Solar & Battery Regulation & Incentive Programs
Origin
In December of 2010, the Arkansas Public Service Commission (PSC) announced a Sustainable Energy Resource Action Plan for Arkansas. Along with this comprehensive plan, the Commission issued 10 Orders directing the state’s four electric and three natural gas investor-owned utilities to implement the energy efficiency measures described in the Action Plan. These orders were passed on December 10, 2010.
Order 17 in Docket 08-144-U sets sales reductions targets for both electric and gas utilities. The PSC directed these utilities to file comprehensive energy efficiency plans for 2011, 2012, and 2013 with incremental energy savings. In September of 2013, by Order No. 7 in Docket No. 13-002-U, the PSC approved a request for an additional year of planning and established higher targets for 2014 (0.9% for electrics and 0.5% for gas utilities). On December 2015, the PSC in its Order No. 30 extended energy efficiency target for for electric and gas efficiency targets till 2019.
Electric Sales Reduction
Natural Gas Sales Reduction
Program Administrator Type
Arkansas' utilities administer the programs to meet the goals.
Cost Effectiveness and Program Evaluation
Arkansas uses the Total Resource Cost test (TRC) as its primary test for evaluating the programs intended to meet the goals.
Utility Cost Recovery Provisions
Currently, Arkansas' regulated utilities are permitted to recover their Lost Contribution to Fixed Costs (“LCFC”, often called lost revenues or lost margins). In addition, each utility is permitted to earn a performance-based shareholder incentives of between 4% and 8% of their program spending (based on commensurate 80% to 120% achievement), capped at 10% of the total net benefits generated by said programs.
Special Provisions
In 2013 Act 253 allowed for nonresidential customers with a total aggregate demand of at least 1 MW and multiple facilities that each have a demand greater than 200 kW to opt out of the state’s energy efficiency program. However, Act 78 limited the scope of that opt-out to customers not making any installations in the past five years incentivized or financed by the same utility assessing the charge. Nonresidential customers that opt out must submit affidavits stating that they have or will make investments in accordance with state energy efficiency goals. When a nonresidential customer opts out, the customer does not pay the Energy Efficiency Cost Recovery rider charges, but must give up the option to take advantage of energy efficiency incentive programs.
More information on Arkansas' energy-efficiency targets is available on the PSC's online services web site.
Name | Enacted Date | Effective Date | Expired Date |
---|---|---|---|
AR PSC Order No. 17, Docket 08-144-U | 12/10/2010 | ||
AR PSC Order No. 15, Docket 08-137-U | 12/10/2010 | ||
AR PSC Order No. 16, Docket 08-127-U | 12/10/10 | ||
AR PSC Oder No. 24, Docket 06-004-R | 04/12/2011 | ||
A.C.A. § 23-3-405 | 07/01/2013 | ||
AR PSC Order No. 7, Docket 13-002-U | |||
Act 78 | 02/13/2015 | ||
AR PSC Order No. 31, Docket 13-002-U | 12/17/2015 |