber vulnerabilities now routinely result in costly penalties, as highlighted in recent FERC and EPA enforcement reports.
- Take the first step toward confident, audit-ready compliance that drives operational excellence and business resilience.
- As a repeat ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year honoree, we collaborate closely with the EPA to ensure up-to-the-minute ENERGY STAR compliance.
- For example, FERC’s Order 881 mandates real-time monitoring and updated line ratings to maintain grid security and efficiency, requiring significant investment in digital controls and predictive analytics.
The law includes provisions that strive to protect low-income customers and benefit all state residents—including those that would be affected most through climate change and environmental pollution. While the proposed rule would have applied NSPS to both new and existing gas-fired combustion turbines, EPA opened a separate non-rulemaking docket to address emissions from existing EGUs in March 2024 and has removed regulation of existing EGUs from the final rule. EPA believes it has authority to promulgate the final rule pursuant to the Clean Air Act section 111, which requires EPA to regulate emissions of air pollutants from existing stationary sources and to set NSPS for industrial categories which emit dangerous air pollutants. It includes 41 source categories for which EPA has published 13 years of data under the GHGRP. The rule includes implementation flexibilities for a new category of EGUs that permanently cease coal combustion by 2034. An emissions profile is just a starting point — to meet the growing demand from stakeholders and regulators for high-quality data, companies ultimately need to conduct robust carbon accounting.
EPA announced its long-awaited final rule amending the coal combustion residuals (CCR) regulations to address inactive surface impoundments (aka coal-ash ponds) at inactive coal-fired power plants, referred to as “legacy CCR surface impoundments” (the Legacy CCR Rule). For electricity networks, scope 1 typically includes emissions from owned power generation activities, such as burning fossil fuels like coal, natural gas, or oil to generate electricity. Climate change is not just altering our ecosystems, it is transforming consumer behavior, policy trends, and global markets.
The Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) defines “100% carbon-reduction target” to include 100% carbon-free energy targets, 100% clean or renewable energy, and net-zero carbon or GHG emissions targets. Washington State’s recent clean energy law recognizes the important role utilities will play in the clean energy transition, and that their PUC’s authority should be expanded to include flexible regulatory mechanisms to achieve that clean energy transition. That same climate bill also required the Comprehensive Energy Strategy to ensure that the state’s energy efficiency goals are met. However, greenhouse gas emissions were not considered part https://cognifyo.com/articles/solar-energy-storage-nighttime/ of the “environmental quality” definition, and this provision could not be used to push for more renewables or energy efficiency. Now, however, utilities are increasingly being asked to invest heavily in renewable energy, energy efficiency, storage, and new technologies so that jurisdictions can meet climate goals. This ensures operators maintain accurate emissions inventories and defensible compliance data.
The impact of the change was immediate; the PSC and stakeholders referenced the new, expanded mandate in cases and hearings, even before the legislation came into effect in March 2019. This time, Councilmember Mary Cheh’s office included a more specific provision for the PSC, directing it to consider, This landmark legislation got national attention as it created the nation’s first Building Performance Standard and raised the District’s Renewable Portfolio Standard to 100%. Advocates such as city governments can have an impact by contributing to the regulatory process, but even if regulators personally want to promote clean energy and climate action, that is not an explicit part of their role. Public Utility Commissions (PUCs, also called Public Service Commissions or similar names) are the state agencies that regulate investor-owned utilities for the public good.
- This improves coordination and supports prescriptive safety protocols in the field.
- The infrastructure is complex, involving high-voltage transmission and lower-voltage distribution systems.
- NRECA said the rules violate the law, exceed EPA’s authority and mandate “the widespread adoption of technologies that are promising, but not ready for prime time.” Timelines are also unrealistic, the group said.
- Engineers are central to ESG implementation—designing low-carbon systems, optimizing efficiency, and ensuring compliance.
- The roadmap is not inclusive of all potential requirements but is a good starting point for LNG operators seeking to permit a new liquefaction plant or identify potential compliance requirements.
LNG Emissions Compliance: What U.S. Operators Need to Know to Stay Ahead
In contrast to electricity, scope 3 emissions for gas networks include the combustion of natural gas by end-users, such as residential, commercial, and industrial customers. These include supply chain emissions from the extraction, processing, and transportation of natural gas supplied by the utility — for example, drilling operations, gas processing facilities, and pipelines. It can also include transmission and distribution losses that occur when electricity is sent over long distances or distributed through the grid, since these losses are outside the utility’s direct control. It could also include emissions from on-site equipment or vehicles used in the operation and maintenance of the grid infrastructure. Emissions are considered material if they make a significant contribution to your total greenhouse gas emissions. The infrastructure is complex, involving high-voltage transmission and lower-voltage distribution systems.
Download the SEPA 2023 Utility Transformation Profile to learn more about how leading utilities are improving the strength, depth, and transparency of their carbon-reduction targets. More utilities should consider strategies to address these indirect emissions. Electric utilities which purchase power from the wholesale market face particular difficulty in addressing Scope 3 emissions. These additions bring critical transparency and accountability to electric utility sector decarbonization efforts. Today, leading utilities are bolstering their commitments by defining the breadth of included emissions and by publishing publicly-available action plans. These targets cover utilities of all types, sizes, and geographies, and the commitments range from achieving a 100% renewable energy supply by 2025 to reaching net-zero GHG emissions by 2050.
Cyber & Infrastructure Threats
The final rule does not modify the existing HCl emission standard or the alternative SO2 emission standard that serves as a surrogate for all acid gas HAP for existing coal-fired EGUs. For coal-fired EGUs, the final rule proposes to have a uniform emission standard for all units, regardless of the coal type used, of 1.2 lb/TBtu or, alternatively, an output-based standard of 0.013 lb/GWh. EPA’s new final rule will set the new non-Hg HAP fPM emission standard for all existing coal-fired EGUs at 0.010 lb/MMBtu. Significantly, these lists differ from those included with the proposed rule and are not exhaustive. On April 25, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed four final rules representing multi-media regulation (air, water, waste, climate) for the utility sector. Engineers are central to ESG implementation—designing low-carbon systems, optimizing efficiency, and ensuring compliance.
We welcome feedback on how your community is connecting to https://lievell.com/7-best-machine-learning-stocks-to-buy-in-2024.html?noamp=mobile utilities to address climate and clean energy goals. IMT encourages state and local governments to view PUCs as partners in their climate plans and to consider legislative language that allows and encourages PUCs to include environmental impact in their decision making. As states look for mechanisms to deliver on the growing wave of carbon and renewable energy commitments, altering the PUC mandate is a lesser-known but highly effective, no cost, and immediate solution. The objectives of the grid modernization proceeding include “removing the barriers to growth of the burgeoning Connecticut green economy,” and “enabling an economy-wide transition to a decarbonized future.” This language is unprecedented. But, like what is happening in DC, the shift in focus towards achieving climate targets in Connecticut is already expanding the conversation between utilities and PURA to include more carbon-saving options.
