STATE OF NEW YORK

PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION

CASE 15-E-0302 - Proceeding on Motion of the Commission to
Implement a Large-Scale Renewable Program and a
Clean Energy Standard.
CASE 16-E-0270 - Petition of Constellation Energy Nuclear Group
LLC; R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant, LLC; and
Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station, LLC to
Initiate a Proceeding to Establish the Facility
Costs for the R.E. Ginna and Nine Mile Point
Nuclear Power Plants.

ORDER ADOPTING A CLEAN ENERGY STANDARD

Issued and Effective:

August 1, 2016

TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY................................1
State Policy Goals ......................................3
Customer Choice .........................................7
Jurisdiction and Markets ................................9
Cost Containment .......................................11
Program Elements .......................................12
Renewable Energy Standard ..............................14
Tier 1 New Renewable Resources .....................14
Tier 2 Maintenance Tier ............................17
Offshore Wind ........................................18
Zero-Emissions Credit Requirement ......................19
II. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND.................................21
III. NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING........................25
IV. STAFF PROPOSALS, COST STUDY, AND PARTY COMMENTS.......26
A. Renewable Standard: Obligation
of Participating Entities ...........................26
1. Staff Proposal....................................26
a. Jurisdictional Entities ........................26
b. Non-Jurisdictional Entities ....................27
2. Party Comments....................................27
B. Eligible Resources ..................................30
1. Staff Proposal....................................30
2. Party Comments....................................30
C. Tiers ...............................................32
1. Staff Proposal....................................32
2. Party Comments....................................33
D. Annual Targets ......................................35
1. Defining the Baseline.............................35
a. Staff Proposal .................................35
b. Party Comments .................................36
2. Establishing Tier Targets.........................36
a. Staff Proposal .................................36

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b. Party Comments .................................37
3. Start Date for Targets............................37
a. Staff Proposal .................................37
b. Party Comments .................................38
E. Compliance Mechanism ................................38
1. Renewable Energy Credits..........................38
a. Staff Proposal .................................38
b. Party Comments .................................38
2. Alternative Compliance Payments...................39
a. Staff Proposal .................................39
b. Party Comments .................................39
3. Banking and Borrowing.............................40
a. Staff Proposal .................................40
b. Party Comments .................................41
F. Long-Term Contracting for RES Resources .............41
1. Staff Proposal .................................41
2. Party Comments .................................42
G. Nuclear Facilities ..................................45
1. Staff Proposal....................................45
2. Party Comments....................................46
3. Staffs Responsive Proposal.......................49
4. Party Comments to Responsive Proposal.............52
H. Cost Study and Cost Management ......................61
1. Summary of the Cost Study.........................61
2. Party Comments....................................63
V. ESTABLISHING THE CLEAN ENERGY STANDARD.................65
A. General Description .................................65
B. Legal Authority .....................................66
C. Cost Study and Cost Mitigation ......................69
D. Adoption of the 50% by 30 Goal ......................76
VI. THE RENEWABLE ENERGY STANDARD.........................78
A. Tier 1 New Renewable Resources ....................78
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1. Overall Incremental 2030 Statewide Target.........78
a. Calculating Statewide Load .....................79
b. No Behind-the Meter Generation Adjustment ......79
c. Energy Efficiency Adjustment ...................81
d. No adjustment for Carbon Reducing Technologies .82
e. Net Total Load .................................84
f. Baseline Renewable Resource Adjustment .........84
2. Annual Targets....................................85
3. LSE Obligation....................................93
4. Long-Term Procurement Issues......................95
a. Need for Long-term Procurement .................95
b. Types of Long-term Procurement .................97
c. Power Markets in New York ......................98
d. Determination ..................................99
e. Review of Procurement Practices ...............102
5. Design Parameters................................103
a. No Separate New Resource Tiers ................103
b. Eligibility ...................................105
c. Compliance ....................................106
d. Alternative Compliance Payment ................109
e. Banking and Borrowing .........................110
f. Role of NYSERDA ...............................111
6. Solicitation/Procurement Cycle...................112
7. Procurement Guidelines...........................114
B. Tier 2 .............................................115
C. Periodic Review ....................................117
1. Triennial Review Process.........................117
2. Interim Review...................................118
VII. ZERO-EMISSIONS CREDIT REQUIREMENT...................119
A. Procedural Matters .................................119
B. Public Necessity ...................................124
1. Verifiable Historic Contribution.................125
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2. Inadequate Compensation to Preserve Attributes...125
3. BCA in Relation to Alternatives..................126
4. Cost Impacts on Ratepayers.......................127
5. Overall Public Interest..........................128
C. ZEC Price Formula Mechanics ........................129
1. Social Cost of Carbon............................131
2. Baseline RGGI Effect.............................135
3. Conversion Factor $$/Ton to $$/MWh...............136
4. Forecast Energy & Capacity Price Change
Adjustment.......................................138
5. Contract Duration................................141
6. Contract Performance.............................144
7. Facility Closure Contingency.....................146
8. LSE Obligations and Allocations..................147
9. Conclusion.......................................150
VIII. IMPLEMENTATION.....................................152
IX. SEQRA FINDINGS.......................................153
X. CONCLUSION............................................154
APPENDICES
1. Appendix A Eligibility of Resources
2. Appendix B Comment Summaries
3. Appendix C New York Generation Attribute Tracking System
4. Appendix D Renewable Energy Standard - Tier 2
5. Appendix E Zero-Emissions Credits Requirement
6. Appendix F Implementation Phase
7. Appendix G SEQRA Findings Statement

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STATE OF NEW YORK

PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION
At a session of the Public Service
Commission held in the City of
Albany on August 1, 2016
COMMISSIONERS PRESENT:
Audrey Zibelman, Chair
Patricia L. Acampora
Gregg C. Sayre
Diane X. Burman, concurring
CASE 15-E-0302 - Proceeding on Motion of the Commission to
Implement a Large-Scale Renewable Program and a
Clean Energy Standard.
CASE 16-E-0270 - Petition of Constellation Energy Nuclear Group
LLC; R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant, LLC; and
Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station, LLC to
Initiate a Proceeding to Establish the Facility
Costs for the R.E. Ginna and Nine Mile Point
Nuclear Power Plants.
ORDER ADOPTING A CLEAN ENERGY STANDARD
(Issued and Effective August 1, 2016)
BY THE COMMISSION:
I. INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY
By this Order, the Commission determines that a series
of deliberate and mandatory actions to build upon and enhance
opportunities for consumer choice are necessary to achieve State
environmental, public health, climate policy and economic goals;
to enhance and animate voluntary retail markets for energy
efficiency, clean energy and renewable resources; to preserve
existing zero-emissions nuclear generation resources as a bridge
to the clean energy future; to ensure a modern and resilient

CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

energy system; and to accomplish its objectives in a fair and
cost-effective manner.

In accordance with the statutory

obligation that agency actions must be reasonably consistent

with the most recent State Energy Plan (SEP), the Commission
adopts the SEP goal that 50% of New Yorks electricity is to be
generated by renewable sources by 2030 as part of a strategy to
reduce statewide greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030.1
In furtherance of that goal, and mindful of the
Commissions role as a State regulator sharing jurisdiction with
the federal government, in this Order the Commission also adopts
a Clean Energy Standard (CES) consistent with the SEP goal,
including: (a) program and market structures to encourage
consumer-initiated clean energy purchases or investments; (b)
obligations on load serving entities to financially support new
renewable generation resources to serve their retail customers;
(c) a requirement for regular renewable energy credit (REC)
procurement solicitations; (d) obligations on distribution
utilities on behalf of all retail customers to continue to
financially support the maintenance of certain existing at-risk
small hydro, wind and biomass generation attributes; (e) a
program to maximize the value potential of new offshore wind
resources; and (f) obligations on load serving entities to
financially support the preservation of existing at-risk nuclear
zero-emissions attributes to serve their retail customers.

By Executive Order, it is also a goal of the State of New York

to reduce current greenhouse gas emissions from all sources
within the State 80% below levels emitted in the year 1990 by
the year 2050. Executive Order No. 24 (2009) [9 N.Y.C.R.R.
7.24; continued, Executive Order No. 2 (2011) 9 N.Y.C.R.R.
8.2].
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State Policy Goals
New York has adopted strongly proactive policies to
combat climate change and modernize the electric system to
improve the efficiency, affordability, resiliency, and
sustainability of the system.

One of the primary benefits of

the CES will be a reduction in total emissions of air pollutants

resulting from fossil fuel combustion.

Increasing the

contribution of renewable generation to meet the 50 by 30

mandate will not only reduce carbon emissions, but will reduce
nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter
emissions as well by thousands of tons per year.

Increased use

of renewable energy sources leads to improved air quality and

societal benefits from reduced health impacts and increased
employee productivity.

For example, as air quality improves,

state health care expenditures for treatment of asthma, acute

bronchitis, and respiratory conditions may be reduced.

Reduced

exposure to fine particulates may avoid other health problems

such as increased morbidity and exacerbation of respiratory and
cardiovascular ailments.
The CES adds to the regulatory and retail market
changes that New York is already pursuing under its Reforming
the Energy Vision (REV) program.

Through existing initiatives,

clean energy resources including energy efficiency, distributed

energy, advanced storage and load control technologies are being
integrated into the system to promote a modern, resilient and
cost-effective network.

As the Commissions stated in its 2013

initiating Order, the time has come to integrate clean energy as

core, as opposed to ancillary, to our energy systems.

Unlike in

even the recent past, advancements in the capabilities of

resources such as wind, solar and storage to work in
combination, both on the bulk power system and behind the meter,
results in the ability to develop and operate the grid to be
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CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

more responsive, efficient, secure and clean.

Through better

pricing and retail market design, New York is positioning itself

to create a two-way fully transactive electric system that uses
demand and clean energy as solutions that drive consumer value
and choice.

As noted in the order approving the Clean Energy

Fund, a significant aspect of gaining this value is ensuring

that markets are created that have the scale and scope to
attract investment and reduce costs.

The CES provides both.

For New York, the need and ability to take steps to

combat climate change is immediate.

New Yorks vulnerability to

extreme weather events was vividly illustrated in 2011 and 2012

by the storms Sandy, Irene, and Lee.

These storms, however,

were only the most visible warning signs.

Climate change will

cause not only sea level rise, heat waves, and extreme weather
events, but also threatens massive economic and lifestyle
disruption from damage to agriculture, water resources, public
health, energy and communication systems, and the natural
ecosystems that define and support communities.2
Nationally, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
estimates that in the absence of emission reductions and
adaptation measures, damage to U.S. coastal property by 2100
will exceed $5 trillion.3

Power outages caused by severe weather

See Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, 2014:

Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report, Contribution of Working
Groups I, II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; Case 14-M-0101,
Reforming the Energy Vision, Final Generic Environmental
Impact Statement, Chapter Three (February 6, 2015); and New
York State Climate Action Plan Interim Report, Chapter Two
(November 9, 2010).

EPA 2015. Climate Change in the United States: Benefits of

Global Action. United States Environmental Protection Agency,
Office of Atmospheric Programs, EPA 430-R-15-001.
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between 2003 and 2012 are estimated to have already cost the
U.S. economy an annual average of $18 billion to $33 billion.4
Another weather event that revealed the vulnerability
of New Yorks energy system was the polar vortex of January,
2014, which resulted in severe price spikes for gas and electric
customers.

In that event, the vulnerability was due to a

prolonged and extremely cold weather system coupled with overreliance on natural gas for both heating fuel and electric
production.

Electric customers suffered terribly from a streak

of cold weather that increased prices by more than $2 billion

over a three-month period.5

The price increases were especially

challenging to businesses and low-income and fixed-income

customers.6
The 2015 SEP recognizes the importance of ensuring
that New Yorks power system is modern, clean, and diverse.

It

concludes that to achieve these objectives, 50% of all

electricity used in New York by 2030 should be generated from
renewable sources.7

The SEP goal for renewable electricity is in

the context of broader clean energy and economic development

goals: 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, 50% renewable
electricity, and 600 trillion Btu in energy efficiency gains.
An overwhelming majority of parties to the CES proceeding, as
well as thousands of public comments, support the renewable
4

Economic Benefits of Increasing Electric Grid Resilience to

Weather Outages, Presidents Council of Economic Advisers and
the U.S. Department of Energys Office of Electricity Delivery
and Energy Reliability, with assistance from the White House
Office of Science and Technology, August 2013.

This figure is mitigated for some customers by hedged

contracts although the extent of hedging value during that
period is not known.

Northeastern Winter Natural Gas and Electricity Issues, U.S.

EIA, January 7, 2014.

The Energy to Lead, 2015 New York State Energy Plan, p.112.
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resource objectives of the SEP.
are aggressive.

The goals directed in the SEP

Ambitious goals are needed, however, to provide

scale to the industry and impetus to markets.

Moreover, given

the urgent challenge of climate change, the SEP goals should be

considered the minimum to be achieved, not the maximum.
Consistent with these realities and with the States policy
objectives, including the actions the Commission has already
taken under the REV program, the Commission finds in this Order
that achieving a fifty percent renewable goal by 2030 is not
only achievable but is an imperative of the Commission meeting
its statutory responsibilities.
By letter of December 2, 2015, Governor Andrew Cuomo
directed the Department of Public Service Staff (Staff) to
develop and propose a CES that if adopted would convert the SEP
goals into enforceable requirements.

Staff filed its White

Paper on Clean Energy Standard (White Paper or Staff Proposal)

on January 25, 2016.

This Order addresses the Staff proposal,

the parties written filings, and the outpouring of public

comments that have followed the Staff proposal.

In this Order,

the Commission adopts a CES consistent with the SEP goal.

The 50 by 30 goal is not only part of a larger
greenhouse gas goal, it is part of the States sweeping
initiative to transform the way energy is produced, delivered,
and consumed.

REV encompasses many interrelated initiatives,

through which energy efficiency and clean energy development

achieve

not only carbon reduction but also market animation

and grid modernization.

beyond the Commission.

There are many participants in REV

The New York Power Authority (NYPA) and

the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA), for example, will

participate in the CES not only to conform to a carbon
requirement but to engage in an integrated statewide policy.

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CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

The programs and retail market design elements
approved to implement the CES conform to the Commissions
objectives of using free consumer choice as the first mechanism
to achieve this goal, but balanced by regulatory action and
government activities that will ensure such market animation by
establishing firm and clear targets, reducing barriers to entry,
supporting economies of scale, and establishing a mechanism to
ensure that regardless of the pace of self-initiating consumer
actions, New York consumers will be well positioned to meet the
States necessary climate goals in a fair and cost effective
manner.

The CES is an ambitious but necessary response to the

challenges of climate change and modernizing the electric

system.

By this Order, the Commission further advances the

achievement of the broad set of industry reforms under REV and

adopts significant carbon reducing measures.
The CES, along with REV, will benefit New York energy
consumers and the overall economy by encouraging new investments
in the State, maintaining existing jobs, and attracting capital
from outside the State.

It reflects a comprehensive and

balanced approach to the challenges of climate change and the

opportunities presented by a transforming electric industry.
Customer Choice
Under REV, the Commission initiated regulatory and
retail market reforms to ensure the regulated distribution
utility companies, the competitive energy and distributed energy
providers, and the complementary actions of the State energy
entities, including the New York State Energy Research and
Development Authority (NYSERDA), NYPA and LIPA, are linked
through the uniform goal of promoting consumer choice through
competition and innovation as the chief vehicles of integrating
clean energy into the fabric of a two-way integrated, efficient,

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CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

reliable and resilient modern New York electric power industry.8
The reforms being implemented in REV are designed to ensure that
over time, all New York electric customers will have unfettered
access to clean, efficient, reliable and resilient power.

The

REV policies are also looking to advance energy democracy by

facilitating meaningful consumer choice so that regardless of
income, location, or living structure, all consumers have the
ability to choose the type of supply they want and how much they
want to consume.

Similarly, the SEP goals address concerns that

affect all New Yorkers.

The CES obligations to conform to a

resource mix and the benefits they will bring should be shared
by all energy consumers regardless of their energy supplier.
While all suppliers are not subject to the Commissions
jurisdiction, the Commission is looking to all suppliers,
including NYPA, LIPA and all others, to participate by
satisfying their requisite share of responsibility.
These energy policies are also reflecting the fact
that New Yorkers are concerned about the natural environment and
when they have the choice and financial opportunity, many New
Yorkers will gladly choose the more environmentally benign
resource.9

Energy efficiency, voluntary green energy purchases,

and other market responses to REV will contribute towards the

SEP goals.

The public in New York is increasingly asserting its

desire and preference for clean energy solutions.

The

Commission is compelled to ensure that New Yorkers are able to

reveal their preference for clean energy by first giving them
full opportunity to choose solutions that meet their individual

Case 14-M-0101, Reforming the Energy Vision.

For example, an April 2016 survey conducted by The Nature

Conservancy indicated that a majority of New Yorkers in the
survey were willing to pay higher costs for renewable
electricity.
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CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

needs and advance the greater public interest.

The CES must

encourage individual customer choice that exceeds the States

objectives.

Business and individual customers voluntarily

choosing to become more energy efficient, and to deploy or buy

economic clean energy resources are New Yorks most valuable
asset towards achieving the SEP goals.

Under well-designed

products and regulatory structures, the value of those choices

will only grow.
Jurisdiction and Markets
Under the system of federalism, governmental power is
divided between the national or federal government and the
governments of the states.

The federally-designed wholesale

markets operated by the New York Independent System Operator

(NYISO) pursuant to tariffs approved by the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (FERC) are by law fuel-neutral and do not
value resources based upon their environmental attributes or
their ability to offer a fuel diversity hedge.

Public interest

determinations of fuel type and resource adequacy are

specifically reserved to the states.

As the laboratories of

democracy,10 it is welcomed that many states are advancing the

achievement of our Nations clean energy objectives by
demonstrating through retail electric power market innovation
various mechanisms available to encourage clean energy.

Today

at least twenty-nine states, including New York, serve this

public interest through resource portfolio standards.

In recent

years, many jurisdictions including California, Oregon, Hawaii,

District of Columbia, Vermont, and Maine have adopted renewable
goals consistent with New Yorks adoption of the CES.

10

A concept described by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis

Brandeis in New State Ice Co. v. Liebmann, 285 U.S. 262
(1932).
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CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

Therefore, while the CES places New York in a leadership
position among states, it is not a fully unilateral action.
The mechanisms any state applies to best meet its
clean energy goals are inextricably tied to the design of power
markets in that state and their participation in federally
regulated wholesale markets.

In states with traditional fully-

integrated utilities that are simultaneously responsible for the

generation, distribution and retail sales functions, utilities
bear the obligation directly to meet clean energy goals and
fulfill them consistent with their obligation to serve.

In

California where the wholesale generation sector is competitive

and supervised by the California ISO, but distribution and
retail sales remain a utility function, clean energy obligations
are met by the utilities by purchasing clean energy from
independent generators for distribution and retail sale by the
utility.

Finally, in states which fully restructured and permit

both wholesale and retail competition, clean energy standards

have primarily been met through the development of REC markets
that are reflective of the presence of competition and
associated reluctance by retail suppliers to enter into supply
purchase obligations that are incongruous with their short-term
retail contracts.

The obligation to meet clean energy goals

falls on the individual retail commodity supplier that must

either purchase sufficient RECs to cover its obligations or make
a generally higher-priced Alternative Compliance Payment (ACP)
to a central authority.
New York, a state that is fully restructured, has
historically met its clean energy goals through a unique system
that treated the compliance obligation as a delivery function of
the distribution utility with RECs centrally-procured for the
utilities by NYSERDA in long-term contracts intended to provide
greater certainty to generators and corresponding lower REC
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costs for consumers.

Renewable resource generation facilities

are long-lived capital assets that will only be financed and

constructed if the investor building them can be assured of a
reasonable opportunity to recover its costs.

Generally, long-

term contracts or other durable mechanisms are necessary to

provide sufficient certainty for prospective investors to induce
them to make the investment.

By this Order, the Commission

retains the benefit of New Yorks unique central procurement

system while shifting the obligation for compliance from the
distribution utility to the retail commodity supplier load
serving entity (LSE), where it naturally belongs.
Cost Containment
The Commission must ensure that the actions it takes
in pursuing the States energy policy objectives rest soundly
within its jurisdictional responsibilities.

The existing

electric system was designed at a time where the monopolistic

regulatory structure reflected the domination of capital
intensive long-lived assets, central station supply and the
reality of inelastic demand.

And while the structure of the

industry including the asset base is changing, the Commission

anticipates that the transformed modern electric system will
continue to be capital intensive and long-lived.

For that

reason, markets and regulatory actions to promote markets must

always be mindful of the need to retain and build investor
confidence.

The design of the CES is intended to retain and

create investor confidence in this sector both for existing and

new investors through the avoidance of actions that are abrupt,
unfair and otherwise fail to provide sufficient clarity and
certainty to offer investors sufficient confidence.

As the

economic regulator, the Commission deeply understands that

investor confidence yields consumer benefits through encouraging

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capital deployment, competition and lower overall financing
expense.
Further, as the chief State agency with the experience
and obligation of protecting consumer interests in an industry
so affected with the broad public interest, the Commission is
statutorily compelled to act in a manner that ensures that it is
effective in ensuring that both during the transformation of the
industry and in achieving the transformed industry that the
energy sector in New York remains safe, cost-effective,
reliable, resilient and protective of the natural environment.
Cost containment and investor confidence will be achieved
through a range of measures, including direct program elements
(e.g., an alternative compliance mechanism), closely-related
cost reduction programs such as aggressive pursuit of energy
efficiency, and a deep transformation of the electric industry,
which is needed to move beyond the inefficiencies of the
traditional electric system and regulatory structure, as
described in previous REV orders.
Program Elements
In this Order the Commission adopts a goal that 50% of
electricity consumed in New York by 2030 will be generated from
renewable sources.

The Commission identifies numerous avenues

for achieving the goal, including:

Existing State-owned renewable attributes including NYPA

hydropower as well as projects funded through the
Renewable Portfolio Standard and NY-Sun;

Aggressive pursuit of cost-effective energy efficiency,

established through market initiatives and the Clean
Energy Fund, with guidance from the Clean Energy Advisory
Council;

Consumer-initiated green energy purchases or investments,

which will be encouraged through market-based incentives
and a transparent certification program;
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A continued obligation and opportunity for utilities to

ensure that low-income consumers have access to clean
energy alternatives that help them reduce their energy
burden and improve the environment;

A program to maximize the value potential of offshore

wind, designed and sponsored by NYSERDA in cooperation
with the federal government, industry, and an interagency task force;

Actions to reduce soft costs of development, including

measures to reduce the cost and enhance the speed and
predictability of interconnection and siting;

Jurisdictional obligations on load serving entities to

ensure the procurement of renewable credits generated in
New York or delivered into New York;

Jurisdictional maintenance obligations on distribution

utilities to maintain the contributions of older, small,
renewable facilities;

Long Island Power Authority actions for its retail

customers in concert with a broader range of REV
initiatives;

New York Power Authority actions for its retail customers

in concert with a broader range of REV initiatives;

Continued actions by the State and State entities as

energy users to individually exceed the standard through
their energy development and purchasing activities; and

Continued participation and leadership in the Regional

Green House Gas Initiative (RGGI) and support of
universal complementary federal action under the Clean
Power Plan.
Commission action on the CES will be comprised of this

Order and subsequent implementation orders.

