On January 10, Policy Integrity, along with New York University’s Guarini Center, submitted comments on Con Edison’s Storm Hardening and Resilience Collaborative Report. The comments urge New York’s Public Service Commission (PSC) to extend the charter of the cost-benefit analysis working group convened as part of the collaborative process surrounding Con Edison’s latest ratemaking proceeding.
A comprehensive approach to cost-benefit analysis will help the PSC properly address the challenges the state’s energy system will face over the coming years, including climate change, security risks, and integrating newer technologies for distributed generation, demand response, and alternative energy service utility models.
State public utilities commissions have taken a variety of approaches to valuing the costs and benefits of energy investments depending on the context. As grid resiliency becomes an increasingly salient issue in a changing world, it is important for New York to explore how to properly conduct cost-benefit analyses in the resiliency context.