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New York State Public Service Commission Flexes “Just and Reasonable” Muscle to Impose Sweeping Reforms to Energy Marketplace

December 19, 2019

The New York State Public Service Commission (“Commission”) leveraged an unprecedented interpretation of its “just and reasonable” regulatory authority to impose drastic changes to the retail energy marketplace, which will have ripple effects on Renewable Energy Credit (REC) markets, retail energy contracts, Distributed Energy Resource (DER) providers and other clean technology stakeholders. The Commission’s Order Adopting Changes to the Retail Access Energy Market (“Order”) establishes enhanced eligibility criteria for Energy Service Companies (ESCOs), mandates price caps…

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New York State Public Service Commission Modernizes Community Solar Billing Procedures

By Kevin C. Blake

December 18, 2019

Since the New York State Public Service Commission (“Commission”) first authorized the Community Distributed Generation (CDG) program in 2015, CDG Sponsors—the entities that organize, own and/or operate CDG projects—have faced an uphill battle in explaining the program, marketing it to customers and streamlining the energy billing process. The confusion arises first and foremost because CDG customers currently receive only bill credits, not renewable electricity or the environmental attributes of that electricity. This is further complicated…

Renewable Energy Post

Reset 2.0?

By Kevin C. Blake

December 12, 2019

Public Service Commission Resets Retail Energy Marketplace: All ESCOs Required to Re-Register Under New Rules and Completely Revise Product Offerings On December 12, 2019, the New York State Public Service Commission (“Commission”) voted to reset the retail energy marketplace by requiring all Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) to re-register for eligibility to serve customers. While the final order remains to be issued, the Department of Public Service (DPS) explained that as part of the re-registration process,…

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New York’s Landmark Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act Signed Into Law

By David P. Flynn

July 18, 2019

The waning hours of the 2019 New York State legislative session saw both houses pass an extraordinary piece of legislation. The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (“Act”) requires the State to achieve a carbon-free electricity system by 2040 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions 85% below 1990 levels by 2050. The Act creates and empowers a council to determine how the State will achieve these goals. It is anticipated that the Act will also drive…

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New York Repeals ESCO Sales Tax Exemption for Businesses

By Kevin C. Blake & Thomas F. Puchner

April 3, 2019

On April 1, 2019, the State Legislature approved a $175.5 billion budget for 2019-2020, which, among other things, eliminates an important sales tax exemption that allowed certain commercial customers of Energy Service Companies (“ESCOs”) to receive electric and gas supply without paying sales tax on transmission and distribution charges. Since 2000, shortly after New York restructured its energy markets, the NYS Tax Law has included an exemption for commercial ESCO customers that was designed to…

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New York Transforms Energy Storage Economics

By Kevin C. Blake

March 25, 2019

Throughout the first four years of New York’s Reforming the Energy Vision (“REV”) initiative, the precise role of energy storage has been unclear. There was no energy storage goal, only sparse incentives were available to spur development, the regulatory framework remained under construction, and the relatively nascent storage applications did not seem to fit within currently existing market mechanisms. New York is now paving the way for a robust storage industry. In December 2018, the…

Renewable Energy Post

New York Public Service Commission to Create “Office of Investigations and Enforcement” to Centralize Compliance Regime

By Kevin C. Blake & Matthew J. Fitzgerald

October 15, 2018

The New York Public Service Commission (“PSC”) appears to be creating a new Office of Investigations and Enforcement (“OIE”) and has posted a job listing for a Director of OIE (“Director”) who would report to the CEO of the Department of Public Service (“DPS”), as well as the Chairman of the PSC. The Director would be tasked with managing the OIE’s efforts in investigating and enforcing the regulations promulgated pursuant to §25 and §25-a of…

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EPA Proposes to Replace Clean Power Plan with Affordable Clean Energy Rule

By David P. Flynn & Luke Donigan

August 22, 2018

On August 21, 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) proposed a new rule which would replace the Obama-era Clean Power Plan (“CPP”) and establish new emissions guidelines for states to address greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions from electric-generating power plants. As background, the CPP was stayed by the Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision in February of 2016 before the rule ever went into effect. More recently, in October 2017, the EPA announced its intention to…

Renewable Energy Post

Shaping Energy Policy to Meet Market Demands

By Luke Donigan

June 22, 2018

Recently, Phillips Lytle’s own Dennis Elsenbeck made an appearance on Spectrum News’ Capital Tonight program with host Liz Benjamin to discuss the energy landscape in New York and the economic impact of energy-related policy decisions. As the State legislative calendar year comes to a close, the conversation centered around how energy policy should be focused on meeting market demands so that it aligns with the current economic goals to drive development. As the energy industry…

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New York State Seeks Proposals for Large-Scale Renewable Projects

By David P. Flynn & Luke Donigan

April 30, 2018

New York State (“NYS” or “State”) is launching a second round of request for proposals (“RFPs”) for large-scale renewable projects. According to NYS Energy Research and Development Authority (“NYSERDA”), the State is seeking to accelerate progress to achieve the lofty goals set in the Clean Energy Standard initiative that went into effect in August of 2016. As we have previously reported, the Clean Energy Standard mandates that renewable energy supply 50 percent of the…

Renewable Energy Post

Blog Authors

New York State Public Service Commission Flexes “Just and Reasonable” Muscle to Impose Sweeping Reforms to Energy Marketplace

New York State Public Service Commission Modernizes Community Solar Billing Procedures

Reset 2.0?

New York’s Landmark Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act Signed Into Law

New York Repeals ESCO Sales Tax Exemption for Businesses

New York Transforms Energy Storage Economics

New York Public Service Commission to Create “Office of Investigations and Enforcement” to Centralize Compliance Regime

EPA Proposes to Replace Clean Power Plan with Affordable Clean Energy Rule

Shaping Energy Policy to Meet Market Demands

New York State Seeks Proposals for Large-Scale Renewable Projects

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