This Order also

enumerates implementation details to be proposed by Staff,

subject to public comment, and to be considered and resolved by
the Commission in the implementation phase.
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The CES is divided

CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

into a Renewable Energy Standard (RES) and a Zero-Emissions
Credit (ZEC) requirement.
Renewable Energy Standard
Tier 1 - New Renewable Resources
Tier 1 consists of an obligation imposed upon every
LSE.

LSEs comprise all entities serving retail load within a

regulated utility territory.

This includes investor-owned

distribution utilities, energy service companies (ESCOs),

Community Choice Aggregation programs (CCAs) not served by
ESCOs, and jurisdictional municipal utilities.

Retail customers

self-supplying through the New York Independent System Operator

will also be considered LSEs for this purpose.
In this Order, the Commission requires each New York
LSE11 to serve their retail customers by procuring new renewable
resources, evidenced by the procurement of qualifying RECs,
acquired in the following proportions of the total load served
by the LSE for the years 2017 through 2021:

Year
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021

Percentage
of LSE Total
Load
0.6%
1.1%
2.0%
3.4%
4.8%

Over time through a triennial review process, the

Commission will adopt incrementally larger percentages for the
years 2022 through 2030, with sufficient lead time for the LSEs

11

This discussion assumes participation by LIPA and NYPA

customers. As described more fully below, the load forecasts
used to set targets account for historic behind-the-meter
generation and incremental annual energy efficiency
achievements.
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to incorporate the changes into their planning processes.

As

part of the implementation phase the Commission directs staff to

develop a possible scenario for acquisitions up to 2030.

The

Commission recognizes that the actual procurement requirements

will depend upon a number of exogenous market factors, and thus
should only be taken as a potential guide, not a schedule.

The

periodic review and target setting will also take into account
the balance of likely incremental supply with demand.

Based on

current forecasts of future loads, the above percentages will

yield the following MWhs of output from new renewable resources:

Statewide Yield (MWhs)

Year

Distribution
Utilities &
ESCOs

2017

Direct
Customers

Statewide
Total

LIPA

NYPA

705,595

120,244

139,225

8,936

974,000

2018

1,261,429

214,967

248,900

15,975

1,741,270

2019

2,263,192

385,682

446,563

28,662

3,124,100

2020

3,841,197

654,599

757,928

48,647

5,302,371

2021

5,455,424

929,688

1,076,440

69,090

7,530,642

Baseline
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021

Renewable
Resource
MWhs
41,296,000
42,270,000
43,037,270
44,420,100
46,598,371
48,826,642

-15-

Percentage
Renewable
Resources
25.71%
26.32%
26.81%
27.69%
29.08%
30.54%

CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

The LSEs will be able to meet their obligations by
purchasing RECs from NYSERDA, by purchasing qualified RECs from
other sources, or by making Alternative Compliance Payments to
NYSERDA.

Resources eligible to produce RECs will be resources

that came into operation after January 1, 2015, and that meet
the eligibility criteria set forth in Appendix A.
This Order also provides for NYSERDA to conduct
regularly scheduled solicitations for the long-term procurement
of RECs to achieve the following anticipated and minimum results
for the years 2017 through 2021:12

Year

Anticipated
Procurement
Target
(MWh)

Minimum
Procurement
Target
(MWh)*

2017

1,966,449

1,769,804

2018

2,022,004

1,819,804

2019

2,077,560

1,869,804

2020

2,133,116

1,919,804

2021

2,188,671

1,969,804

* Assumes a 10% attrition rate from the Anticipated

Procurement Target

As noted above, the statewide procurement of new

large-scale renewable generation expected to result from Tier 1
during the period 2017 to 2021 is 9,347,020 MWh, or
approximately 1,869,400 MWh per year.

This is over two times

the level of large-scale renewable generation that was procured

through Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) solicitations during
the period 2011 to 2015, which averaged 788,600 MWh per year.

12

This discussion also assumes participation by LIPA and NYPA

customers.
-16-

CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

NYSERDA will thus acquire, annually, sufficient RECs to meet the
entire electric demand of approximately 240,859 homes.
Consistent with the policy established in the Clean
Energy Fund, the cost of Tier 1 REC procurement will not result
in new charges to delivery customers; all charges will be to
commodity customers.

If periodic review of REC procurement

reveals that REC demand is not being supplied at reasonable

prices, procurement methods and this objective will be
reconsidered.
The Commissions further objective is to ensure that
in its totality the CES achieves the goals of a reliable clean
energy industry in a cost-effective manner.

Measures to achieve

this will include:

The continued use of long tenure REC procurement;

An Alternative Compliance Mechanism which will cap the

potential cost of RECs on an annual basis;

Banking of excess RECs for use in future years;

Establishing markets for voluntary green products;13 and

Periodic review of the program to ensure best practices

are followed, that balance is maintained between supply
and demand, and to establish firm minimum targets.
Tier 2 - Maintenance Tier
At this time, there is no necessity for Tiers 2a and 2b

as proposed in the Staff White Paper.

The categories for REC

support payments in Staffs proposal are either premature,

unnecessary, or already provided for under the current
maintenance program.

For those resources such as small hydro

that may retire without additional support for their

13

LIPA and NYPA are also anticipated to develop such market

opportunities.
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CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

environmental benefits, Tier 2 as adopted in this Order will
consist of a maintenance program as existed under the RPS.
Staff is directed to develop and recommend for Commission
consideration as part of an implementation plan whether there
should be changes to the maintenance program to align support
with zero-emissions facilities.

For resources that are

currently under NYSERDA contracts but might export their power

to another state at the end of the contract period and
jeopardize achievement of the 2030 target, the Commission will
monitor their activities and consider action at a later time if
necessary.
Offshore Wind
Achieving a de-carbonized electric system for the
long-term, with reliable generation and an economically
sustainable capacity factor, will inevitably depend on a mixture
of technologies and combinations that are not fully developed at
this time.

New York is fortunate to have substantial potential

for offshore wind production and with appropriate time, careful

planning and deliberate action, the State has the opportunity to
exploit its geographic advantage to develop offshore wind and
promote the beneficial attendant economic activity associated
with this burgeoning industry.

In order to maximize the

potential for offshore wind, in addition to the actions taken in

this Order, the Commission is requesting NYSERDA to identify the
appropriate mechanisms the Commission and the State may wish to
consider to achieve this objective.

Through this additional

work and the actions the Commission is promoting in this Order,

a future is being enabled where older, less efficient plants in
New York are replaced exclusively with clean energy resources,
including higher capacity factor offshore wind and
renewable/storage combinations.

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CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

Zero-Emissions Credit Requirement
Tier 3, the independent but related component of the
CES concerns the States nuclear facilities.

New Yorks total

electric generation mix in 2014 was 37% gas, 31% nuclear, 23.5%
hydro, 4.5% coal, 3.5% wind, solar, biomass and biogas, 1.3%
solid waste, and 0.4% oil.

New Yorks upstate nuclear plants

avoid the emission of over 15 million tons of carbon dioxide per

year.

Based on current market conditions, losing the carbon-

free attributes of this generation before the development of new

renewable resources between now and 2030, would undoubtedly
result in significantly increased air emissions due to heavier
reliance on existing fossil-fueled plants or the construction of
new gas plants to replace the supplanted energy.

The added

emissions would complicate the States compliance with likely

federal carbon standards and would result in dangerously higher
reliance on natural gas, radically reducing the States fuel
diversity.

Such reduced fuel diversity could affect system

reliability and price stability, making consumers more

vulnerable to natural gas and concomitant electric price spikes.
The loss would also have other significant adverse economic
impacts on State energy consumers and the State as a whole.

New

York can look to another leader in renewable power Germany

for a lesson in the unintended consequences of losing zeroemissions attributes from all its nuclear plants.

Germanys

abrupt closure of all its nuclear plants resulted in a large

increase in the use of coal, causing total carbon emissions to
rise despite an aggressive increase in solar generation.
The Order establishes a mechanism and a price for
zero-emissions attributes of nuclear zero-carbon electric
generating facilities where public necessity to encourage the
continued creation of the attributes is demonstrated.

NYSERDA

will offer qualifying nuclear facilities a multi-year contract

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CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

for the purchase of ZECs.

For facilities that demonstrate

public necessity and are awarded contracts prior to April 1,

2017, the contract period will run from April 1, 2017 through
March 31, 2029.

The ZEC price for these contracts will be

$17.48 per MWh for the first two-year tranche designated Tranche
1.

The ZEC price would be adjusted every two years for Tranches

2 through 6 in accordance with the formula articulated in this

Order, which is based on the social cost of carbon.

Facilities

subsequently demonstrating public necessity will be offered

contracts at a ZEC price calculated by the formula established
by this Order.
Each LSE that serves end-use customers in New York
will be required, beginning April 1, 2017, for the benefit of
the electric system, its customers and the environment, to
purchase the percentage of ZECs purchased by NYSERDA in a year
that represents the portion of the electric energy load served
by the LSE in relation to the total electric energy load served
by all such LSEs.

LSEs will make ZEC purchases by contract with

NYSERDA and will recover costs from ratepayers through commodity

charges on customer bills.
The ZEC mechanism adopted in this Order is the best
way for the State to preserve the nuclear units environmental
attributes while staying within the States jurisdictional
boundaries.

ZECs provide a vehicle for monetizing the States

environmental preferences and the program will allow time for

new clean energy technologies to mature and take their place in
the ultimate generation mix.

The independent renewable resource

and ZEC obligations that together make up the CES each

contribute uniquely to serving the long-term goal of achieving a
largely de-carbonized energy system by the middle of the
century.

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CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

II. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
This Order is a continuation of a series of Commission
and State actions to increase the use of renewable electric
generation and reduce the production of greenhouse gasses.

In

2004, the Commission adopted a Renewable Portfolio Standard

designed to achieve total renewable generation of 25% by 2013.14
In 2008, the Commission adopted an Energy Efficiency Portfolio
Standard (EEPS) designed to reduce total electricity consumption
in the state 15% by 2015.

Reduction of greenhouse gasses was

one of the principal goals of the EEPS initiative.15

Also in

2008, New Yorks Department of Environmental Conservation

adopted a rule to establish the Regional Greenhouse Gas
Initiative (RGGI).

Through RGGI, New York, along with eight

other Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states, set a cap on total

carbon dioxide emissions from electric generating facilities
within the region.16

In December 2009, the Commission expanded

the RPS goal to 30% by 2015.17

On February 26, 2015, in its REV proceeding, the
Commission directed a reassessment of New Yorks approach for
encouraging the expansion of large scale renewable energy

14

Case 03-E-0188, Retail Renewable Portfolio Standard, Order

Regarding Retail Renewable Portfolio Standard (issued
September 24, 2004).

15

Case 07-M-0548, Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard, Order

Establishing Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard and
Approving Programs (issued June 23, 2008), p. 2.

16

6 NYCRR Part 242, CO2 Budget Trading Program; 21 NYCRR Part

507, CO2 Allowance Auction Program.

17

Case 03-E-0188, Retail Renewable Portfolio Standard, Order

Establishing New RPS Goal and Resolving Main Tier Issues
(issued January 8, 2010).
-21-

CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

generation.18

On June 1, 2015, the Secretary issued a notice

instituting this proceeding, and Staff filed a Large Scale

Renewable Energy Development in New York Options and Assessment
(Options Paper) prepared by NYSERDA.

Forty-eight comments were

filed on the Options Paper and 14 replies.

As noted, on June 25, 2015, the State Energy Planning
Board adopted the SEP.

The SEP calls for 50% of New Yorks

electricity to be generated by renewable sources by 2030, as

part of a strategy to reduce statewide greenhouse gas emissions
by 40% by 2030.19

This goal exceeds the targets and caps

established in the RPS and RGGI.20

The State Energy Law requires that agency actions must
be reasonably consistent with the most recent State Energy
Plan.21

Further, on December 2, 2015, Governor Cuomo instructed

the Department of Public Service (DPS) to begin implementing the

States goal of 50% renewable electricity by 2030.22

On January

21, 2016, the Commission expanded the scope of this proceeding

to implement the 50% renewables by 2030 goal, and maintenance of

18

Case 14-M-0101, Reforming the Energy Vision, Order Adopting

Regulatory Policy Framework and Implementation Plan (issued
February 26, 2015), p. 83.

19

2015 Energy Plan, Vol. I, p. 112.

20

The States climate change initiatives are paralleled by

federal and international developments. On December 22, 2015,
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency adopted the Clean
Power Plan which requires states to implement carbon emission
reduction plans. On December 12, 2015, an international
climate change accord was approved, including commitments from
the United States.

21

New York Energy Law 6-104(5)(b).

22

Letter from Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to Audrey Zibelman, CEO,

New York State Department of Public Service, December 2, 2105
(Cuomo Letter) available at
https://www.governor.ny.gov/sites/governor.ny.gov/files/atoms/
files/Renewable_Energy_Letter.pdf.
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CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

certain nuclear plants.23

On the same date, the Commission

adopted the social cost of carbon, less the RGGI value already
internalized, as a component of externality values that could
not otherwise be calculated.24 The Commission further expanded
the instant proceeding on February 24, 2016 to consider an
expedited program to maintain the viability of certain nuclear
power plants in order to maintain their zero-emissions
characteristics.25
Staff filed its White Paper on January 25, 2016.

One

hundred and five comments were filed on the White Paper and 34
replies.

On April 8, 2016, Staff filed a Cost Study regarding

the White Paper (Cost Study or Study), and on April 12th a

Supplement to the Cost Study.
the Cost Study.

Twenty-six comments were filed on

On July 8, 2016, Staffs Responsive Proposal

for Preserving Zero-Emissions Attributes (Staff's Responsive

Proposal) was filed.
to that filing.

Thirty-two comments were filed in response

A summary of comments on the White Paper, Cost

Study, and Staff's Responsive Proposal is attached as Appendix

B.
The written comment process has been supplemented by
an extensive series of public hearings and technical
conferences.

Staff convened five on-the-record technical

conferences with active participation from a range of diverse

stakeholder perspectives.

The technical conferences focused on

various topics included in the White Paper and Cost Study in

23

Case 15-E-0302, Clean Energy Standard, Order Expanding Scope

of Proceeding and Seeking Comments (issued January 21, 2016).

24

Case 14-M-0101, Reforming the Energy Vision, Order

Establishing the Benefit Cost Analysis Framework (issued
January 21, 2016), p. 18.

25

Case 15-E-0302, supra, Order Further Expanding Scope of

Proceeding and Seeking Comments (issued February 24, 2016).
-23-

CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

order to further discuss and investigate issues pertinent to
development of the Clean Energy Standard.
Twenty-four public statement hearings where conducted
across the state during the months of May and June to provide
interested individuals and stakeholders the opportunity to
comment on the Clean Energy Standard proposal.

Over 3,500

comments have been submitted to the Commissions public comment

website since the proceeding was expanded to consider the Clean
Energy Standard proposal.

In addition, at one of the public

statement hearings, the Sierra Club presented 11,000 written

public comments for inclusion into the record.

Public comments

have been overwhelmingly supportive of the CES initiative in

general,26 with commenters mixed on the inclusion of nuclear
facilities, as described below.
A parallel process that will be affected by the
implementation of the CES is the development of the State
Resource Plan (SRP).27

The Department of Public Service

initiated the SRP in 2014 to determine bulk power system actions

(e.g., procurement of additional regulation service,
transmission) that will need to be taken to accommodate
increased penetration of weather-variable resources in the
supply mix.

A base case will be evaluated to determine the

potential electric resource needs for 2024 and 2030 under

business-as-usual conditions.

Then a policy scenario will be

evaluated to determine the potential electric resource needs to

26

The Nature Conservancy also conducted a survey of New Yorkers,

as described in party comments, which indicated broad support
for increased investment in renewable energy sources.

27

The SRP working group consists of Staff, NYSERDA, the

Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Utility
Intervention Unit of the Department of State, the NYISO, and
the major New York transmission owners.
-24-

CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

meet the CES goal and federal requirements.

SRP results will be

taken into account in the ongoing review of the CES.

These proceedings have occurred against the backdrop
of the overall REV initiative, which is the States sweeping
reform of the manner in which electricity will be generated,
distributed, and consumed.

REV intends to transform the

century-old paradigm of a centralized, unidirectional utility

system that is built to serve inelastic demand and be
compensated through cost-of-service ratemaking.

Under REV,

system efficiency and customer value will be driven by markets

and by new business and regulatory models that encourage the
integration of distributed resources including generation,
demand response, and energy efficiency.
III. NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING
Pursuant to the State Administrative Procedure
Act (SAPA) 202(1), Notices of Proposed Rulemaking regarding
various aspects of the Commissions consideration of the CES
were published on January 27, 2016 [SAPA No. 15-E-0302SP1];
March 16, 2016 [SAPA No. 15-E-0302SP2]; April 20, 2016 [SAPA
Nos. 15-E-0302SP3 and 15-E-0302SP4] and May 25, 2016 [SAPA No.
16-E-0270SP1]).

In addition, a Notice Soliciting Comments and

Providing for a Technical Conference and Public Statement

Hearings was issued January 26, 2016, establishing initial and
reply comment periods, which were later extended.28

A Notice of

Comment Period for the Staff White Paper and Cost Study was
issued April 8, 2016.

On July 8, 2016, a Notice Soliciting

Additional Comments was issued regarding Staffs Responsive

28

See Case 15-E-0302, et al., supra, Notice Extending Comment

Period (issued March 8, 2016); Notice Extending Reply Comment
Period (issued April 29, 2016); Notice Extending Deadline for
Comments (issued July 15, 20).
-25-

CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

Proposal for Preserving Zero-Emissions Attributes.

Final

comments in these proceedings were due July 22, 2016.29

As noted

above and discussed below, numerous comments were received from

parties and the general public and have been relied upon to
inform this decision.
IV. STAFF PROPOSALS, COST STUDY, AND PARTY COMMENTS
A. Renewable Standard: Obligation of Participating Entities
1. Staff Proposal
a. Jurisdictional Entities.
Staff proposes specific goals for MWh of renewable
energy for 2017-2020, with subsequent goals to be established in
triennial reviews.

Achievement of the goals would be the

responsibility of all LSEs serving retail load in the territory

of electric distribution companies (EDCs).

LSEs are defined as

investor-owned utilities (in their capacity as commodity

suppliers), jurisdictional municipal utilities, and all
competitive ESCOs.

Each LSE would be responsible for supplying

a defined percentage of retail load with supply derived from

eligible resources during each calendar year (Compliance Year).
Staff explains that this approach is already used by
other Northeastern states with restructured retail markets.

It

has the advantage of placing compliance costs primarily in the

generation supply charges, which sends the most direct price
signal and reduces the need for charges on the delivery bill.
The LSE obligation would also promote REV objectives by
encouraging ESCOs to develop innovative products to increase
customer options and reduce customer costs.
The CES obligation for each LSE would be determined by
multiplying its MWh load obligation by the renewable percentage
29

Case 15-E-0302, et al., supra, Notice Extending Comment

Deadline (issued July 15, 2016).
-26-

CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

CES target for that year.

Each LSE would be required to meet

its obligation for each tier within each Compliance Year.30

A number of large institutions and customers take
power directly from the NYISO.

These end-use, direct NYISO

customers are LSEs in their own right and are subject to the CES
obligation.
b. Non-Jurisdictional Entities.
Staff states that NYPA and LIPA are expected to adopt
renewable and non-emitting energy targets that are proportional
to their load.

This includes municipal utilities and rural

cooperatives that obtain their full requirements from NYPA.

The

CES obligation of jurisdictional entities would be calculated

under the assumption that NYPA and LIPA are adopting their
proportional shares of the statewide goals.
2. Party Comments
Parties overwhelmingly support the basic goals of the
CES initiative.

Along with environmental advocates and clean

energy industries, utilities and most consumer and citizen

groups recognize the need for the CES.

With few exceptions,

party comments relate to how, not whether, to implement the 50

by 30 goal.31

The LSE mandate as a foundational approach to CES

implementation is generally supported, although most of the

discussion is framed in terms of the need for and approach to
long-term contracts, described below.

The Clean Energy

Organization Collaborative (CEOC) and Environmental Defense Fund

(EDF) support the LSE mandate in particular, because it would

30

Staffs proposal regarding tiers is discussed below.

31

The Business Council questions whether the CES goal can be

achieved without damaging the states economy. The Green
Education and Legal Fund argue that the 50 by 30 goal is
inadequate to address the urgency of climate change and a 100%
goal should be adopted.
-27-

CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

hold market participants directly accountable, and it would
reflect compliance costs in energy commodity charges.
Three EDCs filing jointly as the Companies32 describe
the potential for CES to overlap with other forms of payments
for renewables including non-wires-alternative projects, net
metering, and voluntary green products.

The Companies emphasize

the importance of coordinating so that customers do not pay more

than once for the same benefit.

The Companies also urge that

the CES obligation apply to self-generating microgrids.

EDF

notes that self-generating fossil units not connected to the

grid would not be encompassed within the CES mandate, and that
distributed generation must be measured with precision in order
not to encourage either polluting generation that escapes the
mandate or clean generation that is not properly credited.
Three utility EDCs filing as the Indicated Joint Utilities
(IJU)33 argue that projects receiving net metering should
transfer any REC value they receive to the host utility in order
to avoid an excess payment.
The Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA) proposes a
fundamentally different approach to carbon reduction that
recognizes environmental advantages of gas.

The General

Electric Company (GE) also argues that carbon benefits of

natural gas should be accounted for.

The Entergy entities

(Entergy) also oppose the renewables approach to the CES and

argue that a source-neutral carbon-intensity standard is the
most effective was to reduce carbon emissions.

32

The Companies are New York State Electric & Gas Corporation
(NYSEG), Rochester Gas and Electric Corporation (RG&E) and
Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation (Central Hudson).

33

The Indicated Joint Utilities are Consolidated Edison, Orange

and Rockland, and Niagara Mohawk d/b/a National Grid.
-28-

CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

The Business Council does not oppose the CES but the
Business Council as well as the Manufacturing Association of
Central New York (MACNY) oppose applying the REC obligation to
sales to business customers.

Multiple Intervenors (MI) and the

New York Farm Bureau also express concern about impacts on

energy costs.

MI questions whether the 50 by 30 goal should be

assumed to be a reasonable starting point.

