A survey of state PUC (Public Utility Commission) activities to incorporate environmental externalities into electric utility planning and regulation

Abstract

The environmental effects that accompany operation of electric generating plants have significant impacts on society. In 1985, electricity production from fossil-fired facilities accounted for about two-thirds of the SO{sub 2} and about one-third of the NO{sub x} and CO{sub 2} emitted in the US SO{sub 2} and NO{sub x} are precursors to acid rain, which causes serious damage to forests, lakes, and agriculture. In addition, many electric supply options cause water pollution and land contamination, even after complying with current state and federal environmental regulations. Damage costs from water and land environmental impacts appear to be much less than damage estimates caused by air pollutants, but are still quite significant. Partly in response to increased public concern about the impacts of acid rain and global climate change, regulatory commissions in many states are now granting with difficult questions of how to include environmental externalities in utility resource planning. It is also clear that concern about the environmental costs of electricity generation is one of the driving forces for many Public Utility Commissions (PUC) in placing increased emphasis on demand reduction alternatives for utilities. This survey represents a snapshot of current practices in a rapidly changing area. There is a widemore » range of awareness of this subject by PUCs and it appears that, to some extent, PUCs have proceeded independently of one another. This report is organized in several sections following this introduction. In the next section, we summarize the survey questions and the approach we used to analyze PUC responses. Section 3 summarizes the results of the survey, which are reported in detail for each state in Appendix A. We then discuss limitations in the study, given the scope, available resources and time frame, identify areas for future work. 16 refs., 2 figs., 5 tabs.« less