Grid Modernization Efforts in D.C.

The District of Columbia Public Service Commission announced that it has taken additional steps in an ongoing proceeding initiated for the purpose of finding ways to encourage the modernization of the regional energy delivery system, including a call to hire a consultant to aid in the effort.

The investigation into modernizing the local energy delivery infrastructure was launched in response to numerous party requests. An independent inquiry also was needed given technological advancements in the energy industry and changing consumer preferences, the commission said. According to the commission, a vigorous examination of new grid technologies is particularly important at this time because the city’s sole electric utility, Potomac Electric Power Company (Pepco), is in the process of undergrounding its lines and cables and also is constructing and/or rebuilding new substations and transmission circuits.

The commission noted as well that Pepco has submitted a proposal for limited demand management for plug-in electric vehicle charging and is likely to undertake other measures to ensure greater reliability and resiliency of the District’s energy delivery system. Contemporaneously, the city’s only natural gas local distribution company, Washington Gas Light Company, is similarly engaged in an extensive pipe replacement effort and a mechanical coupling replacement program. The commission thus deemed this an opportune time to review modernization of both electric and gas energy delivery systems on a cohesive basis. (Formal Case No. 1130, Order No. 19275)