The Retail Energy Supply Association (RESA) has strong
concerns over the LSE mandate, citing fixed price contracts with
customers and long-term supply contracts that have been entered
into without anticipating the additional costs of the LSE
mandate.

NYPA and the New York State Economic Development

Council (NYSEDC) express concern over the potential impact on

NYPAs economic development customers.

MI and Nucor Steel

Auburn, Inc. (Nucor) also argue that application of the LSE

mandate to energy intensive large customers would be counterproductive.

NYPA states that it will work aggressively to

implement its share of the 50 by 30 goal, but that its contracts

do not provide it with flexibility to pass through costs.

NYPA

also states that sales to storage facilities should not be

considered retail sales for purposes of triggering an LSE
obligation to purchase RECs.
The New York Association of Public Power (NYAPP) and
the New York Municipal Power Agency (NYMPA) argue that the CES
mandate should not apply to municipal and cooperative utilities.
The New York Battery Storage Technology Consortium (NYBEST)
supported the CES but proposes that RECs should be supplemented
by Flexible Energy Credits (FLECs) with a separate mandate for
LSEs to acquire FLECs in addition to RECs; Alliance for a Green
Economy (AGREE) supports this proposal.
In response to Staffs request for comments on how to
avoid unintended consequences for beneficial electric end-use
-29-

CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

technologies (BETs) such as geothermal heat pumps and electric
vehicles, the NY Geothermal Energy Organization (NY GEO)
proposes two options: the first option is to not count increased
load from BETs against the LSE requirement; the second option is
to establish Thermal Renewable Energy Certificates (TRECs).

TREC would be generated for every three units of geothermal heat

paired with one unit of electricity.

TRECs are under

consideration in several states.

B. Eligible Resources
1. Staff Proposal
Staff proposes a list of eligible renewable resources
that tracks the list under the current RPS, with an exception
that would eliminate the 30 MW limit on low-impact run-of-river
facilities and allow for larger run-of-river facilities.

The

requirement of no new storage impoundments will remain both for

upgrades and, by definition, for run-of-river facilities.
Out-of-state generation would be eligible if it is
located in a control area adjacent to the NYISO control area,
and if the generation is accompanied by documentation of a
contract path between the generator and the in-state purchaser
that includes transmission rights.

Staff notes that inclusion

of these resources will help to reduce overall costs, and will

also avoid any legal concerns related to interstate commerce.
Staff recognizes that some market activities can have
the effect of reducing carbon while increasing electric demand
(e.g., electric vehicles and geothermal heat pumps).

This

creates a concern that the CES obligation, based on total demand

for electricity, could create a disincentive to the development
of these beneficial uses.
2.

Party Comments

Parties offer a wide range of comments on eligibility.

Many comments submitted by representatives of industries argue
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CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

for the eligibility of their particular products, including
waste-to-energy, biomass, biogas, and hydroelectricity.

The

Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) observes that

there are significant differences among various types of biomass
and biogas generation.

AGREE and the Citizens Environmental

Coalition (CEC) are opposed to many forms of biomass and biogas

eligibility.

Vanguard Renewables seeks to clarify that the

principle difference is between biomass and biogas.

The Cow

Power Coalition and Cornell University agree that biogas

generation from anaerobic digestion should be considered
renewable.

The Energy Recovery Council (ERC) argues that waste-

to-energy should be considered an eligible resource.

Hydro Quebec Energy Services U.S. (HQ) argues that
there should be no limits on large scale hydropower, while a
coalition of Renewable Energy Industries (REI)34 along with the
Sierra Club opposed any inclusion of large scale hydropower.
The Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI) suggests that its
criteria for low-impact hydropower should be used to determine
eligibility.

The NYISO and RESA agree that out-of-state

generation should be eligible.

The Canadian Wind Energy

Association (CanWEA) propose that hydropower eligibility should

be broadened and that transmission projects to deliver wind and
hydro should be solicited as part of the CES.

The Independent

Power Producers of New York (IPPNY) oppose any out-of-state

generation owned by a government entity.

HQ states that it is

government-owned but that it receives no subsidies.

34

REI is a coalition of renewable industry representatives. The

members of REI do not encompass the entire renewable industry.
Further references to REI in this Order are made in
recognition that REI is a functional coalition of industries
with common interests but does not represent all renewable
interests.
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CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

GE supports the inclusion of combined heat and power
(CHP) as well as supply efficiencies that reduce the amount of
fuel needed for fossil generation.

NY BEST argues that storage

should be an eligible technology; AGREE and CEC support this.

AGREE and Otego Microgrid Ratepayers agree with NY GEO that
beneficial electric end uses should be eligible for some form of
benefit to at least ensure that no disincentives for these
technologies are created by the REC requirement.
C. Tiers
1. Staff Proposal
Staff describes that many states with RPS and CES
programs utilize tiers that distinguish among eligible resources
based on factors including vintage and technology, to promote
both growth of new resources and maintenance of existing ones.
For purposes of administrative simplicity, a small number of
broad tiers is preferable; this also encourages competition
among technologies within a tier.

For purposes of minimizing

compliance costs, tiers may need to distinguish among resources

due to differing degrees of needed support.

Co-incentives may

also be used to target specific technologies within a tier,

either because they have a specific public policy value or to
improve the competitive balance within the tier.
Staffs proposal includes a single tier for new
renewable resources, and a second tier for existing generation
that is subdivided in sub-tiers to minimize compliance costs.
third tier is proposed to maintain existing eligible nuclear
facilities.
Tier 1 would include all new resources with an inservice date on or after January 1, 2015.

The categories of

eligible generation sources generally mirror the current Main

Tier of the RPS program.

Co-incentives such as NY Sun would

balance the competitive opportunities within the tier.

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CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

Tier 2 would include existing resources to support
their continued contribution to meeting New York goals.

Because

the cost structures and alternative revenue opportunities of

these resources vary significantly, Staff recommends further
differentiation.
Tier 2a would be the competitive sub-tier intended to
provide sufficient revenue to attract renewable attribute supply
for which New York must compete with other states.

Tier 2a

would include merchant projects not currently receiving state

support, expired RPS Main Tier contracts, and outputs from
current RPS projects that exceed the contracted amounts.
Tier 2b would be the non-competitive sub-tier intended
to provide sufficient revenue to maintain existing renewables
that are not eligible to participate in growth tiers of other
states.

All existing resources that are not eligible under Tier

2a would automatically be included in Tier 2b.

Tier 3 is proposed for nuclear facilities, as
discussed below.

Tier 3 resources do not produce RECs for

purposes of the LSE REC obligation.

2. Party Comments
Many parties including Town of Brookhaven, CEOC,
Citizens for Local Power (CLP), Green Education and Legal Fund,
REI, Otsego 2000 and Pepacton Institute (Pepacton), Deepwater
Wind, and Dong Energy, urge a separate tier for offshore wind.
These parties argue that offshore wind will be essential in
meeting renewable goals and a separate tier would enable
financing and accelerated development.
The City of New York (NYC or the City) strongly
supports the CES initiative but expresses concern over
geographic equity stemming from the fact that downstate
consumers would have to pay for renewable generation that would
have upstate economic benefits.

According to the City, one

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option to address this would be a downstate sub-tier of Tier 1,
with costs socialized across the state in the same manner as the
White Paper describes.

The NYC notes that carbon emissions are

often associated with other more local emissions, and the CES
should provide an opportunity to reduce local emissions in the
concentrated downstate area.
NYC also observes that the multi-tier purchase
requirement could discourage customers who choose to voluntarily
purchase 100% of their supply from new renewables, if those
customers must also purchase a share of RECs and ZECs from Tiers
2 and 3.

IJU also emphasizes that voluntary renewable purchases

in excess of the LSE requirement must be encouraged, not

discouraged, by the CES structure.
The IJU proposes that a separate Tier 4 should be
established for large hydropower supply, so that environmental
attributes can be considered along with the cost structure of
large hydropower.

GE proposes a separate tier for new emerging

technologies, to encourage development of innovative technology

solutions.
Numerous parties representing specific industries
comment on the manner in which the tier structure would affect
their product offerings.

Brookfield Renewables (Brookfield)

argues that existing hydropower should be eligible under Tier 1

as it is in some other states, and that Tier 2 will require
midpoint reviews.

Brookfield also argues that Tiers 2a and 2b

should be merged into a single tier that provides appropriate

compensation to retain all existing renewable resources.
Ampersand Hydro states that most small hydropower
facilities would fall into Tier 2b and suggested a Social
Benefits Adder of four cents per kWh for these facilities.

HQ

proposes that hydropower delivered over existing transmission

lines should be included in Tier 2, with hydro delivered over
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new transmission lines treated as incremental under Tier 1.

The

National Fuel Cell Research Center (NFCRC) describes the

benefits of distributed power for meeting CES and REV objectives
and proposes that 35% of the CES obligation should be set aside
for distributed generation.

The NY Cow Power Coalition

advocates a separate tier for anaerobic digester generation,

which would enable the aggregation of dairy-farm generated power
within a utility service territory.

The New York Solar Energy

Industries Association (NYSEIA) supports the proposed tiered

structure, but urges that a sub-tier for solar be established
within Tier 1 for the growth of utility-scale solar.
D. Annual Targets
1. Defining the Baseline
a. Staff Proposal
Staff describes its method of calculating the CES
baseline in Appendix B of the White Paper.

The NYISO load

forecast for 2025 was extrapolated to 2030 assuming linear

continuation from 2024-2025 through 2030.35

This forecast was

supplemented with an assumption of 8,615,000 MWh of additional

load by 2030 from electric vehicles and geothermal heat pumps,
and 410,000 MWh of behind-the-meter generation.

From this

subtotal, incremental annual energy efficiency achievements of

2,227,000 Mwh were subtracted.36

The resulting total of

statewide need for 2030 is 150,017,000 MWh.

The 50% renewable goal, expressed in MWh, for the CES
was obtained by dividing the total anticipated load by two,
resulting in approximately 75,000,000 MWh in 2030.

In 2014,

35

The White Paper mistakenly describes the period 2023-2025 as

the basis for extrapolation.

36

The energy efficiency estimates are based on recently approved

targets, increased pro rata to include NYPA, LIPA, and direct
NYISO customers.
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41,296,000 MWh, or approximately 26% of the fuel mix, was
supplied from renewable sources.

Subtracting this from the 50%

goal resulted in a need for 33,700,000 MWh of additional

renewable generation in 2030.
b. Party Comments
MI notes that the baseline calculation contains
several assumptions that will need to be revisited periodically,
including the load forecast, energy efficiency savings, and
electric vehicle load.

The Companies state that resources to be

counted toward the baseline should be registered through the New

York Generation Attribute Tracking System (NYGATS) (see below).
EDF, MI and IPPNY note that if CES targets are not
coordinated with corresponding reductions in RGGI allowance
caps, then reductions in New York will simply free up allowances
for use elsewhere in the RGGI market, resulting in no actual
reductions in greenhouse gas emissions on a regional level.
Otsego 2000 argues that the RGGI caps and 25 MW threshold must
be reduced.
NYSEIA argues that the baseline resources are such an
important part of the overall goal that they should be tracked
through a separate Tier 0, with no corresponding LSE obligation.
CEOC argues that the amount of energy efficiency assumed in the
baseline is far lower than is practically achievable, and
submitted a study which claims that more than twice as much
efficiency could be economically achieved, with corresponding
reduction in the cost to achieve the CES.

Energy Efficiency for

All argues that the energy efficiency estimate in the baseline

should be established through a clear mandate.
2. Establishing Tier Targets
a. Staff Proposal
Recognizing the many variables and forecasting
difficulties beyond 2020, Staff proposes that fixed annual
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targets be set for each tier through 2020, with targets for the
next three years established well in advance of the end of 2020,
and subsequent targets established through similar triennial
reviews.

Staff notes that this approach allows the achievement

trajectory to be responsive to market developments, with

specific targets established in time to avoid uncertainty.
Staff proposes targets for specific tiers, with the
existing resources in Tier 2 remaining relatively stable while
the annual percentage of new renewables increases each year.
Progressive targets for the initial years of Tier 1 reflect
estimates of projects being developed under the RPS and NY Sun
programs.
b. Party Comments
The Companies and MI support the establishment of
fixed targets through 2020 with a triennial review to fix
targets beyond that date.

The Department of State Utility

Intervention Unit (UIU) supports the use of triennial reviews to

establish targets.
Numerous parties including REI, EDF, GE, Green
Education and Legal Fund, NFCRC, NYC, and NYSEIA argue that firm
targets should be set for each year through 2030 in order to
provide a predictable signal to the market.

The Green Education

and Legal Fund argues that a 100% renewables portfolio by 2030

should be the target.

REI states that triennial reviews could

be used to adjust targets if necessary.

REI and EDP Renewables

argue that the targets should be front-loaded in order to take

advantage of federal tax credits before they expire.

CEC and

CEOC agree that targets should not be backloaded.

3. Start Date for Targets
a. Staff Proposal
Staff proposes that the first Compliance Year be 2017,
for all tiers.
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b. Party Comments
MI argues that the initial target should be set for
2018 rather than 2017, which would provide time for the
necessary markets and associated infrastructure to be developed.
REI opposes this suggestion, arguing that an additional year
would create a gap in large-scale renewables procurements.
E. Compliance Mechanism
1. Renewable Energy Credits
a. Staff Proposal
Staff proposes that the principal medium of compliance
would be the REC.
MWh generated.

One REC would be created for each renewable

This is the universal unit of measure that

allows RECs to be marketed within and among states.

The REC

method would make New Yorks CES system compatible across

multiple systems, policies, and markets.

Each LSE can self-

supply, trade, and purchase RECs through short-term or long-term

instruments.

LSEs would demonstrate through annual compliance

filings that they possess sufficient RECs to meet their

obligations.
b. Party Comments
Most parties support the use of RECs as the medium of
compliance, although support for RECs is qualified by a wide
variety of positions as to the details of implementation.

As

noted above, several parties oppose the approach to renewables

and supported a source-neutral carbon intensity standard.

The

National Energy Marketers Association (NEMA) stresses that the

compliance system adopted for the CES should be clear and
consistent.

NEMA recommends that the Massachusetts model be

followed.
MI voices the strongest concerns over the use of RECs.
MI cites Staffs acknowledgement that interstate REC markets
could result in generation owners pursuing the highest revenues
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across state lines.

MI argues that New York has been developing

renewables under its RPS without having to resort to marketable

RECs, and that this may be the mechanism that results in the
lowest costs to ratepayers.
2.

Alternative Compliance Payments

a. Staff Proposal

Staff proposes that LSEs have the option of complying

with their REC obligation by making Alternative Compliance
Payments.
states.

ACPs are widely used in other competitive market

They provide flexibility and an effective cost cap.

An

ACP is not a penalty for non-compliance; it is a discretionary

alternative mode of compliance.

ACP levels would be established

by the Commission based on forecasted REC prices, system needs,

and other relevant factors.
Because ACPs do not represent actual renewable MWh,
Staff proposes that the proceeds of ACPs be directed to reducing
the costs of in-state renewable development toward meeting the
50 by 30 goal.
b. Party Comments
Most parties agree that some form of ACP is needed
both to provide a price cap on RECs and to provide an
alternative procurement method for smaller LSEs.

Parties

disagree over the method for setting ACP levels and over the
disposition of ACP proceeds.
CEOC states that ACPs should only be used during
scarcity conditions to guard against price spikes.

Direct

Energy Services suggests that ACPs start at a low level and

gradually increase; this would allow time to adjust for LSEs
with fixed price commodity contracts.

REI and NYSEIA propose

that ACPs should be set substantially higher than the estimated

REC price in order to stimulate development.

NRG, Energy, Inc.

(NRG) states that ACPs must be set as high as other states to

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avoid export.

SEIA (Solar Energy Industries Association), Vote

Solar, CEOC and EDF suggest that best practices identified from
other states with REC markets should be used.

Nucor and MI

express the concern that ACPs can tend to establish a floor as

well as a ceiling on REC prices.

Nucor argues that ACP pricing

should be tied to the value of the externality benefit.

The Companies and IJU agree with Nucor and MI that the
ACP will have the effect of a price floor, to the point where
the administratively determined ACP will act as a substitute for
market forces.

The Companies argue that central procurement

through a competitive process would eliminate the need for an

ACP and avoid this problem.
Parties broadly agree that ACP proceeds should not be
used to support government functions but should instead be used
to promote achievement of the CES.
approaches to this goal.

Parties have varying

Several parties favor a broader

approach that would use the funds to promote renewables

development, comparable to the use of RGGI proceeds.

Others

including NYC, MI and UIU argue that proceeds should be refunded

directly to customers.

NYC argue that if ACP proceeds are

refunded, while still holding LSEs as a whole to meeting the CES

targets, then cost-effective compliance will be promoted.

UIU,

AGREE, and PosiGen Solar Solutions propose that ACP proceeds be

targeted to low-income customer energy efficiency or CES
compliance.
3.

Banking and Borrowing

a. Staff Proposal

Additional flexibility and cost control can be

achieved through banking of excess RECs and borrowing against
shortfalls.

These devices can help to smooth fluctuations in

REC supply, and allow hedging against future price increases.

Staff does not recommend any specific time limits on banking and
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borrowing but notes that banking is typically subject to a time
limit of two to three years and the amount bankable is limited
to a percentage of individual LSE obligation such as 30%.

The

typical period for borrowing is much shorter, for example one or

two calendar quarters, to ensure that compliance obligations are
not inappropriately avoided.
b. Party Comments
Parties generally support banking and borrowing in the
context of the LSE REC obligation.

GE proposes that a force

majeure provision be added to provide additional flexibility in

the event of natural disasters.
F.

Long-Term Contracting for RES Resources

1. Staff Proposal
Staff explains that one challenge of the LSE

obligation approach is that financing of renewable facilities

will often require long-term contracts, and LSEs in competitive
markets do not have the certainty of long-term load commitments
that would support their entering long-term purchase contracts
for renewables.
Staff describes the risks faced by renewable project
developers in a competitive market.

Demand risk i.e., the

risk that there will be a market for the product is addressed

by the establishment of the CES mandate.
remain, however.

Significant risks

As technology prices fall, project owners will

need to compete against new entrants with lower costs.

Also, if

energy prices fall below forecasted levels, anticipated project

revenues will not materialize.

In a REC-only market, these

risks will likely be passed along to consumers in increased REC

costs.

The Cost Study also indicates that a REC-only approach

to long-term procurement is likely to result in higher REC costs

by 2023 than an approach based on bundled PPAs.

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In response to this challenge, Staff discusses a
number of options related to long-term contracting.

Staff draws

heavily on the June 2015 Options Report and party comments that
followed it.
Long-term contracts backed by EDCs provide near-term
benefits for CES compliance, but they carry risks for utility
ratepayers if energy costs or technology costs decline below
forecasted levels.

Also, the near-term benefits of utility-

backed contracts must be balanced with the long-term benefits of

self-initiated markets.

Staff also considers the potential for

utility-owned generation and recommends that there was no basis

to deviate from the policy direction adopted in the REV
Framework Order that generally prohibits utility ownership of
generation resources, in order to promote entry by market
participants.
Staff proposes that EDCs be required to purchase some
portion of the REC target through long-term PPAs that provide
for RECs, energy and/or capacity.

EDCs should further be

allowed to resell to third parties for shorter terms, and to

keep an appropriate portion of the profits from those
transactions as an incentive.
Staff also proposes that NYSERDA should serve as a
central procurement entity for RECs.

NYSERDA has long

experience in this role, and the cost advantages of central

procurement are described in the Options Report.

Although

NYSERDAs role will be intermediary, some assurance against

financial risk will be needed; Staff proposes that EDCs serve as
financial guarantors of NYSERDAs procurements.
2. Party Comments
Parties are split over the use of PPAs and over the
potential for utility-owned generation facilities (UOGs) in the
context of the CES.

The Indicated Joint Utilities and the

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Companies oppose PPAs backed by EDCs, arguing that this places
risk onto utility customers in the event that energy prices or
technology prices decline.

Consumer Power Advocates (CPA)and

Nucor agree with the utilities that PPAs would represent an

inappropriate imposition of risk onto customers, citing past
experience with PURPA37 contracts and contracts pursuant to PSL
Section 66-c.
As an alternative, the IJU proposes a portfolio
approach comprised of continued NYSERDA procurement of REC-only
contracts, self-initiated market activity, and a universal
renewables model in which EDCs would take ownership of projects
built by independent developers.

IJU argues that where there is

uncertainty as to the best approach, a portfolio of approaches

is prudent.
IJU submitted studies indicating that UOGs would be
substantially less costly than PPAs, mainly because of lower
utility finance costs and because UOGs would retain the residual
value of facilities beyond the limited term of PPAs.
IPPNY opposes PPAs on the grounds that the contracts
would insulate projects from competitive market pressures.

The

NYISO states that PPAs could endanger the efficient operation of

markets.
Most clean energy developers and advocates are
strongly in favor of the PPA approach.

REI advocates that at

least 85% of new renewables be procured through PPAs.

REI and

CEOC argues that any risk posed by PPAs is offset by hedging

value in the event that prices rise above forecasted levels.
REI further argues that the current proposal differs greatly
from the older PURPA and 66-c situation because PPAs would be
subject to competitive processes under the CES.
37

REI also argues

Public Utility Regulatory Policy Act of 1978, 16 U.S.C.

2601, et seq.
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that it was inconsistent for the IJU to advocate a portfolio
approach while excluding PPAs from the portfolio.38
NFCRC and Bloom Energy are not opposed to PPAs but
caution that they should not crowd out the potential for
distributed generation to meet CSE obligations.

EDF also urges

the Commission to consider the objective of a highly distributed

system when deciding on procurement options.
IPPNY opposes allowing utility-owned generation,
arguing that UOGs would overturn decades of policy that favors
competitive markets in which risk is undertaken by market
participants and not by ratepayers.

IPPNY argues that EDCs

ability to recover all costs in rates would provide an incentive

to bid low and then pass cost overruns through to ratepayers.39
CPA supports the IJU proposal, arguing that EDCs could
be held accountable for pursuing the least-cost options, and
that they could only exert market power by withholding
production which would be very difficult to do.

EDF argues that

more analysis is needed of the procurement options before the

Commission commits to any one course of action.

CEOC states

that it would support further process to consider UOGs but only

as a complement to a primary reliance on PPAs.
The Companies state that if the Commission decides to
adopt a PPA approach, then NYPA should be the financial backer
of the PPAs, instead of EDCs.

CEOC also supports an approach

where NYPA provides financial support for PPAs.

Central procurement through NYSERDA is supported from
parties on both sides of the PPA/UOG division.

The Companies

argue that central procurement through NYSERDA should be the

38

Other parties supporting the use of PPAs included AGREE,

Brookfield, NYSEIA, NRG, SEIA/VoteSolar, and MI.

