Power Moves | February 2024
Electric Power Supply Association
The Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA) is the voice of America's competitive power suppliers.
Dear reader,
In this month’s Power Moves:
🗓️ SAVE THE DATE: MARCH 26, 2024
Join us March 26 for a day of expert panels and featured speakers discussing critical issues facing competitive power and the U.S. electric system. Check out the agenda featuring 25 speakers who bring knowledge and expertise to the conversations that need to be had regarding the current energy landscape.
Register now and check this page for additional details.
Sponsorship opportunities are still available. Interested? Reach out to Frances Owen at fowen@epsa.org.
New Podcast Episode: Keeping Reliability Top of Mind – A Competitive Power Supplier on Why Markets Matter
With electricity demand growing for the first time in years, competitive power suppliers across the country are grappling with how to ensure reliable and affordable power, while also adapting to federal and state decarbonization policies. In this episode of Energy Solutions, Todd Snitchler sits down with Nathan Hanson, President of LS Power Generation, to recap issues that emerged in 2023 and discuss the trends ahead for competitive power markets.
Todd and Nathan analyze the need for firm generation resources to maintain a reliable electric grid, ongoing progress on gas-electric coordination, and what candidates in the 2024 election should prioritize—and why that matters for voters considering their options in November.
Texas Combines Natural Gas and Renewables to Reduce Consumer Prices and Increase Reliability
Recommended by LinkedIn
The adage “everything is bigger in Texas” certainly applies to the state’s energy market. According to a new report from the University of Texas, Austin, the widespread adoption of renewables since 2010 has decreased wholesale electricity costs in the state by as much as $31.5 billion.
Texas’ main electricity market, ERCOT, now ranks number one in the country for both wind generation and natural gas production. That’s no accident. Because Texas has a competitive electricity market, consumers can benefit directly when wholesale power prices fall, but aren’t normally on the hook for the infrastructure costs of new generation investments. Instead, that risk stays with investors, even as consumers can reap the benefits of market innovation.
While the Texas grid has faced challenges with reliability under extreme weather conditions over the past few years, these findings are a potent testament to how markets can benefit consumers and how renewables can work hand in hand with dispatchable sources like natural gas to reduce emissions while keeping the lights on.
EPSA CEO Featured in Forbes
EPSA President and CEO Todd Snitchler spoke with David Blackmon , sharing his perspective on the recent polar vortex and extreme winter weather as a whole—and how power markets worked to keep the grid running throughout. Todd unpacks the realities of the most critical issues facing the American power system, as well as the need for transmission reform—in conjunction with expanding energy options coupled with dispatchable generation to support a reliable power grid.
“Many of the advocates that have opposed the natural gas pipeline infrastructure and resources [and] the techniques that have been applied to frustrate those projects are going to be applied to people that are trying to do transmission projects. So, what you end up with is not what we call NIMBY (not in my backyard) anymore, it's BANANA: Build absolutely nothing anytime, anywhere. And that is creating real problems.”
Todd Snitchler, President and CEO, Electric Power Supply Association
📧 That's not all. See the rest in our free monthly newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.
America’s power grid is changing, and there’s a lot to keep up with. Follow along as we share how competition is bringing cleaner, cost-effective, reliable and innovative electricity solutions for an energy transition that works for everyone.
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🎉 Just checked out the latest Power Moves Newsletter - truly enlightening content! 🌱 As Albert Einstein once said, "Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." It's inspiring to see how industry leaders are tackling critical energy issues. Can't wait for the next edition! 💡#Innovation #EnergyForward