2021 Shultz Energy Fellowships: Hawaii Public Utilities Commission
Regional-, state-, and city-level efforts are essential in our fight against climate change, especially in the field of energy. Stanford University is committed to helping by integrating its students into energy and climate ecosystems in the West through the Shultz Energy Fellowships program (formerly Stanford Energy Internships in California and the West), an energy-related summer fellowship program for undergraduate and graduate students.
Named in honor of former Secretary of State George P. Shultz, one of the most widely admired American public servants of the past half-century, the program offers a suite of paid, energy-related public service fellowships for Stanford students in California, Colorado, Utah, and Hawaii during the summer.
The fellowships run from Monday, June 21, 2021 to Friday, August 27, 2021.
Organization/Agency mission or role in state government
The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission’s (HPUC) primary duty is to protect the public interest by overseeing and regulating public utilities to ensure that they provide reliable service at just and reasonable rates. HPUC regulates all chartered, franchised, certificated, and registered public utility companies operating in the State; reviews and approves rates, tariffs, charges and fees; determines the allowable rate of earnings in establishing rates; issues guidelines concerning the general management of franchised or certificated utility businesses; and acts on requests for the acquisition, sale, disposition or other exchange of utility properties, including mergers and consolidations.
Initial Project Descriptions
The HPUC is excited to again partner with Stanford University and to offer a Shultz Energy Fellowship position for the summer of 2021 within the HPUC Office of Policy and Research. We anticipate that a fellow will contribute to the development of distributed energy resource (DER) policies in the state of Hawaii through work on the associated docket, which investigates the technical, economic, and policy issues associated with DERs and rate design, as they pertain to the Hawaiian Electric Companies. The proceeding is divided into three tracks, covering programmatic issues, advanced rate design, and technical issues.
The HPUC’s order establishing the three tracks and laying out objectives for the docket can be found on the HPUC’s document management system.
We are contemplating three potential projects for a Shultz fellow below, which are subject to change depending on the needs of the HPUC and the interests of the fellow.
- Development of Performance Incentive Mechanisms for DER Asset Effectiveness
a. The HPUC has identified DER Asset Effectiveness as a priority outcome for utility performance in order to ensure that the growing level of DER on the system play an integral role in meeting the needs of customers and the grid. In particular, the Commission expects to adopt performance incentive mechanisms (PIMs) starting in 2021 that will reward the utilities for improved performance on timely interconnection of DERs and for procurement of grid services from DERs. It is expected that initial PIMs adopted for 2021 will be an incremental step towards exceptional performance on these metrics, and that the mechanisms will be further developed in the DER docket for future years. While working on this project, a Shultz fellow would assist in data analysis of interconnection times, grid services procurement and dispatch, and attainment of initial PIMs. The fellow would have the opportunity to help conceptualize future iterations of the PIMs with HPUC staff and stakeholders in a working group process. The fellow may also be asked to draft language to help inform a Decision and Order adopting new PIMs. - Support for the Inclusion of Grid Services, Load Flexibility, and Locational Values in DER Programs and Customer Rates
a. Within the DER docket to date, Parties have been working to develop new programs that fairly compensate customers for the value produced by their DER systems while promoting market stability and minimizing customer confusion. Programs developed in this docket are intended to facilitate a transition from interim DER programs to programs that simplify the manner in which customers are compensated for energy and grid services. There is recognition and understanding that DERs can provide additional value to the system by providing grid services, including through load flexibility and by targeting deployment in certain locations where there may be constraints or expected load growth. However, methods for compensating systems for this additional value are inherently complex and may contribute to customer confusion. This project would likely include a literature review to understand how other jurisdictions are compensating customers for providing locational value through DERs and rate designs and how approaches may be applied in the Hawaii context. This project would likely result in a written memo with recommendations for how programs and rates may evolve to include value for grid services, load flexibility, and locational granularity. - Advanced Rate Design Implementation
a. The HPUC has prioritized the adoption of advanced rates, and in particular intends to implement time-of-use (TOU) rates for all residential and commercial customers. Stakeholders are expected to submit final rate design proposals in March of 2021, which will include recommendations for how rates may be gradually rolled out to minimize bill shocks, to provide initial and ongoing customer education on how to take advantage of TOU periods, and to align with the utilities’ advanced metering rollout schedules, among many other considerations. Following submission of proposals, the HPUC will need to analyze proposals and synthesize stakeholder recommendations into a decision that outlines a roadmap for reaching customers with advanced rates in an equitable manner. While working on this project, a Shultz fellow would contribute to identifying areas of agreement from stakeholder proposals, analyzing the impacts of proposed rates on priority policy outcomes through data analysis and modeling, and developing next steps for implementing TOU rates. This project is likely to result in a memo that may inform a decision and order for advanced rate design implementation.
Potential Mentors
- James P. Griffin, Ph.D., Chair
- David Parsons, Chief of Policy and Research
2020 Fellow
- Jacqueline Ennis, B.S. Symbolic Systems, ‘20, M.S. Civil & Environmental Engineering (Atmosphere & Energy), ‘22
- Learn more about Jacqueline's experience at HPUC:
- View Jacqueline's final project.
- Strong research skills
- Writing and public speaking skills are highly desired
All Shultz fellows must be enrolled in the spring quarter before their fellowship.
All Shultz fellows must take a one-unit spring workshop course, 'Energy Policy in California and the West' taught by Bruce Cain and Sally Benson that will provide an in-depth analysis of the role of California state agencies, the Western Interstate Energy Board, and the Western Electricity Coordinating Council in driving energy policy development, technology innovation, and market structures. Course number is CEE 263G / POLISCI 73 / PUBLPOL 73 / ENERGY 73. Schedule: Wednesdays from 10:00 am - 11:00 am (Remote: Synchronous).
Please note that this opportunity is for graduate students. Interested undergraduates can apply for other SEICW opportunities via SIG.