39

Other parties opposed to UOGs included REI, Deepwater Wind,

Citizens for Local Power, EDP Renewables, NYSEIA, and NRD.
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only source for RECs, and that LSEs should not be allowed to
bypass the NYSERDA process by self-supplying or procuring from
other sources.
Energy Infrastructure Advocates (EIA) propose a
process in which a central procurement entity (e.g., NYSERDA)
obtains contracts through competitive bidding and PPAs are
undertaken by a central supply aggregator (e.g., NYPA).

EIA

states that multiple pathways should be pursued for procurement.

G. Nuclear Facilities
1. Staff Proposal
In its initial proposal, Staff described how
conditions in wholesale power markets, particularly low natural
gas prices, have benefited consumers but have impaired the
financial viability of upstate nuclear plants, to the point
where plant owners have announced the intention to close plants
that are otherwise fully licensed and operational.

The closure

of upstate nuclear plants would have a tremendous negative

impact on the States ability to meet the greenhouse gas
reduction goal in the State Energy Plan.

It would result in an

increase of CO2 emissions of more than 15.5 million tons per

year.
Accordingly, in the White Paper, Staff proposed a
Nuclear Tier (Tier 3) to ensure the proper valuation of carbonfree power from nuclear plants.

Tier 3 would entail a separate

obligation for LSEs to purchase ZECs.

ZECs would not be

eligible to demonstrate compliance with the REC obligation.

In

other words, the carbon-free generation represented by ZECs is

in addition to the 50% renewable generation that will be
represented by RECs.

Staff described Tier 3 as a bridge to a

renewable future, to avoid backsliding in the States efforts to

reduce carbon emissions, and to assist the transition from
nuclear to non-nuclear resources if wholesale prices remain too
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low to support the existing nuclear plants during their license
lives.
As there are too few owners of the affected nuclear
generation facilities to create sufficient competition to
determine an accurate price to be paid for ZECs, the price of
ZECs would be administratively determined by the Commission.
Staff originally proposed that the price be based on a review of
the anticipated operating costs of the plants and anticipated
wholesale prices of energy.

This would result in a fair price

for the environmental attribute of each facility.

However, upon

further consideration and in response to party comments, Staff

modified its proposal, filing Staffs Responsive Proposal,
described below.
2. Party Comments
A wide spectrum of comments were submitted on Staffs
initial proposal, ranging from strongly held views for and
against nuclear power in general, to technical points regarding
the ways that a ZEC program would operate in the context of the
CES mandate.
A number of parties were opposed to any support for
nuclear facilities, arguing that nuclear power is not safe,
clean, or carbon-free.40

Another group of parties were strongly

supportive of ZECs, for the reasons expressed by Staff but also

40

These parties include AGREE, Council on Intelligent Energy &

Conservation Policy, Promoting Health and Sustainable Energy,
Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition (IPSEC), Susan Shapiro,
Green Education and Legal Fund, NY Climate Action Group, and
CEC. Public comments supporting this position were also filed
by Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton, Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee,
the Dutchess County Legislature, the Rockland County
Legislature, the Suffolk County Legislature, and the Ulster
County Legislature.
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because of the economic impacts of the upstate nuclear plants.41
The strongly opposed and strongly supportive views were each
represented by large numbers of participants in public statement
hearings and contributors to the Commissions public comment
page.
Most of the party comments on Staffs initial nuclear
proposal did not fall simply into a Yes or No formula.

majority of the active parties either supported the proposal

with conditions, or were neutral with concerns.
Both of the nuclear plant owners, Entergy and
Constellation Energy Nuclear Group (CENG) argued that a fuelneutral carbon standard would be a preferable approach rather
than Staffs initial proposal which took financial need into
account.

CENG did not oppose the mechanism proposed by Staff,

however, and emphasized the urgent need for action based on the
refueling cycles of individual plants and the imminence of
closure decisions.

CENG also urged that

12-year contracts

would be needed in order to provide assurance and suggested that

a backstop pricing mechanism tied to the social cost of carbon
be adopted to be available in the event that Staffs original
proposal was found preempted under federal law.
Entergy opposed Staffs initial proposal because it
was restricted to plants that are fully licensed and would
thereby exclude the Indian Point facilities.
41

Entergy argued

Comments supporting this view were filed by Assemblyman

William Barclay, Assemblyman Robert Oakes, Senator Rich Funke,
Senator Joseph Robach, Senator Pattie Ritchie, Boilermakers
Local Lodge No. 5, Business Council, City of Oswego, Greater
Oswego-Fulton Chamber of Commerce, IBEW Local 43, IBEW Local
1-2, Utility Workers Union of America Local 1-2, Laborers
International Union of North America Local 633, Onondaga
County Legislature, Oswego County Legislature, Operation
Oswego County, Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 112, Plumbers
and Steamfitters Local 73, Town of Scriba, Upstate Energy
Jobs, MACNY, and New York State Utility Labor Council.
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that this distinction was arbitrary, discriminatory, not
rationally based, and preempted by federal law.

NYC argued that

the Indian Point facilities reduce total carbon, are important

to reliability, and provide economic support to the community.
IPPNY and the New York Affordable Reliable Electricity Alliance
also argued that the Indian Point plants should be included in
the ZEC mandate.
IJU supported Staffs proposal but stated that the
future of nuclear plants and their treatment in wholesale
markets is a national issue that will eventually need to be
addressed at the national level.

The Companies supported the

proposal, stating that procurement of ZECs should be centralized

and allocated to all LSEs.
AGREE and GELF argued that Staff did not support its
assumption that maintaining nuclear facilities was a necessary
component of an overall strategy to reduce greenhouse gasses.
In opposition to that view, the Nuclear Energy Institute
observed that the closure of only the Ginna plant (R.E. Ginna
Nuclear Power Plant) would undo all of the carbon reductions
obtained through the RPS program to date.
Many parties representing environmental and clean
energy interests argued that any support for nuclear power must
be completely separate from a Clean Energy Standard.

REI, CLP,

CEOC, and EDF argued that nuclear subsidies should in no event

divert support for renewable generation, and ideally should be
established (if at all) in an entirely separate program.
Several parties expressed concern over the way that
financial need would be determined.

MI stated that Staff had

not supported its assumptions of financial need.

Both MI and

Nucor argued that any proceeding to determine a level of support

should be open, as it would be comparable to a utility rate
proceeding to determine the cost of service to be supported by
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ratepayers.

MI also argued that, because nuclear facilities are

allowed to earn unregulated levels of profits while energy

prices are high, any support provided to nuclear facilities to
maintain them in the short-term should be subject to a clawback
i.e., return to ratepayers when the plants return to
profitability.
Otsego 2000 supported Staffs proposal but only if it
is found to be the most cost-effective way to reduce greenhouse
gasses.

Otego Microgrid Ratepayers support the Staff approach

but only if it is not open-ended and if there is a clear plan to

work toward eventual closure of nuclear plants.
AGREE, in the context of strong opposition to the
proposal, argued that it is not clear what value the ZEC
payments would be capturing carbon, reliability, or economic.
AGREE and other parties stated that the plants have been
determined not to be necessary for reliability.
NYC, CLP, and AGREE stated that a ZEC mandate should
not be imposed on LSEs that offer 100% renewable energy.

They

argued that customers should have the option of voluntarily

buying 100% green power that does not include nuclear.
3. Staffs Responsive Proposal
After considering the comments submitted in response
to the White Paper and Cost Study, Staff refined its
recommendations pertaining to the proposed methodology for
encouraging the preservation of the environmental attributes of
zero-emissions nuclear power electric generating facilities.
Staffs Responsive Proposal recommends valuing and paying for
the zero-emissions attributes based on a formula that begins
with published estimates of the social cost of carbon.
Specifically, Staff proposes that payments for zeroemissions attributes would be based upon the U.S. Interagency
Working Groups (USIWG) projected social cost of carbon (SCC).
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Such payments would be provided where there is a public
necessity to encourage the preservation of a facilitys zeroemissions environmental values or attributes for the benefit of
the electric system, its customers and the environment.

Staff

proposes that public necessity be determined on a plant-specific

basis at the discretion of the Commission, upon considerations
of the following factors: (a) the verifiable historic
contribution the facility has made to the clean energy resource
mix consumed by retail consumers in New York State regardless of
the location of the facility; (b) the degree to which energy,
capacity and ancillary services revenues projected to be
received by the facility are at a level that is insufficient to
provide adequate compensation to preserve the zero-emissions
environmental values or attributes historically provided by the
facility; (c) the costs and benefits of such a payment for zeroemissions attributes for the facility in relation to other clean
energy alternatives for the benefit of the electric system, its
customers and the environment; (d) the impacts of such costs on
ratepayers; and (e) the public interest.
Upon a determination of facility-specific public
necessity, the owner of the zero-emissions generating facility
would be offered a multi-year contract administered by NYSERDA
to purchase ZECs from the period beginning on the first day of
the two-year tranche for which that facility was found eligible,
through March 31, 2029.

The facility will have an obligation to

produce the ZECs and to sell them to NYSERDA for the duration of
the contract, except during periods when the calculated ZEC
price pursuant to the contract is $0.

This contractual

obligation would be enforced by appropriate financial

consequences for failure to produce.
For the contract period of Tranche 1, Staff proposes
that the price of the ZEC would be based upon the average April
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2017 through March 2019 projected SCC as published by the USIWG
in July 2015 (nominal $42.87/short ton), less a fixed baseline
portion of that cost already captured in the market revenues
received by the eligible facilities due to the RGGI program
based upon the average of the April 2017 through March 2019
forecast RGGI prices embedded in the Congestion Assessment and
Resource Integration Study (CARIS) Phase 1 report (nominal
$10.41/short ton).

Staff's formula yields a net cost of carbon

of $32.47 (nominal $/short ton), and a ZEC price of $17.48 per

MWh for the contract period of Tranche 1.

For the contract

periods of Tranche 2 through Tranche 6, the ZEC prices would be

calculated pursuant to a formula, as follows: upstate ZEC Price
= Social Cost of Carbon (average for each Tranche) - Baseline
RGGI Effect (fixed at $10.41/short ton) Amount by which sum of
Zone A Forecast Energy Price and ROS Forecast Capacity Price
exceeds $39/MWh.

The 39/MWh reference price is used to measure

the change in independent forecasts over time, it is not used to

establish a quantity of energy or capacity revenues.
The amount of ZECs to be purchased annually would be
based on actual output but will be capped at a MWh amount that
represents the verifiable historic contribution the facility has
made to the clean energy resource mix consumed by retail
consumers in New York State, as specified in the NYSERDA
contract.
Through contracts with NYSERDA, each LSE (including
NYPA and LIPA) would be required to purchase an amount of ZECs
per year of the total amount of ZECs purchased by NYSERDA in
proportion to the electric energy load served by the LSE in
relation to the total electric energy load served by all load
serving entities in the New York Control Area.

The price

charged by NYSERDA per ZEC would be the price established

administratively by the Commission for the purchase of zero-51-

CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

emissions attributes, plus NYSERDA's incremental administrative
costs and fees associated with the ZEC program and ZEC revenues.
The contracts between NYSERDA and the LSEs would be
based on initial forecasts of load and utilize a balancing
reconciliation at the end of each program year such that each
LSE would have purchased the correct proportion of ZECs on an
annual basis.

Staff proposes that ZECs not be tradable except

between NYSERDA and the LSEs in this balancing process.

Finally, Staff suggests that the Commission entertain proposals
by LSEs and perhaps self-supply customers to alternatively meet
their ZECs obligations by entering into combined energy and/or
capacity and ZEC contracts with the nuclear facilities if such
contracts are structured in a way as to not unfairly shift ZECs
costs onto other ratepayers.
4. Party Comments to Responsive Proposal
Comments related to Staffs Responsive Proposal
represent a broad range of topics and viewpoints.

Both comments

supporting and those opposing the proposal cite environmental

and economic reasons to support or oppose the proposal.

Many

comments opposing the proposal claim the review process was too
truncated for such a long-lived program.
A vast number of comments from individuals members of
the public were submitted either opposing or supporting Staffs
Responsive Proposal.

A large number of State and local

officials submitted comments.

Support for the proposal among

public officials is strong but not universal.

Those opposing

the proposal state that nuclear power is not renewable and is

detrimental to the environment.

They argue that the State would

be better off investing in renewable energy.

State and local officials expressing support for
Staffs proposal state that Staffs Responsive Proposal is a
reasonable approach to maintaining emission levels and an
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CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

overall benefit for the environment.

They also note the

positives related to the local and regional economy.

Similarly, comments among environmental groups are
divided.

A number of environmental advocates oppose supporting

nuclear, particularly for the 12 years Staff proposes.

Citizens Environmental Coalition (the Coalition) opposes the
Responsive Proposal claiming that no environmental impact
analysis or alternative analysis was performed.

The Coalition,

as well as other parties, also suggests that investing in

renewable energy solutions would be more cost-effective.

AGREE

also argues that nuclear generation is dirty and dangerous and

laments that the proceeding is no longer singularly focused on
supporting large-scale renewable energy.
Many parties generally support the program as a means
of limiting greenhouse gas emission until higher penetration of
renewable generation is achieved including Pace Energy and
Climate Center (Pace) and Californians for Green Nuclear Power.
Environmental Progress supports the program arguing that nuclear
power must play a central role in the effort to combat climate
change and that closure of the upstate plants will result in
increased emissions.

It claims that New Yorks power sector

emissions, per-capita, are 25% of the national average in part,

because nuclear power generated 57% of the States zeroemissions power last year.
Supporting comments also point toward the benefits of
fuel diversity and protection against price volatility.

The

Indicated Joint Utilities expressed support for Staffs

Responsive Proposal because the proposed program will ensure the
continuance of the environmental benefits of the plants
emission attributes that is not being captured by existing
markets.

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CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

Many commenters including Pace and the Indicated
Joint Utilities support Staffs incorporation of the SCC into
the ZEC price calculation as a step toward properly
internalizing the true cost of carbon emissions including Pace
and the Institute of Policy Integrity at New York University
School of Law.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) and MI both
question the use of the SCC because they argue, it has not been
properly vetted or demonstrated to accurately reflect cost
savings related to avoiding carbon emissions.

MI further

questions adjusting the SCC for inflation when future estimates

of the SCC increase over time.
Public Utility Law Project (PULP) believes that the
proposal does not properly consider the social costs of nuclear
storage, radiation leaks, decommissioning and other attendant
costs.
CENG supports basing the ZEC on SCC but notes that it
likely undervalues the nuclear facilities environmental
attributes because it does not account for other air pollutants
avoided.

CENG also notes that tying the ZEC price to the cost

of carbon leaves the nuclear generators exposed to operating and

market risks.
Many comments raised issues or concerns related to the
cost of the ZEC program.

However, many comments also indicate

that the costs seemed reasonable.

Upstate Energy Jobs supports the program, and along
with others, believes that the costs associated with the program
are outweighed by the benefits including avoiding energy and
economic costs related to the facilities shutting down.
Similarly, many public officials and community leaders support
Staffs proposal as a cost effective means of limiting emissions
and transitioning to the 50% by 2030 goal.
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CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

AGREE claims that Staffs Responsive Proposal amounts
to the largest gift of public funds to a single corporation in
the States history.

Nucor also expresses concern regarding

subsidizing the sale of FitzPatrick (James A. FitzPatrick

Nuclear Generating Facility) arguing that New York rate payers
should not need to provide financial support for transactions
between private parties.
Many commenters argued that any program designed to
value emission attributes would be more cost efficient and fair
if it was technology neutral including Potomac Economics and
API.

Similarly, AGREE objects to the fact that even lower cost

resources would be prevented from competing with nuclear

facilities.

The Institute of Policy Integrity argues that

inconsistent valuation methods for emission attributes (market

versus administratively set) across generation types could lead
to a situation where consumers are paying more for ZECs than
RECs resulting in an unfair advantage for nuclear generation.
Ampersand Hydro, LLC and others argue that the program
contradicts the rest of the CES proposal as well as the REV
framework.

CENG notes that the proposed ZEC price is well below

subsidies for renewable energy including the average subsidy

paid by NYSERDA and the federal production tax credit.
The NGSA opposes Staffs proposal, stating that the
Commission should allow market forces to establish a path for
carbon reduction.

NGSA argues for preserving competitive market

signals through: implementation flexibility; fuel and technology

neutral incentives; and fostering the regional market.
MI raised cost concerns specific to high-load-factor
customers which it states are disproportionately impacted by the
CES costs.

MI states that any economic benefits relied on to

support the program must be weighed against the negative

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CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

economic impacts of higher-cost electricity particularly the
economic impacts on high-load customers.
New York City opposes the program because it feels
that it will impose costs on downstate consumers who are unable
to receive its direct benefits.

The City argues that due to

geography and system constraints that it is unlikely that the

electricity or the economic benefits expected from the program
will be enjoyed downstate.

The City argues that costs

associated with the program should be allocated to follow the

benefits.
Individuals and groups located downstate submitted
comments supporting the program including ArtsWestchester and
New York City Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

National Grid

argues that the beneficiaries are statewide and encourages

inclusion of NYPA and LIPA in the ZEC program.
PULP challenges the Responsive Proposal over concerns
that it will have a disproportionate impact on low-income and
fixed-income customers.

PULP argues that further analysis must

be done to measure the impact of the program on the States goal

of a 6% energy burden for low-income customers.
NEMA argues that the support for emission free
generation outside of the wholesale market is likely to disrupt
markets and result in high cost to consumers because it would be
outside the NYISOs least cost dispatch model.
The NYISO evaluated Staffs proposal pursuant to its
market monitoring and mitigation obligations and concludes that
Staffs proposal does not raise wholesale market power concerns.
The Indicated Joint Utilities agree that the ZEC price must be
administratively set because of the limited number of suppliers
and the potential for market power issues to arise.
Some commenters challenge specifics contained in
Staffs proposed formula for setting the ZEC price.
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CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

challenges the use of a 3% discount rate, suggesting a 5% rate
would be more appropriate and less expensive.

MI, the Indicated

Joint Utilities and others argue that RGGI values should not be
held constant.

MI argues that RGGI could have a much higher

impact if RGGI total allowances are reduced, as is being

contemplated.

The Indicated Joint Utilities argue that RGGI

prices should follow the CARIS model to increase over time.

The Indicated Joint Utilities further argue that the
emission factor should be updated in future tranches (to
calculate how much carbon is avoided per MWh), to reflect
changes in the resource mix.

Some commenters suggested that the

contract between NYSERDA and the nuclear generators should

include performance factors to hold the generators accountable
for performance.
NEMA raised concerns about the impact of the ZEC
mandate on ESCOs expressing concern that ESCOs may not recover
the cost of compliance.

Specifically, NEMA requests that the

Commission clarify that ESCOs can recover ZEC compliance costs

from customers under regulatory change, change in law or
similar contract provisions without violating any disclosure
requirements.
Nucor states that it supports continued operation of
the upstate nuclear facilities but only at a reasonable cost,
which it claims cannot be assured through Staffs Responsive
Proposal.

Nucor claims that its own analysis indicates that the

proposal would overpay Constellation by overstating costs and

unnecessarily including all upstate nuclear facilities.
Nucor and MI both believe that before any nuclear
plant be eligible for subsidies they must demonstrate that they
would otherwise deactivate the facility.

Other parties,

including New York City question whether and to what extent

nuclear plants have demonstrated a need for any subsidy.
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Nucor also suggests limiting ZEC contracts to threeyears (with reapplication allowed) as another means of limiting
program costs.

National Grid believes that 12 years is too long

because of the need to transition away from nuclear and into

renewables.

National Grid also argues that the best long-term

solution is reforming the markets in order to properly

internalize the cost of carbon.
Nucor points out that Exelon has disclosed to the
investment community that through forward power sales from its
existing New York units, it has largely hedged the prices that
Constellation expects to realize at levels that are considerably
higher that the near-term forward price indices.

According to

Nucor, Exelon has stated that it expects these forward sales to

produce $105 million in additional gross margin which NUCOR
points out is not captured in Staffs Responsive Proposal.
New York City raises concerns regarding customers
choosing to purchase renewable power over and above any mandate
arguing that cost imposed related to ZECs will limit the monies
available to support renewables.

Many commenters echoed the

comments from the City of Kingston which points out that because
the mandate will be allocated across all retail customers, it
becomes impossible for customers to pay only for renewable
energy and be 100% renewable.
A number of commenters are dissatisfied with the time
frame in which the Commission is acting on the ZEC program
generally and Staffs Responsive Proposal.

The New York Public

Interest Research Group, Reinvent Albany and Common Cause New

York as well as others submitted comments requesting more time
to review the proposal.

AGREE filed comments expressing concern

that Staffs Responsive Proposal introduces new concepts, new

obligations for utilities and new costs and that it reaches
conclusions related to eligibility for specific units without
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the required analysis.

MI also raises concerns that Staffs

Responsive Proposal has not been fully evaluated.

Other comments urged the Commission to act swiftly to
ensure the economic and environmental benefits associated with
keeping the plants operational.
Many commenters raised concerns relating to timing and
the interactions between Case 16-E-0270 related to specific
generation facilities and 15-E-0320 addressing support for
environmental attributes of nuclear energy more broadly.

Nucor

and MI both argued that the Commission should refrain from

responding to the petition until it has responded to Staffs
Responsive Proposal.
Some parties claim that Staffs Responsive Proposal
lacks the necessary detail or analysis to be fully evaluated.
AGREE and MI raise a concern regarding the apparent lack of
analysis regarding the cost and benefits of nuclear generation
in comparison to other emission free resources.

MI points to

additional concerns including details regarding what would

constitute an appropriate financial consequence for a nuclear
facilitys failure to produce ZECs.

AGREE further points out

that one factor for considering a public necessity determination

is the cost and benefits of such a subsidy in relation to other
clean energy alternatives but claims that no such analysis is
available to support Staffs recommendation.
NEMA claims that the process violates the State
Administrative Procedures Act because it failed to provide
adequate notice or a meaningful opportunity to comment on the
Responsive Proposal.

NEMA further claims that Staffs

Responsive Proposal is the same type of regulatory action

invalidated by the Court in Hughes v Talen Energy Marketing,

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LLC.42

Similarly, NSGA cautions that the ZEC proposal intrudes

on FERC jurisdiction.
New York City states that the proposal lacks a
discussion of the Commissions statutory authority to mandate
that load serving entities enter into contracts with NYSERDA to
purchase ZECs and that the City is unaware of any such
authority.

PULP similarly states that the legal underpinnings

are not sufficiently developed.

