FERC Technical Conference

Electricity storage technologies are playing a big part in the growth of renewable resources and the shape of the grid of the future. For example, batteries are a well-known back-up to renewables when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing.  But large-scale batteries, as well as flywheels, are entering the field to provide additional services as clean and fast-response resources for grid operators to help keep the bulk power system in balance.

The introduction of storage resources as grid service providers is raising important issues, such as how their services should be classified (i.e., as transmission or generation) how they should be compensated and whether they raise operational concerns. How these nuts-and-bolts questions are resolved will affect the extent of their penetration in grid services markets.

FERC has jurisdiction over the terms and conditions of services on the U.S. interstate transmission grid, and the Commission is poised to address some of these storage issues in two upcoming proceedings.  One of them is a staff technical conference scheduled for November 8, 2016, part of a generic proceeding to address operational and other issues regarding how storage resources are used in the organized wholesale electricity markets (i.e., Regional Transmission Organizations).  The second proceeding is a pending complaint by a utility-owner of a large battery resource alleging that the RTO tariff does not properly compensate its resource or provide for appropriate operational practices.
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