The beginning of the legislative session in Virginia saw a bill introduced that would establish broad retail competition. The bill seeks to end Dominion’s monopoly over distribution. ACCES spoke with Utility Dive to discuss similar national trends.
Utility Dive
Contact: Iulia Gheorghiu
Various state efforts to decouple retail energy services are expected to continue this year, Frank Caliva, spokesperson with American Coalition of Competitive Energy Suppliers (ACCES), told Utility Dive.
Several state legislatures have considered bills in recent years to create customer choice, including Nebraska and Kansas. Colorado, which is motivated to decouple transmission and distribution in order to allow consumers to prioritize clean energy services, is expected to introduce another bill this year, Caliva said.
In 2020, ACCES expects Florida to continue decoupling efforts through a ballot initiative, similar to the one Nevada attempted in the 2018 election.
“It really depends on the politics and the dynamics of the state,” Caliva said. For instance, in Arizona, “regulators have the ability to make policy decisions more broadly than in other states.”