Ampersand Hydro raises the concern that if other nonemitting resources do not receive similar or greater value for
their attributes, it would amount to an unconstitutional taking
of the property of those facilities.
NYAPP argues that the Commission should exempt
municipal and cooperative utilities from the ZEC requirement.
NYAPP points out that as a group, 86% of NYAPP power comes from
NYPAs Niagara Project, and through utilization of this low-cost
renewable source, the group demonstrates a meaningful
contribution to the States renewable goals even absent
mandatory requirements.
LIPA Staff submitted comments stating that it intends
to seek the approval of its Board of Trustees to enter into the
necessary agreements to procure its appropriate share of zeroemissions credits and to receive its appropriate share of such
revenues as co-owner of the Nine Mile Point 2 Nuclear Station.
Similarly, NYPA states that it fully intends to comply with the
Staff Proposal, subject to any directive from its Board of
Trustees following finalization of the initiative.

MI and

others state that NYPA customers should not pay any ZEC cost, as
they have the ability to leave the State and go where there is
no subsidy for the nuclear plants.
42

They state that NYPA rates

Hughes v Talen Energy Mktg., LLC, 136 S. Ct. 1288, 1292

(2016).
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are for economic development, and such rates have not
traditionally been charged for similar subsidies
H. Cost Study and Cost Management
1. Summary of the Cost Study
The Cost Study makes detailed projections to 2023.
Beyond 2023, the combination of variables makes detailed
projections less reliable.
Critical findings of the Cost Study are total bill
impacts to customers of less than 1% under the base case
scenario, with net benefits of $1.8 billion taking into account
$3.1 billion in carbon savings.
Assumptions in the base case scenario through 2023
include:

a 50/50 split between long-term PPAs and annual REC

procurements;

carbon values established by the Environmental

Protection Agency and adopted in the Commissions
Benefit Cost Analysis framework;

a calculation that netted the gross program costs

i.e., the additional payments above energy and
capacity that will be required to make projects viable
against the societal value of avoided carbon dioxide
emissions;

inclusion of Tier 3 nuclear costs and benefits;43

no costs or benefits of grid integration beyond costs

borne by project developers;

43

no offshore wind by 2023; and

The study noted several indirect benefits of maintaining

nuclear plants that were not included in the calculations.
These are 28,800 jobs, $3.16 billion in direct or secondary
GDP, and $144 million in State tax revenues.
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no distributed resources beyond the existing NY Sun

goals.
The Study includes sensitivity analyses across major

variables including procurement method, total power usage, and

energy prices.

The difference between 100% long-term

procurement through PPAs and 100% reliance on RECs is estimated

to be over $1.4 billion by 2023.

The Study does not include a

utility-owned generation option, but it notes that UOG has the

potential to reduce costs below those of PPAs.
The Study considers a high energy usage scenario of
22,000 additional GWh (which could be caused by numerous
factors).

The gross cost of compliance doubles under the high

usage scenario.
High and low energy price scenarios, applied to the
base case, result in a difference of 0.65% in bill impacts
directly tied to the CES.
very important.

The context of this sensitivity is

Lower energy prices increase the relative cost

of CES compliance, but those higher CES premiums are paid in a

context of lower overall energy bills.

Conversely, higher

energy prices reduce the relative cost of CES premiums but in

the context of higher overall bills.

The conclusion of the

Study is that, while fluctuations in energy prices will have a

strong effect on the gross cost of CES compliance, they will
have a moderating effect on relative bill impacts of the CES.
The Study also notes that the value of PPAs is likely
to increase in the years following 2023, as energy prices rise
and the size of the required CES premium is reduced relative to
new procurements.
Federal tax credits have a substantial impact on
program costs.

The base case assumes the currently scheduled

phase out of credits.

The Study also considers potential

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changes in interest rates and technology costs and found that
they have a relatively minor impact on costs.
Although the Study does not incorporate any estimated
benefits from REV, it notes that an increase in economically
responsive demand measures could have a substantial beneficial
effect on total CES compliance costs, and will establish
conditions to increase renewable procurement on an economic
basis.
2. Party Comments
Comments on the Cost Study vary widely, with some
parties arguing that important benefits have not been
considered, while others argue that important costs have been
omitted.

CEOC and REI comment that the Study demonstrates

overall net benefits and minimal bill impacts, and REI notes
that the bill impacts were consistent with a comprehensive study
of other states renewable programs conducted in 2014 by the
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
Numerous parties comment that the Study was lacking in
detail and transparency, to the point that it was not adequate
to support a full decision on the issues.44

A subset of these

parties (Business Council, MI, and IPPNY) argue that due to

uncertainty in the Cost Study the Commission should refrain from
imposing any mandate at this time.

NYC argues that the

Commission should refrain from committing to a single

procurement strategy.

Other parties argue that uncertainty is

best addressed through mandates, for example, that due to the

sensitivity of overall costs to various load growth scenarios,
the Commission should mandate energy efficiency targets.

The

Labor Coalition argues that the uncertainty of Tier 1 estimates

reinforces the need to rely on nuclear facilities to achieve
44

These parties include AGREE, Brookfield, Business Council,

NYC, IPPNY, IJU, MI, and Nucor.
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carbon goals.

IJU agrees with limiting the mandate and schedule

to 2023 due to the difficulty of estimating beyond that point.

The cost assumptions in the Study produce a wide range
of comments.

Many parties emphasize that there is little

treatment of the potential costs of transmission upgrades.45

MI

and the Business Council argue that impacts on Installed Reserve

Margins are also ignored; the API argues that the need for
backup gas-fired capacity is not analyzed.

IPPNY, IJU, and MI

state that the energy price forecasts used in the Study may be
too high, which has the result of lowering forecasts of net
costs from the CES.

MI notes that the subsidies provided to

renewables coming on line in the 2017-2019 period are not

factored into the analysis although the carbon benefits of those
projects are included.

NYC argues that the bill impact estimate

covers the CES but not the nuclear mandate.

AGREE argues that

the estimated costs of nuclear support are understated.

Nucor

and Pepacton note that administrative costs of procurement are

not identified.
Parties also note potential benefits, and costmitigating factors, that are not included in the Study.

NYC,

IJU, CEOC, and REI argue that other environmental benefits such
as reductions in criteria pollutants should be counted.

IJU

objects to the absence of an analysis of utility-owned

generation, and submitted a study concluding that a utilityowned generation option could reduce costs by 21% compared with
PPAs.

By contrast, several parties argue that PPAs are the most

cost-effective procurement approach.

REI argues that the

potential for technology cost reductions is understated.

Brookfield and LIHI argue that carbon benefits of Tier 2b
procurements should have been counted, and that low-impact hydro
45

These parties included IPPNY, NYC, the Business Council,

Entergy, IJU, MI, and Nucor.
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benefits are understated.

Several parties argue that biogas can

have a much more cost-beneficial role than is estimated in the

Study.

AGREE argues that the costs of replacing nuclear

facilities with additional renewables has not been analyzed but

that this could reduce the overall cost of the program.
Pepacton notes that the benefits of distributed resources are
not fully incorporated into the Study.
Several parties identify comparisons that are not made
in the Study.

NYC and Nucor argue that the cost of more energy

efficiency should have been compared with the cost of renewables

to achieve the States goals.

API states that the macroeconomic

effects of CES should have been compared with alternative ways

of achieving the goals.

IPPNY states that the macroeconomic

effect of plant retirements should have been accounted for.

MI

questions the basic premise of the netting of monetary costs

against carbon benefits, noting that the monetary costs will be
carried by New Yorkers while the benefits are global.
V. ESTABLISHING THE CLEAN ENERGY STANDARD
A. General Description
The Clean Energy Standard adopted here begins with
adoption of the State Energy Plan goal that 50% of New Yorks
electricity is to be generated by renewable sources by 2030, as
part of a strategy to reduce statewide greenhouse gas emissions
by 40% by 2030.

To implement that goal, the CES is further

comprised of a series of deliberate and mandatory actions to

enhance opportunities for customer choice necessary to achieve
the SEP goal.

The mandated actions are divided into two

categories, a Renewable Energy Standard and a Zero-Emissions

Credit requirement.

The RES consists of a Tier 1 obligation on

LSEs to invest in new renewable generation resources to serve

their retail customers; a Tier 2 obligation on distribution
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utilities on behalf of all retail customers to continue to
invest in the maintenance of existing at-risk generation
attributes; and a program to maximize the value potential of new
offshore wind resources.

The ZEC requirement consists of a Tier

3 obligation on LSEs to invest in the preservation of existing

at-risk nuclear zero-emissions attributes to serve their retail
customers.

The RES component and the ZEC component are

interrelated but the goals are additive; that is, the carbon
benefits of preserving the nuclear zero-emissions attributes
will not count toward achieving the required number of renewable
resources to satisfy the 50% by 2030 goal.

The RES and ZEC

components will however, in combination, contribute toward the

States comprehensive greenhouse gas reduction goals.
B. Legal Authority
The Commissions authority derives primarily from the
New York Public Service Law (PSL), through which numerous
legislative powers are delegated to the Commission.

Pursuant to

PSL 5(1), the jurisdiction, supervision, powers and duties of

the Commission extends to the manufacture, conveying,
transportation, sale or distribution of electricity.

PSL 5(2)

requires the Commission to encourage all persons and

corporations subject to its jurisdiction to formulate and carry
out long-range programs, individually or cooperatively, for the
performance of their public service responsibilities with
economy, efficiency, and care for the public safety, the
preservation of environmental values and the conservation of
natural resources.

PSL 66(2) provides that the Commission

shall examine or investigate the methods employed by persons,

corporations and municipalities in manufacturing, distributing
and supplying electricity and have power to order such
reasonable improvements as will best promote the public
interest, preserve the public health and protect those using
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such gas or electricity.

PSL 4(1) also expressly provides the

Commission with all powers necessary or proper to enable [the

Commission] to carry out the purposes of the PSL including,
without limitation, a guarantee to the public of safe and
adequate service at just and reasonable rates,46 environmental
stewardship, and the conservation of resources.47
In addition to the PSL, the New York Energy Law 6104(5)(b) requires that [a]ny energy-related action or decision
of a state agency, board, commission or authority shall be
reasonably consistent with the forecasts and the policies and
long-range energy planning objectives and strategies contained
in the plan, including its most recent update.

The program

established here is consistent with the renewable and clean

energy targets established in the 2015 New York State Energy
Plan, as well as the underlying principles elucidated in the
Plan.48

Therefore under State law, the Commissions authority to

direct a comprehensive CES program is quite clear.

Federal law preempts contrary state law pursuant to
the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Under the

Federal Power Act, the FERC has exclusive authority to regulate

the sale of electric energy at wholesale in interstate commerce.

46

See International R. Co. v Public Service Com., 264 AD 506,

510 (1942).

47

PSL 5(2); see also, Consolidated Edison Co. v Public Service

Commission, 47 NY2d 94 (1979)(overturned on other grounds)
(describing the broad delegation of authority to the
Commission and the Legislatures unqualified recognition of
the importance of environmental stewardship and resource
conservation in amending the PSL to include 5).

48

See 2015 New York State Energy Plan available at

http://energyplan.ny.gov/Plans/2015.aspx (setting a target of
50% renewable consumption by 2030 and describing guiding
principles including Market Transformation; Community
Engagement; Private Sector Investment; Innovation and
Technology; and Customer Value and Choice.
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States retain the power to regulate the retail sale of
electricity to end-use consumers.

All Commission actions must

take place within the cooperative federalism49 structure of

energy regulation and the myriad state and federal court cases
each shedding its own light on the jurisdictional boundaries.
FERC has previously said that REC programs, purchasing
"attributes," are for a commodity created by states that is not
within the wholesale sale of electricity jurisdiction of FERC.
Recent U.S. Supreme Court cases also make it clear that all
retail sales of electricity, as well as any other sale not
considered a wholesale transaction, are under State Commission
authority.50

The directives to LSEs and distribution utilities

under consideration in these proceedings are only related to

retail sales of electricity and carbon-free energy generation
attributes (RECs and ZECs), Commission jurisdiction over which
is well established and settled.51

49

See FERC v Elec. Power Supply Assn, 136 S. Ct. 760 (2016); The
Federal Power Act (June 10, 1920, ch. 285, pt. III, 321,
formerly 320, as added Aug. 26, 1935, ch. 687, title II,
213, 49 Stat. 863; renumbered Pub. L. 95617, title II,
212, Nov. 9, 1978, 92 Stat. 3148).

50

Hughes v Talen Energy Mktg., LLC., 136 S. Ct. 1288, 1292

(2016) and FERC v Elec. Power Supply Assn, 136 S. Ct. 760, 766
(2016)(explaining that the Federal Power Act places any sale
of electricity other than those at wholesale beyond the
jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission).

51

Hughes v. Talen Energy Mktg., LLC, 136 S. Ct. 1288, 1291

[2016]; see also WSPP, Inc., 139 F.E.R.C. 61,061
(2012)(explaining the REC transactions unbundled with
wholesale energy and capacity are beyond FERCs jurisdiction);
and Morgantown Energy Associates, 139 F.E.R.C. 61,066 (2012)
(recognizing that RECs are state-created and are a separate
product from energy and capacity); American Ref-Fuel Company,
105 F.E.R.C. 61,004 (2003)(explaining that RECs are a state
law creation and not within FERC's jurisdiction).
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"Wholesale" sales include "energy" and "capacity"
sales among other types of wholesale sales.

Federal Law gives

FERC the responsibility to ensure that prices charged in

wholesale sales are just and reasonable.

In deregulated markets

like New York, wholesale transactions typically occur through

two mechanisms: bilateral contracts and auctions.

For bilateral

contracts between generators and LSEs, FERC may review the rate
in the contract for reasonableness, although FERC generally
presumes that rates established by good-faith arms-length
negotiation are reasonable.

FERC may abrogate an otherwise

valid bilateral contract if it harms the public interest, or it

may apply buyer-side mitigation in the marketplace to counteract
what it perceives to be the negative effects of the contract.
Auctions in New York are conducted by the NYISO pursuant to a
FERC-approved tariff.

The clearing price if based on a

reasonably competitive auction is generally accepted by FERC as

being the basis for a just and reasonable rate.

Once FERC sets

wholesale rates, a state may not conclude in setting retail

rates that FERC-approved wholesale rates are unreasonable.

state must give effect to Congress desire to give FERC plenary

authority over interstate wholesale rates, and FERC and the
courts will ensure that the states do not interfere with this
authority.

States may not seek to achieve ends, however

legitimate, through regulatory means that intrude on FERCs

authority over interstate wholesale rates.

States may encourage

production of new or clean generation through measures

"untethered" to a generators wholesale market participation.52
C. Cost Study and Cost Mitigation
The Cost Study demonstrates that CES targets through
2023 can be achieved with net societal benefits and modest bill

52

See Hughes, supra 136 S. Ct. 1288, 1299 (2016).

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impacts, taking into account critical known facts, projected
trends, and sensitivities around major variables.

The comments

of parties, both supportive and challenging of the Cost Study

conclusions, illustrate that there are numerous detailed factors
that will unfold during the implementation of the CES.53

Parties

who argue that the Cost Study is incomplete unless it has

integrated all of the factors they enumerate miss the basic
function of the Study in the context of the CES.

The purpose of

the Clean Energy Standard is to transform the electric system.

It is not an isolated, discretionary spending program.

The CES

implements State policy decisions that are made necessary in

part, and urgent, by a global problem that challenges
traditional administrative and jurisdictional approaches.
Consideration of the Cost Study is driven by the dual
statutory charges of providing for just and reasonable rates and
achieving reasonable consistency with the State Energy Plan.

In

this context, the chief purpose of the Cost Study is to estimate

a range of cost and bill impacts, to inform the determination
whether the CES is likely to achieve its goals within a
reasonable range of estimated bill impacts.
To accomplish this purpose, the Study used best
estimates of critical cost and benefits elements and applied
sensitivity analyses across several important variables.

To

avoid overreaching beyond what can be foreseen with a reasonable

degree of confidence, the Study limited its scope to the period
concluding at the end of 2023.

The findings of the Study

demonstrate both a reasonable range of bill impacts and a net

53

Some of the parties objections are factually incorrect. For

example, an estimate for the cost of transmission upgrades is
reflected in the Study at page 256. Also, the Study counts
neither the costs nor the benefits of Tier 1 2017-2019
installations (pg. 284), as support for those projects is
already approved.
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societal benefit.

By its nature, transformative change cannot

rest on precise long-range forecasts of the very matters that

are undergoing transformation.

Several parties argued that the

consequence of uncertainty should be inaction.

It is certain,

though, that the consequences of inaction on air pollution and

climate change are not acceptable.
MI observed that the costs of renewable purchases will
be borne locally, while the benefits of carbon reduction will be
dispersed globally.

Conversely, CEOC and others argued that

other environmental benefits should have been counted.

The

treatment of externalities was subject to comment and was

determined in the adoption of the Benefit Cost Analysis
framework.54

A narrow view of costs and benefits might limit

environmental benefits to those experienced solely within New

York.

In the case of climate change, such an approach could

lead to inaction not only in New York but in all other

jurisdictions.
MIs point is important, however, in illustrating both
the value for combined action and the need for leadership.

The

State Energy Plan determined that New York take its place among
the leaders in this effort.

Under the CES, New Yorks goals are

comparable to those of California and Oregon.

Of the 29 states

that have adopted renewable portfolio standards, several more

either have adopted or are considering increased goals.55

The

CES strikes a reasonable balance between the lowest common

denominator of inaction, which is unacceptable, and aggressive
unilateral action with its attendant economic risks.

54

Case 14-M-0101, supra, Order Establishing the Benefit Cost

Analysis Framework, January 21, 2016, pg. 17.

55

See, e.g., Cal S.B. 350 (adopted February 14, 2015); Oregon
S.B. 1547 (2016); Hawaii H.B. 623 (2015); Vermont H.B. 40
(2015).
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On a similar note, several parties argued that the
efficacy of New Yorks CES will be limited unless RGGI caps are
also reduced.

The setting of RGGI caps is a multi-state

endeavor that also must be coordinated with plans to comply with

the federal Clean Power Plan.

Monitoring of this effort and its

impact on RES targets, will be a subject for periodic review.

Uncertainty around the future direction of RGGI further
illustrates the importance of leadership shown by New York.
In adopting the CES, the Commission is implementing
policy as developed by the statutory State Energy Plan process
and in furtherance of the Commission's responsibilities pursuant
to the PSL.

The Cost Study is an essential way to inform the

Commission's decision, and it demonstrates that the balanced

approach of the CES as adopted is within a reasonable range of
potential impacts.
A second important purpose of the Cost Study is to
inform the development of the CES by identifying controllable
variables that can be used to mitigate potential costs.

The CES

framework adopted here contains several mitigation measures,

including continued aggressive pursuit of energy efficiency
through various proceedings; the Alternative Compliance Payment
option; adjustment of targets via triennial review to optimize
targets in response to market developments; interim review as a
safeguard against divergences; the banking of RECs; the
consideration of the contributions of voluntary market activity;
and Distributed Energy Resource integration via the REV
initiative, so that load management and system balancing can
improve the economic value of weather-variable generation.

related purpose is the identification of factors which, although

not controllable, influence cost and should be considered.
Examples include federal tax credits, interest rates, etc.

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In a late filing, the NYISO stated that substantial
transmission upgrades may be needed to move power from
traditional generation centers to load centers.

The NYISO also

stated that a large increase in reserve margins will be needed

to account for weather-variable generation.

The NYISO further

stated that it intends to develop long-term market mechanisms to

retain nuclear generation.
The Commission agrees with the NYISO to the extent its
comments are suggesting that the Commission must consider the
reliability impacts of a change in the resource mix.

Ensuring

both the reliability and efficiency of the power system is one

of the Commissions chief responsibilities.

Under REV, the

design and operations of the distribution grid will be

modernized to take advantage of information and technology
innovations that enhance value to consumers.

The positive

effects of these changes are already materializing.

While the

NYISO is a public entity regulated by FERC, as a significant

participant in the States power system, New York consumers need
a NYISO that possesses the knowledge and skill sets to match the
sophistication and transformation being made in the power system
to ensure that consumer needs for a reliable power system are
met in as an efficient way as possible.

The Commission is

confident that the NYISO is up for these challenges and will

look forward to its continued cooperation.
The Public Service Law requires the Commission to
ensure that utilities provide safe and adequate service.

In

carrying out its responsibilities, the Commission cannot and

will not compromise the safety and reliability of New York
States electric system, both at the bulk system and
distribution levels.

For this reason, two years ago, DPS

initiated the SRP working group primarily to study the potential

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effects on reliability and to determine the tools needed to
address any concerns identified.
The NYISOs filing describes outcomes that could
potentially occur if the Commission were not proactive in
considering the issues of grid reliability and system
efficiency.

The NYISOs filing represents a status quo outlook

that fails to take into account a likely shift in system

characteristics and generation location, the ongoing SRP
process, the opportunities to deploy new fast-acting resources
like storage and the overall system and operations of
modernization that will address many of the expressed concerns.
The NYISOs declaration of transmission needs of over
1,000 miles of incremental bulk power transmission lines, above
and beyond those in the AC Transmission and Western New York
public policy initiatives now underway, assumes no actions
beyond the current status quo.

Notably, its position appears to

ignore the consequential retirements of upstate fossil-fueled

generating plants, the diversity of renewable resource output,
and the probability of offshore wind, as well as other resources
and technologies that are developed closer to load being a
substantial component of the 2030 generation mix.
Similarly, the NYISOs simple declaration that reserve
margins may need to increase overlooks the operational
characteristics and benefits of a modernizing grid.

New York

and other states are experiencing a tremendous growth in

entrepreneurial innovation and customer participation toward a
grid that both incorporates storage technologies and is
characterized by increasing levels of dynamic load management,
both of which will complement the variable nature of some
renewable generation.
Even under a status quo approach, the NYISOs concern
about the reserve margin seems misplaced.
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CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

has stated, the increased capacity requirement will be largely
met by the additional capacity contribution of the proposed
renewable resources.56

Importantly, the capacity market is

valued in unforced capacity (UCAP) MWs and prices, and

therefore, intermittent resources receive capacity payments that
reflect their relative contribution to serving peak loads.

The

dynamic load management made possible by modernizing the grid,

including new storage, will have a leveling effect on the
difference between fossil-fueled and renewable generation that
exists under the status quo.
This Order has been painstakingly designed to produce
needed reforms and carbon reductions while protecting utility
customers and maintaining an effective wholesale market and
ensuring the continued bulk electric system reliability that New
Yorkers expect and require.

The SRP working group was created

largely in response to a DPS request that the NYISO and

transmission owners identify any potential reliability concerns
and address how to deal with these concerns going forward.
Nonetheless, if the SRP process itself does not sufficiently
deal with potential bottlenecks or the need for new transmission
lines, it is important for all stakeholders to continue to work
towards the necessary solutions.

Further, it is important that

the design and operation of the bulk electric system and

wholesale markets be modernized, much like is being done at the
distribution level.

Therefore, Staff is directed to engage

stakeholders, including the NYISO, after the initial SRP working

group completes its work, to ensure that the bulk transmission
system is sufficiently modernized such that it can fully support
the States renewable goals.

Further, the Commission through

its triennial review process will have ample opportunity to

56

NYISO July 8, 2016, Supplemental Comments on the Clean Energy

Standard, p. 10.
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review the bill and system impacts of the ever changing system
topology and ensure that appropriate actions are taken to
protect the public interest in secure and cost effective
electric service.
D. Adoption of the 50% by 2030 Goal
The statewide goal of 50% renewable resources by 2030
encompasses a wide range of initiatives, of which a requirement
on load serving entities is only one.

The 50 by 30 goal is

itself a component of a larger statewide greenhouse gas goal,

and is the product of a lengthy State Energy Planning process.
The 50 by 30 goal is also consistent with goals adopted by other
leading states.
MI questions why the 50 by 30 goal is assumed to be a
reasonable starting point.

From the standpoint of fuel

diversity, a goal of at least 50% renewable resources by 2030 is

imperative.

The 2014 generation mix for New York included 37%

natural gas, 31% nuclear, and 27% renewable resources as well as

small amounts of coal, oil, and solid waste.

As the licenses of

half of the upstate nuclear generation units expire by 2030, a

renewable resource goal of at least 50% will be needed to avoid
an over-reliance on a single fuel.
The Cost Study indicates that 50 by 30 is reasonably
achievable.

The Commission has even greater concern over the

potential cost of a less ambitious standard that would leave

consumers vulnerable to an over-dependency on natural gas and
uneconomic bypass by many consumers if the economic and
performance advances in renewable and distributed energy
resource and load management technologies are not accommodated.
The resiliency advantages of clean power choices, and the
economies of scale and scope that can be achieved through
ambitious standards and well-designed retail markets that

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support consumer-motivated transactions, are the best path to a
better energy future.
Concerns on whether the 50 by 30 goal may impose too
high a regulatory burden conflate the States overall clean
energy goal of 50 by 30 with the more discrete effort to
establish mandatory resource obligations on LSEs.

The 50 by 30

goal is a cumulative outcome that will be achieved through a

number of activities in addition to the LSE mandatory
obligation.
Understandably, given the task of developing a
mechanism to achieve the CES, the bulk of the record concerns
itself with the mandatory aspect of the RES.

However, in

establishing a mandatory RES obligation on jurisdictional LSEs,

the Commission first considered the activities that occur
outside of this process that will necessarily impact the scope
of compulsory elements of the plan.

Those activities include

the existing inventory of baseline renewable resources including

the sizable state-owned renewable resources; aggressive pursuit
of cost effective energy efficiency; a continued obligation and
opportunity for utilities to ensure that low-income consumers
have access to clean energy alternatives that help them reduce
their energy burden and improve the environment; consumer
initiated green energy purchases or investments; State initiated
green energy purchases or investments for energy consumption by
State entities; and continued participation and leadership in
RGGI and support of universal complementary federal action.
Gas and nuclear industry representatives argued that
rather than a renewable resources goal, the Commission should
adopt a source-neutral carbon intensity goal.

The carbon

reductions associated with the 50 by 30 goal, however, are not

the only objective of the CES.

Increasing fuel diversity is

another goal, and even more importantly, the CES is one

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component of a long-term strategy that aims to transform and decarbonize the way in which electricity is generated.57

For those

reasons the chief focus of the CES initiative is on building new

renewable resource power generation facilities.
In consideration of the discussion above, the
Commission finds and determines that the goal of the SEP that
50% of New Yorks electricity is to be generated by renewable
sources by 2030, as part of a strategy to reduce statewide
greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2030, is reasonable and
necessary to provide for the safe and adequate service of retail
electric consumers in New York State and in a manner that
promotes economy, efficiency, and care for the public safety,
the preservation of environmental values and he conservation of
natural resources.

Therefore, the 50% by 2030 goal is hereby

adopted by the Commission as a foundational basis and essential

component of the Clean Energy Standard.
VI. THE RENEWABLE ENERGY STANDARD
A. Tier 1 - New Renewable Resources
1. Overall Incremental 2030 Statewide Target
Tier 1 of the RES consists of obligations on LSEs to
invest in new renewable generation resources to serve their
retail customers.

The obligation is to be in the form of the

procurement of new renewable resources, evidenced by the

procurement of qualifying RECs, acquired in quantities that
satisfy mandatory minimum percentage proportions of the total
load served by the LSE for the applicable calendar year.

In

order to establish annual incremental targets, it is necessary

to first establish a calculation methodology to translate the

57

The relative carbon intensity of gas-fired generation is

already taken into account in the RGGI market.
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SEP goal of 50% renewable resources by 2030 into an incremental
2030 target for achieving the goal.
a. Calculating Statewide Load
The first step in the calculation methodology is to
determine forecasted statewide load for 2030.

Staff relies on

the NYISO Gold Book forecast to estimate the total load expected
in 2030.

Since the Gold Book forecast only extends ten years,

Staff extrapolates the forecast values to 2030 using a linear

extension of the rate in the most recent Gold Book forecast.
The Commission agrees that this is a reasonable starting point
and will adopt this approach as the initial basis for the
determination.

Under this approach the unadjusted forecast

statewide load for 2030 is 176,619,000 MWhs.

b. No Behind-the-Meter Generation Adjustment
Staff proposes to modify the base forecast by the
addition of customer usage that is currently offset by behindthe-meter renewable generation.

Staff proposes, for the purpose

of calculating the 2014 base line, an addition of 410,000 MWhs

based on NYSERDA estimates.
As a general principle, the Commissions concern in
the RES is to calculate the level of load that all individual
customers are placing on the electric system as the basis for
establishing the level of load to be served by renewable
resources.

Where customers consumption is offset by generation

behind the meter, with the net result that no load is measured
at the meter, whether the customers consumption counts toward
the base forecast depends on whether the generation results in
RECs that are counted toward an LSEs RES compliance obligation.
However, this criterion creates a version of double counting if
the load is being served by renewable resources and the owner of
the renewable attribute wishes to receive RECs for the MWh
production.

In this circumstance failing to include the load

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associated with the REC would result in an underestimate of the
amount of total demand that should be counted towards the 2030
goal.

Ignoring such load is appropriate if the behind-the-meter

generation is either not being registered in NYGATS or if such

RECs are not counted towards the RES goal.

In effect, as

discussed below concerning voluntary consumer actions, the REC

is retired.

In this circumstance, neither the load associated

with the renewable generation nor the generation itself is part

of the program and the load will not count towards the RES
goal.58
The Indicated Joint Utilities commented that when BTM
generation is receiving net energy metering (NEM) compensation,
the associated REC should be provided to the benefit of
ratepayers who have contributed to the payments received through
NEM.

The Commission does not agree with this approach.

The

RECs have been contractually allocated within each transaction

and, therefore, RECs should not now be reallocated to
ratepayers.

However, while RECs will not be reallocated, a

proceeding is underway to move from NEM to a more granular and

hence accurate methodology for pricing the value of distributed
energy resources.59

Until that time and because of the value

that NEM provides to solar development, it is fair to say that

ratepayers are as a whole supporting the development of the
industry and in recognition of this contribution, the BTM load

58

This issue will be revisited if at some later date the

Commission decides that while voluntary market actions with
additionality will not offset LSE compliance obligation but
may be counted toward achievement of the overall program goal.

59

Case 15-E-0751, Value of Distributed Energy Resources.

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will not be included as part of the base forecast or as future
load growth.60
At the time the current net energy metering (NEM)
compensation mechanism moves to a LMP+D approach based on a more
precise determination of the value of distributed energy
resources, it will be appropriate to revisit the question of
under what circumstances BTM load should be considered as part
of the base forecast.
c. Energy Efficiency Adjustment
Staff proposes to modify the base forecast by the
subtraction of customer usage that is expected to be supplanted
by energy efficiency measures.

Staff proposes the subtraction

of 35,627,000 MWhs (2,227,000 MWhs annually) based on its

analysis the State would achieve that level of statewide
incremental energy efficiency gains, and believes that growth
level is consistent with current NYSERDA and utility targets.61
Energy efficiency is a crucial and cost effective
means to achieve clean energy objectives.

Study after study has

shown that when deployed well, energy efficiency is the cheapest

60

This outcome is also consistent with the way BTM generation is

treated by other states in the region. In states with similar
LSE obligations, certificates associated with each MWh of
behind the meter generation are treated on the same basis as
other generation delivering directly to the grid, without
adjustments to individual or aggregate obligations. See
http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/doer/rps-aps/225-cmr-14-00-draftsrec-ii-reg-020414-tracked-changes.pdf; 225 CMR 14.00
RENEWABLE ENERGY PORTFOLIO STANDARD CLASS I.

61

This figure includes an assumed contribution from NYPA and

LIPA based on their proportional share of load, in addition to
targets established for utilities and NYSERDA. Case 15-M0252, Utility Energy Efficiency Programs, Order Authorizing
Utility-Administered Energy Efficiency Portfolio Budgets and
Targets for 2016 2018 (Issued and Effective January 22,
2016), Case 14-M-0094, Clean Energy Fund, Order Authorizing
the Clean Energy Fund Framework (Issued and Effective January
21, 2016).
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and most effective manner to reduce carbon emissions in the
energy sector.

In the CEF Order, the Commission requested that

the stakeholders work with Staff and NYSERDA to determine

whether the State should adopt a MWh and MW target for energy
efficiency and, if so, to identify the appropriate level to be
achieved and over what time period.

In the REV Ratemaking

Order, the Commission added to this opportunity by allowing

utilities to achieve specific incentives to achieve added levels
of energy efficiency.
The achievement of higher levels than the current
energy efficiency targets can clearly benefit individual
consumers and create system-wide value through the cost
effective achievement of the RES and carbon reduction goals.62
Higher levels of energy efficiency and its timing will
positively impact both the total target and the trajectory
proposed to achieve it.

However, for the purpose of the initial

calculation of the 2030 target, it is premature for the

Commission to presume any level more than the current
objectives.

Rather, this determination will be revisited after

the work of the Clean Energy Advisory Council is concluded.

In

addition, the Commission agrees with parties that the demand

forecast should not remain static.

During the triennial reviews

the Commission will update the forecast to taken into account

actions or events that are having a measurable impact on demand
forecasts.
d. No Adjustment for Carbon Reducing Technologies
Staff proposes to modify the base forecast by the
addition of customer usage that is expected to be created by the
deployment of electric vehicles (EVs) and thermal heat pumps.
Staff proposes the addition of 8,615,000 MWhs based on its
62

Case 14-M-0101, supra, Order Adopting a Ratemaking and Utility

Revenue Model Policy Framework, issued May 19, 2016.
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projections.

As a general principle, load growth associated

with de-carbonizing actions in the transportation and building

sectors requires encouragement in the States regulatory and
market approaches to encourage clean energy activity of all
types.

In this vein, in the DSIP Order and CEF Order the

Commission asked parties to pay particular attention to actions

and incentives that would encourage these efforts.
With regard to EV penetration, it is appropriate for
utilities to have specific incentives and offer services to
build out this critical industry.

Increased levels of EV can

have several beneficial aspects for the electric system,

including increasing load factor efficiency through the addition
of night time load and increasing the levels of fast acting
local regulation and other ancillary services that support
integration of higher levels of renewable resources.

Similarly,

the use of geothermal heat pumps can also support reduction of

carbon in the heating sector and again improve electric load
efficiency.
The Commission does not agree, therefore, that the
load estimates should be increased to account for these
activities.

In both instances, rather than affecting the

calculation of the RES, improved pricing will be developed

through the Value of DER proceeding,63 where adoption of an LMP+D
methodology is being considered, the actions of FERC in the
wholesale market, and the activities of the Clean Energy
Advisory Council to ensure that the total net impact of these
efforts are carbon neutral or positive.

In addition, as

discussed further herein, the Commission will consider whether a

TREC program should be added.

63

Individual actors who engage in

Case 15-E-0751, supra.

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these carbon saving activities also should be attracted to
participate in other carbon reducing activities like energy
efficiency programs that in combination allow them to achieve
either low or net zero carbon impact.
Moreover, given the limited current market share it is
not necessary at this time to calculate their impact on load
growth.

Over time, if these efforts do have a significant

impact on electric demand to the point where they would

represent a substantial increase in the RES requirement, the
Commission will reconsider how best to treat these particular
forms of load growth.

However, for the purposes of setting the

initial base line target, the Commission rejects this element of

the Staffs recommendation.
e. Net Total Load
The net result of the two approved adjustments to the
original base load is as follows:
NYISO Load Extrapolated to 2030
Energy Efficiency Subtractions

2030 MWhs
176,619,000
(35,627,000)

Resultant 2030 Load

140,992,000

50% of 2030 Load

70,496,000

f. Baseline Renewable Resource Adjustment

The next step in the calculation methodology is to
subtract the existing baseline of renewable resources from the
50% of load figure to determine the incremental level of new
renewable resources needed to satisfy the goal.

The Commission

believes that because these resources are already included in

the base of resources used to meet State load, it is appropriate
to subtract out the existing quantity.

The Commission will

accept Staff's estimate of 41,296,000 MWh and assumes that all

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of these resources will remain operational.64

The net result of

the adjustment is as follows:

50% of 2030 Load
Baseline Renewable Resources 2014

70,496,000
(41,296,000)

2030 Incremental Statewide Target

29,200,000

2. Annual Targets
Although the 2030 target of 50% renewable resources is
clear as a percentage goal, the targeted number of MWh that must
be procured by LSEs in any time period is dependent on a number
of factors that will necessarily alter the level of annual
requirements.

In the previous Renewable Portfolio Standard and

Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard programs the Commission

derived final targets from forecasts at the outset and did not
subsequently revise them.65

The approach taken here reflects the

longer term, market driven and more comprehensive nature of REV

and the RES as a component of this reform.

In particular, the

Commission anticipates that the trajectory for renewable

development will be impacted by all forms of voluntary market
activity.

In other words, retail market participation,

including customer behavior in terms of energy efficiency,

behind the meter supply investments, supply mix, and hedging
strategies, can and will impact the requisite level of mandated
procurement in any given time period.

As already discussed, the

Commission expects that utilities and NYSERDA will both pursue

64

If any of the renewable resources currently counted in the

baseline sell RECs into other markets at some point in the
future, the Commission may adjust the baseline in the future
accordingly.

65

Case 07-M-0548, Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard, Order

Establishing Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard and
Approving Programs, issued June 23, 2008. Case 03-E-0188,
Retail Renewable Portfolio Standard, Order Regarding Retail
Renewable Portfolio Standard, issued September 24, 2004.
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and achieve higher levels of energy efficiency savings than
currently forecasted.

This outcome will positively affect

consumers both in terms of overall bill impacts and achievement

of environmental objectives.

It will also necessarily require

an adjustment of both the ultimate 2030 target and the

trajectory to achieve it.
Establishing annual targets also must be done in the
framework of other REV enabled system changes and associated
market developments.

There are considerable efforts underway to

support the wide deployment of distributed energy resources

throughout New York as a means to increase system reliability
and resiliency as well as promote a more efficient, cost
effective and cleaner grid.

Starting with existing efforts

related to NY-Sun, community solar, community aggregation,

demonstration projects and demand response activities, this
market momentum is already taking root.

In the last three years

related to solar alone there has been a 500% increase in growth.

With the efforts being made in the CEF fund, the growth of the
Green Bank, the recent filing of the DSIPs and the Commissions
Order on Regulatory and Rate Design changes, it is anticipated
these markets will develop even more rapidly and consequently
have a dynamic and positive effect on the supply available to
meet the demand for renewable energy.

Based upon the speed of

this activity and the choices of individual customers, the State

may find itself in an enviable position of accelerated
achievement of the 2030 target.
Related to these market developments are the effect
that improved information, pricing, and product definition will
have on customer grid-based supply choices.

One of the great

advantages that the Commission has in the development of the RES

targets is the increased public awareness and interest in taking
personal action to combat climate change, whether in the
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interest of protecting against environmental damage or to ensure
resiliency and to achieve positive economic as well as
environmental outcomes.

Businesses and institutions as diverse

as Walmart, Google, the State University of New York and the

U.S. Military have adopted programs that increasingly rely on
renewable resources due to their economic and environmental
benefits.

From 2012 to 2015, the capacity of publicly announced

corporate renewable power purchases increased from 0.05 GW in

2012 to 3.23 GW in 2015.66
The State also has the opportunity to stimulate mass
market consumer interest in grid based renewable purchases
through the actions taken in the development of the retail
market, including product requirement and product definition.
Increasingly, utilities and retail market providers are
recognizing that the mass market that purchases their services
is far from monolithic.

Many ESCOS are finding that product

differentiation beyond price and target marketing as part of

customer attraction and retention is of significant value.

As

part of the ESCO reset process, the Commission is considering

how to best define value added products offered by ESCOS to the
mass market.

Many ESCOs today offer green energy products that

may or may not conform to the forthcoming RES requirements.

There is considerable value in the development of defined green
products that consumers who have an interest in protecting the
66

Corporate Renewable Deals 2012 to 2016, Business Renewables

Center. In 2015, USEPAs Green Power Partnership program had
over 1300 partners collectively using 30 GWh of green power
annually. https://www.epa.gov/greenpower/green-powerpartnership-program-success-metrics. From 2012 to 2016 there
was a 40% increase in companies adopting sustainable business
principles, and the amount of assets subject to fossil
divestment rose from $50 billion in 2014 to $2.6 trillion in
2015. State of Green Business 2016, GreenBiz Group Inc., pp.
34, 54. See also, Creating Renewable Energy Opportunities,
Utility-Corporate Buyer Collaborative Forum, June 2016.
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environment will naturally gravitate to if they have confidence
in the veracity of the offering.
Defining these products is the appropriate subject of
the ESCO reset docket where these issues are currently pending.
However, in the interest of supplying additional guidance, the
Commission notes that for these products to be real and avoid
market place confusion, they must offer environmental value that
is greater than the level of renewable resources that can be
acquired as part of normal default load.

Thus, in defining a

green product, the minimum content should be in excess of annual

mandatory targets.
Based upon experience in the development of shared
renewable resources, the value of these products to customers
will also be enhanced if customers are confident that some if
not all of the renewable energy they are purchasing is produced
in New York.

Again, the determination of this content issue is

beyond the scope of this proceeding, but Staff is directed to

work with NYSERDA and other interested stakeholders within the
pending reset process to develop content and definition
standards that can be used to market a New York certified green
electric product, i.e., a product that customers know has a
defined content of NY-based green power.67
The successful stimulation of these customer-initiated
choices will have a necessary impact on the trajectory of the
required acquisitions to achieve the 50% target for 2030.

It is

anticipated this demand will have separate effects based upon

the consumers individual choices.

67

Many consumers will want to

To avoid any suggestion of a commerce clause violation, the

Commission is not suggesting that the LSE must use NY produced
power to meet its compliance obligations. Rather, the focus
here is on directing efforts to meet consumer demand for
accurate information and full choice on the content of the
supply they purchase and the location of the source.
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claim that their participation is voluntary or additional to the
States program.

When a purchase of renewable resources is made

in the absence of a government mandate, or if it is not counted

toward compliance with a government mandate, it is typically
described as voluntary or additional to any compliance
obligation.

Over the years, well-established national and

international protocols have been developed to ensure that any

commercial claims of voluntary or additional activity conform to
guidelines and are not misleading to the public.68
In the context of the RES, for example, if a customer
served by an LSE chooses 100% renewable energy, the customer may
want to claim "additionality" and require the LSE to retire RECs
associated with more than 50% of the served load.

This action

prevents the LSE from reducing the amount of RECs it would

otherwise require to meet its minimal compliance obligation.

In

this way, the customer is increasing the amount of incremental

renewable resources.
Other customers choosing to go higher than 50% may
instead want or be indifferent to the LSE applying the excess to
other customers less willing or able to make those choices.

The

net effect of this action is that, by revealing their

preferences, customers may be able to accelerate the States
achievement of the 50% target, or, that the target becomes the
minimum and that the revealed preference of New Yorkers as a
whole is to have a greater than 50% resource mix of renewable
resources.

In all cases, the development of a vibrant market

for consumer choice for clean resources and the development of

standard products that create confidence, will impact the timing

68

See, e.g., Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing

Claims (Federal Trade Commission Green Guide), 16 CFR Part
260; also see Environmental Marketing Guidelines for
Electricity, National Association of Attorneys General.
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of the mandated requirements and their associated costs.

As

discussed below, banking of RECs will be available for LSEs if

demand for green products, as expected, proves to be
substantial.

A high demand for green products may also warrant

an adjustment to the mandated target that better reflects

positive market interest for renewable development and attendant
lower risks and costs to those New York consumers who do not
share that interest.69
The Commission also is sympathetic to the interests of
some consumers who would prefer to have a 100% renewable energy
mix and make no contribution to the ZEC program.

This type of

reallocation of individual consumer obligations may prove to be

in the broader public interest if it results in new renewable
development in New York that counts towards the 50 by 30
standard and is subject to contractual obligations for at least
as long as the NYSERDA contract with the nuclear units as
described infra.

Staff shall review the development of this

opportunity and provide recommendations to be considered as part

of the ESCO reset Order and implementation phase
The Commission also recognizes that even while it is
optimistic for success, the development of new renewable
resources or any new resource can take more time than
anticipated.

The concern here is that if supply is not able to

meet the jurisdictional level of demand, the prices may increase

higher than is reasonable for consumers.

In this circumstance,

the Commission may decide to adjust near-term targets downward,

increase obligations in later years, or focus on actions that

69

The Commission also notes that in addition to the consumer

based actions, changes in RGGI pricing, wholesale market rules
and federal clean energy requirements can all impact the pace
of State action. Rather than detract, these phenomena add to
the need for the State to remain flexible in its approach to
annual targets.
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can facilitate development.

Before taking such a step, all

reasonable measures to reduce project costs, including soft

costs such as siting and interconnection, should be pursued.
Along with the ability to accommodate market dynamics,
the trajectory for acquiring renewable resources under the RES
must be informed by improvements in the cost structure for
renewable resources, both in front of and behind the meter.
Over the last three years the reported installed cost of solar
has declined by about 26%.

The cost of wind has seen a similar

improvement and technology changes associated with offshore wind

development and economies of scale will also improve these cost
dynamics.

Additionally, as noted in the cost study, supply

prices for natural gas may also increase electric prices.

The

cost study also noted other factors such as the availability of

federal tax credits, interest rates and other market factors
which can affect the economics of acquiring new renewable
resources.

All of these fundamentals have the effect of

potentially improving the competitiveness of renewable resources

and reduce the attributed payment they seek in the REC auctions,
all which benefit consumers.
All of these factors suggest a pragmatic approach to
establishing the yearly targets for LSE compliance under the
RES.

Staff has recommended that the Commission establish firm

targets in the initial years and then provide a triennial

review.

While firm targets for planning purposes are necessary

for the near-term, there is value to the market in seeing a

potential trajectory that is non-linear and that looks to take
advantage of voluntary consumer activities and reduced renewable
supply costs.

The Commission directs Staff, as part of the

implementation plan to i) review and either confirm or propose

modifications to the targets adopted here for 2018-2021 after
taking into consideration current market conditions including
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the result of the 2016 NYSERDA LSR solicitation70 and ii)
develop a potential acquisition curve for the years 2022-2030.
The curve will serve simply as a base case calculation that will
be adjusted as necessary based upon actual market dynamics.
In summary, the Commission establishes, subject to the
review directed above, the following fixed targets and requires
each New York LSE to serve their retail customers by procuring
new renewable resources, evidenced by the procurement of
qualifying RECs, acquired in the following proportions of the
total load served by the LSE for the years 2017 through 2021:

70

Year
2017

Percentage
of LSE Total
Load
0.6%

2018

1.1%

2019

2.0%

2020

3.4%

2021

4.8%

NYSERDA is currently evaluating responses to the 2016 RPS

solicitation. RECs procured through that solicitation will be
treated as Tier 1 resources that will provides RECs in or
after 2018. The Commission recognizes that current market
conditions, including the limited continuation of applicable
federal tax credits, may be favorable, resulting in attractive
pricing in this current solicitation. In that case, there is
no reason to delay additional procurement or supply. Any such
additional procurement can be funded through an acceleration
of the consumption targets for the years 2018 - 2030.
Accordingly, if NYSERDA determines that acceleration is
warranted because the additional financial commitment would
result in an overall weighted average award price of 2016 Main
Tier projects equal to or less than the 2015 Main Tier
weighted average price of $24.57 per REC, it is authorized to
implement additional procurement levels in the 2016
procurement and file a report with the Commission documenting
its determination and the results.
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Over time through the triennial review process, the
Commission will adopt incrementally larger percentages for the
year 2022 through 2030, with sufficient lead time for the LSEs
to incorporate the changes into their planning processes.

The

periodic review and target setting will also take into account
the balance of likely incremental supply with demand.

Based on

current forecasts of future loads, the above percentages will

yield the following MWhs of output from new renewable resources:

Statewide Yield (MWhs)

2017

Distribution
Utilities &
ESCOs
705,595

2018

120,244

139,225

Direct
Customers
8,936

1,261,429

214,967

248,900

15,975

1,741,270

2019

2,263,192

385,682

446,563

28,662

3,124,100

2020

3,841,197

654,599

757,928

48,647

5,302,371

2021

5,455,424

929,688

1,076,440

69,090

7,530,642

Year

LIPA

NYPA

Statewide
Total
974,000

3. LSE Obligation
Achieving the statewide 50 by 30 goal will involve a
variety of elements and resources, including market-based,
regulatory, and non-jurisdictional factors.

The basic

regulatory component of the RES will be an obligation on LSEs,

consistent with the approach used in neighboring states.

This

will place compliance costs primarily on generation supply

charges, where they are most appropriately applied.

Placing

compliance costs on supply will encourage efficiency, support

voluntary hedging and power purchase agreements, and help to
develop markets at the retail level, by encouraging competitive
LSEs to develop innovative products.

Consistency with other

states will allow developers to participate in markets in

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multiple jurisdictions and may enable trading to reduce overall
costs.
The obligation will apply to every LSE serving retail
load within a regulated distribution utility territory.

This

will include investor-owned utilities serving in their role as

electric commodity supplier of last resort, jurisdictional
municipal utilities, competitive ESCOs serving electric
commodity to retail customers, and community choice aggregators
not otherwise served by an ESCO.71

Customers purchasing power

directly from the NYISO will be considered LSEs for this

purpose, so that their consumption levels are accounted for
without other customers bearing the burden.72

This adoption of

the Renewable Energy Standard is a changed regulatory

requirement for the purposes of the Uniform Business Practices
(UBP).
Each LSE will be responsible for supplying a defined
percentage of retail load with supply derived from eligible
resources, as defined by the compliance methods discussed below.
The obligation will be annual, determined by multiplying the
LSEs actual load for that year by the percentage RES target for
that year.73
Representatives of ESCOs argued that some ESCOs have
fixed price contracts with customers, and that these ESCOs could

71

See, Case 14-M-0224, Community Choice Aggregation Programs,

Order Authorizing Framework for Community Choice Aggregation
Opt-Out Program, issued April 21, 2016.

72

Under the Federal Power Act, any sale of electricity that is

not a sale for resale s subject to Commissions jurisdiction
instead of FERCs. A sale by the NYISO to a direct customer
consumer is not a sale for resale, it is a retail sale subject
to Commission jurisdiction.

73

The LSEs obligation will be measured at the wholesale level,

i.e., grossed up to reflect the generation needed to serve
customers prior to line losses.
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CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

not pass through the additional costs created by the LSE
obligation.

As an equitable matter, all customers and market

participants must share in the RES effort.

In the early years

of the RES, the incremental obligation will be small, so this

will not fall outside the range of normal business risks.

As

the LSE obligation grows, ESCOs will have timed out of their
fixed price obligations, and the RES obligation will provide
both incentives for ESCOs to develop new products, and
opportunities to appeal to voluntary 100% green markets.
Municipal utilities have argued that they should be
exempt from the LSE obligation because they already are supplied
with large amounts of hydropower.

NYPA hydropower that is sold

to municipal utilities on a wholesale basis, however, is part of

the baseline.

The jurisdictional increment of the RES is in

addition to the baseline and is the responsibility of every load

serving entity.

If municipal utilities were exempt from the LSE

obligation, other LSEs would have to carry their portion of the

statewide goal.

The fact that municipal utilities currently

obtain very low-cost power is not a persuasive argument for

exempting them from sharing in a statewide obligation.
Several parties commented that microgrids and combined
heat and power generators should be subject to the LSE
obligation.

At this time, the amount of load represented by

these categories is relatively small, and the CES should not

become an obstacle to their further development.

Potential

application of the LSE obligation to new microgrids and CHP

generators should be considered as part of the triennial review
process.
4. Long-Term Procurement Issues
a. Need for Long-term Procurement
The entire RES goal could theoretically be satisfied
by a spot market for RECs.

In practice, however, given the

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conditions of markets at this time, a sole reliance on a spot
market i.e., a completely self-initiated market without a
long-term coordinated procurement strategy - would result in
high compliance costs.

A long-term procurement process is

needed to achieve the 50 by 30 goal.

Staff described the risks faced by renewable project
developers in competitive markets.

These risks would lead to

high compliance costs that would be passed on to customers.

The

most obvious concern is that financing for renewable projects

will be more expensive without a long-term assurance of a
revenue stream.

Under an approach that relied on a spot market

for RECs, developers would assume the risk of technology costs

declining, with established projects having to compete against
lower-cost entrants.

A long-term contract for RECs can address

this problem, although there will be a remaining risk of change

in energy prices.
This concern is enhanced where there is a competitive
retail market structure.

Each LSE will have a compliance

obligation based on its annual retail load.

Customers are free

to switch suppliers, however, and no LSE is guaranteed constant

or predictable retail sales volume for commodity sales.

There

will be risk attached to long-term procurement obligations

undertaken by any LSE, because the LSE has no assurance that it
will retain customers to support the long-term obligation.
In short, developers argue that they will face risk in
the absence of long-term bundled contracts, while LSEs argue
that they will face risk in entering long-term contracts.
Because demand for RECs will be mandated and thus relatively
inelastic, REC supply shortages caused by these risks would
result either in high prices or in non-compliance.
Establishing a long-term procurement process is
intended to complement a spot market for RECs, not to eliminate
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it.

Depending on how procurement targets are set and how the

market responds to solicitations, there are likely to be times

when long-term procurement does not satisfy the entire LSE
obligation.

There will also be LSEs that choose not to

participate in the long-term procurement process.

b. Types of Long-term Procurement
Much of the comments about long-term contracts have
centered on a choice between bundled power-purchase agreements
and utility-owned generation.

REI argued that PPAs will be the

most cost-effective means of bringing renewable developers into

New York on the scale needed to meet the targets.
the Cost Study as confirming the value of PPAs.

They cited
Utilities

argued that PPAs would present risks to ratepayers, but that

UOGs can substantially reduce costs due to lower financing costs
and continued ownership of the residual value of plants.
Renewable developers who oppose utility ownership argued that
the residual value is reflected in their bid prices.

IPPNY

argued that allowing utility ownership would reverse a longstanding Commission policy.

Opponents of utility ownership

claimed that utilities would have an advantage in competitive

processes because they could understate initial costs and then
recover cost overruns from ratepayers.

Utilities proposed that

their ownership could be limited to a financial basis, with

independent companies developing, building, and potentially
operating the renewable facilities.

IJU proposed a portfolio

approach, combining a utility finance-only ownership model with

a REC-only market and a voluntary market.
Under the current RPS program, long-term procurement
is achieved through REC-only contracts executed by NYSERDA
following competitive solicitations.

In this model, developers

sell the power commodity in capacity and energy markets and only
the REC is subject to a long-term contract.
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Proponents of PPAs

CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

and UOGs argued that the energy price risk involved in a REConly contract will result in higher bids for the REC attribute.
Those parties suggest that REC contracts should be used only for
the residual LSE obligation that is not procured through a
bundled contract.
c. Power Markets in New York
The manner in which to best achieve the Commissions
goals, at reasonable cost, is directly tied to the design of
power markets in New York.

In New Yorks restructured markets,

distribution utilities do not own generation facilities.

Generation plants are owned by independent producers, who sell
wholesale power primarily through markets operated by the New
York Independent System Operator.

Power is sold at retail to

customers by competitive ESCOs as well as distribution utilities

as default service suppliers for those customers who do not
choose a competitive supplier.

The power sold at retail by

ESCOs and utilities is primarily purchased from the independent

generators through the wholesale market, and is delivered
physically by distribution utilities.74
Under this structure, competitive markets set the
power price, and most of the Commissions rate regulation
activities are limited to the costs of physically delivering the
power and maintaining a reliable delivery system.

The

previously established clean energy programs such as the RPS and

EEPS have been funded through surcharges on delivery bills.
Costs related to energy usage, however, should be reflected in
the energy component of the bill for the reasons previously
discussed.

74

The wholesale markets are complemented by bilateral markets.

This description of New Yorks market structure is intended to
be a general overview and does not reflect numerous exceptions
and detailed qualifications.
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d. Determination
The volume of new development that will be needed to
achieve 50 by 30 is much greater than the annual pace the RPS
program has achieved to date.

Analysis of this issue is driven

by the Commission's fundamental responsibility to consumers to

achieve the SEP goal at a reasonable cost.

For this it is

apparent that some form of long-term procurement will be needed.

Investors simply will not look to build renewable
generation facilities without sufficient certainty that they
will successfully earn a return on their investment.

In the

case of the type of long-lived capital investment necessary to

construct and operate a generation facility, a long-term
contract or other durable mechanism providing reasonably certain
terms will be necessary to induce such investment.

Without the

assurances that a long-term contract provides, the renewable

generation projects that the State requires will not come to
fruition.
The principal question is whether that procurement
should involve only RECs or whether it should also involve
bundled power contracts and/or direct utility investment.

subsidiary question would be whether a bundled procurement

approach, if taken, should be achieved through PPAs, UOGs, or
some combination.
sides of this issue.

Reasonable arguments were made on various

In addressing this question, the

Commission has broad authority under the Public Service Law.

The determination will be governed by policy concerns as to the
most reasonable and effective way to achieve the renewable goal.
Mandating utilities to enter long-term PPAs would
present a significant financial risk to ratepayers and to
utilities.

Because customers in New York can choose their power

suppliers, no supplier is assured of the size of its customer

base, for purposes of energy sales, over the long-term.
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This is

CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

true of distribution utilities as well as ESCOs.

Because there

is no assurance of a long-term customer base from which to

recover the cost of power contracts, mandated PPAs would create
the risk of utilities recovering costs from a dwindling group of
default energy customers, or to resort to a non-bypassable
surcharge that applies to all delivery customers.

Because a

delivery surcharge limits competitive choice, it is not the

preferred alternative.

Advocates of PPAs argued that there are

hedge benefits as well; but hedging in power markets tends to

occur over three- to five-year periods, not 20-year periods.
Utility-owned generation can cost less than the
alternatives, in the near-term, largely because utilities have
lower finance costs.

But utility owned generation also has the

potential to inhibit entry by other market participants, which

can result in less competition and higher costs in the long-run.
Procurement that is limited to the REC, and does not
include the power supply itself, avoids the pitfalls of PPAs and
UOGs, but may result in higher costs for the renewable
attribute, as developers build the increased risk of power cost
fluctuation into their bids to sell the renewable attribute.
The potential for federal preemption creates a risk
that could slow the implementation of the RES.

The U.S. Supreme

Court decision in Hughes v. Talen Energy Marketing, LLC, 136 S.

Ct. 1288 (2016) does not directly bar power purchase agreements.
It does, however, cast uncertainty over state-mandated contracts
that parties may argue interfere with federally supervised
wholesale markets.
An additional concern is a practice of FERC which
places constraints on the Commissions ability to mandate PPAs
in a cost-effective manner.

FERCs current policy of imposing

buyer-side mitigation measures upon various resources

participating in the downstate installed capacity markets
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creates significant risk that a PPA backed by a public resource
(including utility ratepayers) could fail to clear the capacity
market thereby forcing ratepayers to purchase capacity from
other resources that would not otherwise be needed.75

Although

exemptions for certain renewable resources or other policydriven procurements have been discussed in various orders, no
clear policy delineations exist at this time.

For instance, a

proposal currently pending before FERC would allow limited

exemptions from buyer-side mitigation for certain intermittent
renewable resources below a 1,000 MW annual cap.76

Whether this

policy is ultimately adopted or not, FERCs current approach to

capacity markets, and presumptions against bilateral contracts
of major retail suppliers, cast a shadow over a reliance on
mandated PPAs to achieve RES targets.

The risk of federal

preemption could disrupt and delay the entire RES initiative.

The arguments in favor of PPAs and UOGs are
substantial.

Consistent with the Commissions long-standing

policies, however, as a matter of first preference long-term

PPAs will not be mandated, nor will the Commission revert to a
blanket authorization of traditional UOGs.

Long-term

procurement will begin by employing the current method of fixedprice REC contracts.

This approach will provide a simple

transition from the RPS program into the RES.

Because of the

much larger procurement levels under the RES, and because the

75

There is also considerable risk that the buyer-side mitigation

measures may be extended to the rest-of-state capacity
markets, which is pending before FERC. Docket No. EL13-62,
Independent Power Producers of New York, Inc. v. New York
Independent System Operator, Inc., Order Denying Complaint
(issued March 19, 2015).

76

See Docket No. ER16-1404, New York Independent System

Operator, Inc., NYISO Compliance Filing (filed April 13,
2016).
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procurements will not be budget-bounded as RPS procurements are,
a wider range of developers is expected to participate.
e. Review of Procurement Practices
The determination here is a continuation of the
Commission's policy of relying on markets where feasible, as the
best long-run approach to reducing costs and promoting
innovation.77

In the context of the RES, a balance is needed

between long-run reliance on markets and the need to achieve

consistent and measured progress toward the 2030 goal.

For that

reason, REC markets will be closely monitored and if projects

are not being developed in New York at a satisfactory pace, the
Commission will consider alternative procurement approaches.
The effectiveness of REC-only procurement will be
evaluated in the triennial review process.

Criteria to be

considered in this review include:

77

whether supply is available to meet LSE obligations;

cost of RECs compared with neighboring states and

other markets;

extent of reliance on Alternative Compliance Payments;

effects on ratepayer cost and risk and overall bill

impacts;

rate of entry by competitive developers;

extent to which projects are developed in-state; and

extent of in-state projects selling RECs into

neighboring markets.

The Commissions decision to limit mandated procurements to

REC-only should not inhibit market participants in developing
innovative approaches for the procurement of new Tier 1
resources.
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5. Design Parameters
a. No Separate New Resource Tiers
Tier 1 is for the procurement of new renewable
resources of all types beginning commercial operation on or
after January 1, 2015.

The use of multiple tiers would reduce

the competition within tiers that is necessary to achieve lower

long-term costs.

Although numerous parties propose separate

tiers for preferred types of new resources, it is more effective

to allow all new resources to compete directly with each other.
In its White Paper, Staff correctly points out that coincentives can serve as an effective means to provide financial
support that is determined to be appropriate to advance state
policy.
Some parties argue for a separate obligation for
offshore wind.

Offshore wind is an evolving technology.

The

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management identified the coastal region

of New York as an ideal location for offshore wind development.
The Commission agrees that offshore wind will be a vital
component in achieving the States renewable goals.

There is no

need, however, to immediately establish a specific near-term

target because NYSERDA is already tasked with developing a blue
print for offshore wind development for the State.

The

appropriate next step, therefore, is to await NYSERDAs study

and request that NYSERDA include in its analysis recommendations
on the best solutions for maximizing the potential for offshore
wind in New York.
Some parties also argue for a separate obligation
related to energy storage.

Storage is a critically important

component of the energy system that is both distributed and

increasingly reliant on intermittent resources.

Unlike other

resources, the load shifting and fast response capabilities of

various forms of storage resources allow them to provide
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simultaneous value as an energy and reliability resource.
Storage can also provide value to the distribution based retail
and bulk power markets.

The Commission agrees with the view

expressed by NYBEST that it is important for utilities to gain

understanding of the capabilities of storage through direct
hands on experience.

For those reasons and in order for storage

to gain its appropriate place as a resource that provides

network value to the distribution system provider, the
Commission has allowed utilities to invest in storage to support
integration of renewables and is looking for the best mechanisms
to value fast acting firming resources on the distribution grid
in the development of pricing for DER.

The Commission has

specifically directed the utilities to consider the impact of

storage as part of their DSIPs.

It is expected that the value

of storage to be accurately monetized in the development of the

retail markets for energy efficiency and the utility EAMs for
system efficiency.

In this Order the Commission is also

directing Staff to work with the ISO to make sure as part of the
development of the CES, the ISO is improving the bulk power
market to better signal and value the ability of storage to firm
resources and improve the reliability of the bulk power system
in a manner that is more efficient and secure than transmission
alone.
issue.78

FERC has already commenced working on this specific

In short, it is without question that modern markets

must sufficiently and accurately value storage as a vehicle to

design and optimize network planning and operations.

However,

as a reliability support and system optimizing resource, storage

is not properly characterized as a standalone renewable energy

78

FERC Docket No. AD16-20-000, Electric Storage Participation in

Regions with Organized Wholesale Electric Markets, Letter
Requesting New York Independent System Operator, Inc. Response
(issued April 11, 2016).
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CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

resource under the CES.

That being said, if the various

mechanisms that the Commission is pursuing to ensure storage

takes it rightful place as a critical resource for the modern
grid prove insufficient, this topic will be revisited.
NY GEO proposes a separate thermal renewable energy
credit or "TREC" requirement applicable to geothermal heat
pumps, to recognize the manner in which they utilize renewable
geothermal energy and reduce system wide carbon emissions.
Including geothermal heat pumps as an eligible technology could
add an additional source of competitive RECs to the overall
compliance pool, which could reduce costs for all participants.
NY GEO's proposal acknowledges, however, that there are
administrative complexities involved in determining the
mechanism by which geothermal exploitation can be converted into
TRECs.

During the Implementation Phase Staff will propose a

process for parties to consider such complexities and to explore

practical administrative mechanisms that might be employed to
accommodate geothermal heat pumps as an eligible technology.
b. Eligibility
Staffs proposed eligibility framework is reasonable.
Resources eligible to provide Tier 1 compliance will mirror the
eligibility rules currently used for the Main Tier of the RPS,
with the exception that the former 30 MW limit on low-impact
run-of-river hydroelectric facilities is eliminated.

The

eligible resource categories will include Biogas, Biomass,

Liquid Biofuels, Fuel Cells, Hydroelectric, Solar, Tidal/Ocean,
and Wind.

More detailed requirements as to eligibility of these

resources are contained in Appendix A entitled Eligibility of

Resources.

Several parties argued that there should be no

restrictions at all on the eligibility of large scale hydro

facilities.

This issue was extensively debated in the creation

of the RPS, with many parties opposing the environmental impacts

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of large impoundments, including methane emissions.

The

resolution in that proceeding, that no new storage impoundment

will be permitted for any eligible hydroelectric facility,
remains reasonable and is not changed.

To the extent any factor

has changed since the RPS Order, it is an increasing awareness

of the climate change impacts of methane and concern over
methane releases from large hydro impoundments, particularly new
ones in which flooded vegetation would be decomposing and
releasing methane.
Staffs proposed delivery criteria for geographic
eligibility is also adopted.

Eligible facilities must either be

located in New York or in a control area adjacent to the New

York Control Area, with documentation of a contract path and
delivery of the underlying energy for consumption in New York
between the generator and either the New York Spot Market
administered by the NYISO or an LSE in New York, including
transmission or transmission rights.

More detailed requirements

as to geographic eligibility are contained in Appendix A

entitled Eligibility of Resources.
c. Compliance.
The medium of compliance will be the REC, with one REC
created for each one MWh generated by an eligible facility.

As

mentioned, this is the universal unit of measure used in

multiple jurisdictions, which allows efficient trading with
liquidity, transparency, and verification.
and verified through NYGATS.

RECs will be tracked

Ideally, NYGATS will be able to

verify eligibility including the delivery requirement described

above for some or all of the resources such that the delivery
requirement documentation can be mostly met through NYGATS.

description of NYGATS is included in Appendix C.

Each LSE will demonstrate compliance through an annual
compliance filing.

LSEs may purchase RECs from NYSERDA for

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retirement by the purchaser, or may self-supply by direct
purchase and/or sale of tradable RECs,79 but a REC can only be
used once for compliance and after a REC is used to demonstrate
compliance it is permanently retired.

ESCOs may also develop

and own renewable resources for sale to their retail customers.

RECs purchased from NYSERDA in 2017 may not be traded, but may
be sold back to NYSERDA at cost if not needed to demonstrate
compliance.

Any excess RECs held by NYSERDA at the end of a

compliance period will be eligible and offered for sale by

NYSERDA in subsequent compliance periods.

NYSERDAs role as the

central procurer of RECs is intended to contribute to reducing

the cost of compliance.

However, the tradability of NYSERDA

procured RECs could result in increased cost.

Accordingly, for

Compliance Year 2018 and following, Staff will include a

recommendation regarding whether NYSERDA procured RECs should be
tradable as part of its implementation proposal and parties
should be prepared to comment on the concern that trading of
NYSERDA procured RECs may result in increased cost through the
arbitrage.
MI questions the need for a REC obligation, arguing
that the current method of RPS procurement may result in lower
costs by preventing developers from selling RECs into other
states.

In a similar vein, some utilities argued that fully

centralized procurement would obviate the need for a REC market.

Notwithstanding those comments, the parties
demonstrated strong support for NYSERDAs continuing role as a
central procurement agent.

Some utilities argue that NYSERDA

procurement should be exclusive.

79

Their proposal that LSEs

For example, if an entity enters into a combined power

purchase agreement with RECs obtained outside of the NYSERDA
central procurement process, the RECs obtained in that contact
would be fully tradable.
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should not be able to self-supply outside of the NYSERDA process
is rejected.

Self-supply and third-party procurement by LSEs

will provide competition and a benchmark for measuring the

effectiveness of central procurement.80
The compliance period shall be January 1 to
December 31 of each year, beginning in 2017.

The settlement

date for demonstrating compliance will not occur until a

reasonable time after the NYISO settlement process for the
compliance period ends to allow LSEs a settlement period
opportunity to re-calibrate their REC supply for the compliance
period to match their actual obligation quantity.

The details

of the settlement process will be included in an implementation

proposal by staff for inclusion in an implementation order.
For the Year 2017 compliance period, by December 1,
2016, NYSERDA shall publish on its website a REC price and the
estimated quantity of the RECs NYSERDA will offer for sale in
the 2017 compliance period.

The REC price offered will equal

the weighted average cost per MWh NYSERDA paid to acquire the
RECs to be offered, plus a reasonable Commission-approved adder
to cover the administrative costs and fees incurred by NYSERDA
to administer Tier 1.

NYSERDA will file a petition with the

Commission proposing the amount of the adder by August 25, 2016,

in order to allow the Commission an opportunity to consider the
adder at its November 2016 Session.

For subsequent years, Staff

will propose a methodology for pricing and offering RECs as part

of the implementation phase of this proceeding.
By December 1, 2016 for the Year 2017 compliance
period, each LSE will inform NYSERDA whether it intends to

80

Although the precise terms of independent procurement may not

be known due to proprietary reasons, the competitiveness of
independent procurement may be inferred from the resulting
market offerings.
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purchase RECs from NYSERDA during the compliance period.

During

the 2017 compliance period, NYSERDA will offer the RECs for sale
in the compliance period to each participating LSE with a right
of first refusal to each participating LSE to purchase their
proportional share of the available RECs based on historical
share of load.

As part of the aforementioned petition, NYSERDA

will establish a sales and payment schedule during the

compliance period intended to generally match on a periodic
basis (monthly or quarterly) the sales quantity to the expected
actual load quantity so as to minimize the time that NYSERDA is
holding RECs in its own account.

Any unsold RECs at the end of

the compliance period will then be offered by NYSERDA for sale

generally to the participating LSEs that wish to purchase them
in a non-discriminatory manner during the settlement period to
satisfy their then-current obligation.

For years following

2017, Staff will propose a methodology for consideration by the

Commission for determining the terms for the purchase of RECs.
d. Alternative Compliance Payment
The development of voluntary market activity, as
described above, can potentially have a large effect on the
overall bill impacts of the CES, as voluntary and market-driven
actions increase the amount of renewable generation, reduce the
total amount of jurisdictional load, and shift usage.
With respect to the LSE obligation itself, one vehicle
by which costs will be mitigated through a principal compliance
flexibility measure is the Alternative Compliance Payment (ACP),
which is a payment made as an alternative to demonstrating
compliance with RECs.

The ACP is not a penalty for non-

compliance; rather, it is an alternative avenue to compliance.

In effect, it caps the total cost of the RES because LSEs will
have no need to incur costs higher than the ACP.

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CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

will be made to NYSERDA during the settlement period for the
Compliance Year.
Disposition of ACP payments must always be applied to
the benefit of consumers by reducing the cost of the RES
program.

As part of an implementation proposal, Staff will

consider the ways this policy can be achieved and will make
recommendations for consideration by the Commission as part of
an implementation order.
By December 1, 2016 for the Year 2017 compliance
period, NYSERDA shall publish on its website a per MWh ACP price
for the 2017 compliance period.

The ACP price will equal an

amount calculated as the published REC price plus 10%.

Staff

will propose a methodology for establishing the ACP for the

Commissions consideration for subsequent years as part of the
implementation phase.

Many states within our region have

adopted ACP as part of their RPS programs.

The alignment or

divergence of ACP requirements can materially affect the cost of

compliance.

Moreover, regional markets enabled through

consistency of state requirements can contribute to reducing the

cost of achieving the RES goal.

Accordingly, as part of

implementation, the Commission will work with the States RGGI

counterparts to find ways of supporting stronger regional
consistency that can benefit all consumers.
e. Banking and Borrowing
A second vehicle by which costs will be mitigated
through a principal compliance flexibility measure is the
banking of RECs.

Staff proposes that banking of RECs should be

permitted and left open the issue of borrowing.

The Commission

agrees that short-term banking of RECs is an effective tool to

allow flexibility and manage compliance efficiently.

Banking

will also apply to NYSERDA procurements, which may exceed LSE

Obligation targets by large amounts if market conditions are
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favorable.

Terms for banking will be adopted in an

implementation order.

As discussed previously, the cost of

complying with the RES program can be reduced through

consistency with other States and the development of regional
markets.

Accordingly, Staff should consider how other state

programs in the region have addressed this issue and the

applicability of those approaches to the NY RES.
The Commission will not allow borrowing of RECs at
this time.

It is not necessary because of ACP and produces a

risk of non-compliance.

An LSE facing a shortfall can either

purchase tradable RECs on the market from eligible in-state or

out-of-state sources, or make an ACP payment.

If borrowing is

not an option, LSEs will have a greater incentive to procure

sufficient RECs during the compliance period.
GE proposed that a force majeure provision should be
added to increase flexibility in the event of disasters.

Rather

than establishing a general provision in advance that could give

rise to uncertainty and argumentation, the Commission will leave
open the possibility of making adjustments as needed if exigent
circumstances arise.
f. Role of NYSERDA
Although NYSERDAs role will be intermediary, NYSERDA
will take title to RECs (including as a result of the 2016
solicitation and all other solicitations going forward) and will
need initial capitalization as well as assurance against
financial risk.

Unlike the RPS, which operates on a pre-

established budget, RES procurement will be driven by supply and

demand and the total procurement expenditures in any given cycle
will not be known beforehand.

Although the financial risk to

NYSERDA will be relatively small, it may nevertheless require a

guarantor.

The distribution utilities may be best situated to

provide this service, subject to cost recovery from ratepayers

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and accordingly are required to do so.81

Staff will consult with

NYSERDA and develop for Commission consideration as part of an

implementation proposal a plan for providing appropriate
capitalization and cash flow for NYSERDAs role and to establish
an equitable mechanism for distribution utilities to provide the
necessary financing and guarantees, as necessary.
6. Solicitation/Procurement Cycle
There is considerable discussion in the record on the
importance of establishing annual targets for REC contract
solicitations.

Renewable energy developers were uniform and

clear that knowing the specifics of the States procurement plan

well in advance allows them to engage in the pre-development
activities that yield the advantages of competition.

Developers

and others also pointed to the fact that historically the

uncertainty around the timing and level of NYSERDA renewable
solicitations reduced their interest and ability to compete and
provide value to consumers.

Developer and investor confidence

will be critical to success moving forward.

The Commission will

require scheduled annual solicitations so that developers can

prepare their participation.
Annual procurement targets must be established on a
forward-looking basis that accounts for the typical lead time
needed to develop projects and bring them into operation.
Factors to be considered include:

81

The amount of investment that can be driven by spot REC

markets, and voluntary market activity whether based on
REV market activity or customer initiatives intended to
be additional to an LSEs compliance requirements;

In furtherance of the ongoing effort to reduce the cost of

compliance, NYSERDA should consider and present any options by
which the costs associated with the development of a Tier 1
resource and therefore the cost of RECs can be reduced through
securitization.
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CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

Expected attrition, i.e., the rate at which executed

contracts may fail to result in constructed projects;

Time-lag and uncertainty in bringing projects into

operation; and

Likely development rates of policy-driven projects; and

Whether NYPA and/or LIPA will be participating in

NYSERDAs procurement process.
In contrast to RPS procurement, NYSERDAs procurement

under the RES will be more predictable and reliable from the
developers standpoint thereby enabling the commitment of
resources to actively participate in the New York market.
Instead of being budget-bounded, RES procurements will be driven
by a process that is predictable with established dates for
solicitations, fixed targets and clear procurement goals set
forth in both the compliance and procurement schedules.

To that

end, the Commission requires that no less than one solicitation

will be conducted during the first half of each calendar year.
If the solicitation acquires less than the minimum procurement
target for that year, it will be followed by a second
solicitation within the same calendar year.

For the 2017

procurement period NYSERDA shall establish and publish on its

website no later than December 1, 2016, a firm schedule of fixed
dates for the annual and potential supplemental solicitations.
Details regarding the procurement process from 2018 and
following will be addressed in an implementation proposal and
order.
The initial Anticipated and mandated Minimum
procurement targets for years 2017-2021 will be as follows:

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Anticipated
Procurement
Direct
Target
Customers
(MWh)*

Year

Distribution
Utilities &
ESCOs

LIPA

NYPA

2017

1,424,555

242,766

281,087

18,041

1,966,449

2018

1,464,801

249,624

289,028

18,551

2,022,004

2019

1,505,047

256,483

296,969

19,061

2,077,560

2020

1,545,293

263,342

304,911

19,570

2,133,116

2021

1,585,539

270,200

312,852

20,080

2,188,671

* Assumes that NYSERDA will be procuring RECs for NYPA and LIPA customer loads. In
the event that NYPA and LIPA do not participate in NYSERDAs procurements, the
procurement targets will be adjusted accordingly by reviewing the NYPA or LIPA
portions shown in this table.

Minimum
Procurement
Direct
Target
Customers
(MWh)*

Year

Distribution
Utilities &
ESCOs

LIPA

NYPA

2017

1,282,099

218,489

252,978

16,237

1,769,804

2018

1,318,321

224,662

260,125

16,696

1,819,804

2019

1,354,542

230,835

267,272

17,155

1,869,804

2020

1,390,764

237,007

274,419

17,613

1,919,804

2021

1,426,985

243,180

281,567

18,072

1,969,804

* Assumes a 10% attrition rate from the Anticipated Procurement Target

7. Procurement Guidelines
Staff, in consultation with NYSERDA, will propose
procurement guidelines for consideration by the Commission as
part of the implementation plan.

As a default, the part price,

part economic development scoring that was previously used in

RPS REC contract solicitations for comparing bids shall be
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incorporated into the proposed guidelines unless it can be
demonstrated to be ineffective.

In addition to cost and

deliverability, the following additional factors at a minimum

should be considered for inclusion in the guidelines and
evaluative criteria that will guide selection of projects:

Viability of the project;

Time frame for bid acceptance to operation;

Diversity of resources of the overall portfolio;

Diversity of owners;

Alignment with REV goals specified in procurement

solicitations;

Project developer experience; and

Non-cost economic benefits.

B. Tier 2
Staff proposes that Tier 2 be subdivided between Tier
2a representing renewable resources that are eligible to compete
in other states procurements, and Tier 2b representing
renewable resources with no opportunities, likely due to
vintage, to sell their resources outside of New York.

The

distinction is primarily based on concerns that without New York

support, facilities with the option to do so will sell their
resources into other states REC programs thereby limiting New
Yorks ability to benefit from them.

Concern was also expressed

that even with the low level of New York payments proposed by
Staff under Tier 2b, the clean energy attributes of certain
small hydroelectric facilities in the Tier 2b category would be
at risk because the facilities might fail financially and retire
for the lack of sufficient overall revenues.

Under the RPS

program, such small hydroelectric facilities were eligible for

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maintenance contracts to ensure preservation of their clean
energy attributes.
The facilities that Staff proposes to classify under
Tier 2a have all likely already recovered all or most of their
initial capital costs and only need to obtain market revenues
sufficient to fund their comparatively low, going-forward
operation and maintenance costs.

These are primarily wind

generation facilities that have no fuel costs unlike other large

scale electric generation facilities and should be profitable
even under today's lower market prices for energy and capacity.
While it may be possible that some of these facilities will sell
their clean energy attributes into other states, given vintage
and delivery requirements in other states it remains merely
hypothetical that there will be a mass flight of these
resources.

Therefore, at this time, there is no imminent risk

of losing the emission attributes associated with these

facilities permanently and no concomitant need to provide them
with additional New York consumer support for those emission
attributes.

In the event that significant out-of-state sales

occur to the detriment of the RES program, the Commission will

reconsider the need to compete for these resources in one of the
triennial reviews prior to 2030.

The Tier 2a concept is not

adopted.
Staffs proposal for Tier 2b includes facilities that
by definition do not have competitive opportunities outside of
New York because of their size and location.

There is no need

for a Tier 2b except for the concern that the clean energy
attributes of these facilities may be at risk because they may
fail financially and retire for the lack of sufficient overall
revenues due to the failure of markets to fully internalize the
value of their clean energy and fuel diversity benefits.

Rather

than adopting Staffs Tier 2a and 2b proposal, the Commission

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will instead generally renew the RPS maintenance program in a
new Tier 2 of the RES.
Eligibility for the new Tier 2 is limited to run-ofriver hydroelectric facilities of 5 MW or less; wind facilities;
and biomass direct combustion facilities that were in commercial
operation any time prior to January 1, 2003, and were originally
included in New Yorks baseline of renewable resources
calculated when the RPS program was first adopted.

Each

facility seeking funds under this Tier 2 will be required to

demonstrate that but for the maintenance contracts, the facility
will cease operations and no longer produce positive emission
attributes.

Maintenance Contracts will be provided on a case-

by-case basis and relief will be tailored to the situation

presented.

The criteria and process for determining eligibility

of the facilities is set forth in Appendix D.

Eligible costs,

which are expected to be limited in relation to the other Tier

costs, would be recovered from delivery customers in the same
manner as in the RPS Program Maintenance Tier, or from such
other sources as the Commission shall determine.

Staff will

review the current maintenance program, including the

eligibility criteria, and propose any changes for consideration
as part of the implementation phase.
C. Periodic Review
1. Triennial review process
Beginning in 2020 and each third year thereafter, the
Commission will conduct a review of the CES initiative.

The

triennial review is an integral part of the program,

establishing fixed targets on a going-forward basis to provide
certainty to market participants.

Triennial review will include

a divergence test, i.e., an examination of the balance between

mandated demand and anticipated supply.

Criteria for the

divergence test will be developed in the implementation phase.

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The divergence test will affect the setting of the targets and
will also be used to evaluate the effectiveness of centralized
REC-only procurement as described above.

The targets

established in triennial reviews will also reflect the

development of voluntary activity and the portion of the RES
attainment wedge to be represented by voluntary activity in the
subsequent procurement period.

Other issues to be examined in

the triennial review include:

the effectiveness of compliance mechanisms including

ACPs;

changes to eligibility rules;

application to microgrids and CHP;

fuel diversity; and

interactions with RGGI and the federal Clean Power Plan.

2. Interim review
Based on targets established in triennial review,

markets bounded by ACPs will supply RECs within a reasonable

cost range.

As a safeguard against undersupply or oversupply

imbalances, Staff will perform at least annually the divergence

test which, if the test results fall outside of prescribed
ranges, may trigger an interim review by the Commission.
Interim review serves primarily as a safety valve against
undersupply, but it should also consider potential oversupply
situations.

If serious imbalances develop, the Commission will

consider taking corrective actions to maintain a reasonable

level of price stability.

Although interim review is an

important safeguard, the triennial targets will be presumed

reasonable and interim revisions will be undertaken only in
unusual circumstances.

Compliance flexibility measures

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including the ACP should serve to mitigate most short-term
divergences.
VII. ZERO-EMISSIONS CREDIT REQUIREMENT
A. Procedural Matters
Staffs White Paper filed on January 25, 2016,
proposed that a Nuclear Tier be created to ensure that, to
prevent backsliding from the States efforts to limit greenhouse
gas emissions, emission-free attributes from eligible operating
nuclear generating plants are properly valued.

Under Staffs

White Paper proposal, each LSE would be obligated to purchase

ZECs from nuclear facilities facing financial difficulty as
determined by a Staff examination of the books and records of
the facility at a price administratively set by the Commission
and updated every year based upon the difference between the
anticipated operating costs of the units and forecasted
wholesale prices.

Importantly, Staff characterized the proposed

payments as only setting an appropriate and fair value of the

environmental attribute independent of the actual wholesale
prices for energy and capacity in the NYISO administered
markets.

Staff noted that plant owners had already announced

the planned closure of the Ginna and FitzPatrick plants, that

the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant was closed in December 2014 due
to identical concerns, that it was announced that the Pilgrim
nuclear power plant in Massachusetts would be closed for similar
reasons, and that the economic pressures facing Ginna and
FitzPatrick also apply to the Nine Mile Point 1 and 2 plants.
Additional reductions in the price of natural gas
occurred during the time between when Staff prepared its
analysis and then filed its White Paper.

On February 24, 2016,

the Commission issued an order further expanding the scope of

the CES proceeding and seeking additional comments expressing
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its concern that the need for support to maintain the zeroemissions attributes of the nuclear plants is reaching a
critical turning point such that expedited action is necessary.82
The Commission noted that nuclear power plant operation is
highly dependent on pre-scheduled fuel cycles, therefore
certainty as to the availability and level of maintenance
support may be critical to the decision of plant operators to
order fuel and commence future cycles, and that these practical
operational considerations create urgency that it is likely
desirable to put an expedited maintenance support system in
place.

Attached to the February 24, 2016 order was a secondary

proposal for expedited maintenance contracts that was intended

to be simpler to implement pending the resolution of the
proposed broader program.
In response to the expedited maintenance contract
proposal, Entergy remained steadfast in its position that no ZEC
program, expedited or not, would cause it as the owner of the
FitzPatrick nuclear plant to keep that facility open.
In anticipation that the Commission might approve the
expedited maintenance contract proposal, Constellation filed a
petition to initiate a proceeding to establish the facility
costs for the Ginna and Nine Mile Point nuclear power plants.
Case 16-E-0270 (the Constellation Case) was established to
consider the petition.

That case is being heard here on a

common record with Case 15-E-0302, the CES case.

The parties in

the Constellation Case had an opportunity, pursuant to a

protective order to preserve the confidentiality of the
commercially sensitive financial details, to participate in

82

Case 15-E-0302, Clean Energy Standard, Order Further Expanding

Scope of Proceeding and Seeking Comments (issued February 24,
2016).
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CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

technical conferences examining the confidential financial data
of the Ginna and Nine Mile Point nuclear power plants.83
Among the many comments received on Staff's White
Paper and the expedited maintenance contract proposals, Entergy,
the owner of the FitzPatrick and Indian Point nuclear plants,
proposed an option of using the social cost of carbon to set the
fair value of the environmental attribute as a method to better
keep the ZEC price independent of the actual wholesale prices
for energy and capacity in the NYISO administered markets than
Staff's originally proposed differential between the anticipated
operating costs of the units and forecasted wholesale prices.
Entergy proposed that its methodology be applied to all nuclear
plants.

Despite its proposal, Entergy reiterated that no

program would cause it as the owner of the FitzPatrick nuclear

plant to keep that facility open.

Constellation proposed a

similar methodology as a back-stop in the event the original

methodology failed for any reason.

Many of the comments

expressed concern that any encouragement by the State of the

production of clean generation must be by a methodology that is
"untethered" to a generators wholesale market participation,
but that federal law on what measures are or are not untethered
is currently unclear, creating an element of risk for any kind
of program.
After consideration of the many comments that were
received, Staff prepared and filed on July 8, 2016, Staff's
Responsive Proposal.

A notice and additional ten-day comment

period was provided for parties to comment on Staff's Responsive

83

Public Citizen Inc. requests that the owners of the nuclear

power plants make available full unredacted balance sheet data
so that the public can have a better understanding of their
profit and so that ZECs can be properly formulated. Pursuant
to the protective order, it could have had access to that data
if it had participated in the Constellation Case.
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Proposal, which was extended to become a full two-week
additional comment period.

A number of individuals and entities

have asked for even more time to comment for the sake of broader
participation.
In correspondence with the Secretary about the need to
act expeditiously, Constellation, as the owner of R.E. Ginna and
Nine Mile Station nuclear electric generating facilities,
asserts that it must make critical, multi-million dollar
business investment decisions by September 2016 regarding the
future of its nuclear facilities that have been losing money,
and that those decisions cannot be made in reliance on a mere
proposal.

According to Constellation, its decision regarding

the investment of approximately $55 million to refuel Nine Mile

Unit 1 is already overdue if the facility is to be kept in
service at the end of the current fuel cycle, and it must make a
final decision whether to order fuel no later than the end of
September 2016.

Additionally, Constellation must file a notice

of its intent to continue commercial operations with the

Commission by September 30, 2016, and will incur substantial
capital recovery balance costs if it does not intend to retire
the Ginna facility at the expiration of the current Reliability
Support Services Agreement supporting the facility.
Constellation states that it will need a contract in hand by
September 2016; therefore an order is needed from the Commission
by August 1, 2016, to allow sufficient time to finalize a
contract for the zero-emission attributes.

Constellation also

suggests that if there is any hope of saving the James A.

FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant, the owner must also soon make
near-term investment decisions, including a refueling
determination.

Constellations subsidiary Exelon Corporation is

in discussions with Entergy Corporation to purchase the

FitzPatrick facility.
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The Notice Extending Comment Period84 to a full twoweek period explained, among other things, the difficult balance
between the desire for parties to have sufficient time to
prepare their comments and the need to avoid implementing
procedures that would defeat potential important Commission
objectives or options in addressing the significant policy
questions that must be decided.

The extensive reasoning on all

matters as set forth in the Notice is reaffirmed here and

supports the need for the Commission to proceed with deliberate
speed and without further extensions of the comment periods.
Regarding the facility cost matters in the
Constellation Case, AGREE asserts that the petition is premature
given the absence of a policy to subsidize nuclear power plants
or a process established by the Commission for determining the
cost of ZECs.

AGREE believes Staffs Responsive Proposal proves

their concerns correct in that Staff proposes a price-setting

mechanism irrespective of plant operating costs.

MI similarly

asserts that the parties should not be expected to address

Constellations projected operating costs in detail given the
fact that Staffs Responsive Proposal, if adopted, would render
such costs meaningless, but that the Commission should allow for
the submission of supplemental comments herein if, following the
resolution of CES-related issues, Constellations projected
operating costs are determined to have relevance to potential
customer-funded payments that may be awarded.
The parties are correct that the methodology in
Staffs Responsive Proposal (later adopted herein with some
modifications) does not rely on a detailed finding of the exact
costs to operate the affected nuclear plants as might have been

84

Case 15-E-0302, Clean Energy Standard, & Case 16-E-0270,

Constellation Energy Nuclear Group LLC - Facility Costs,
Notice Extending Comment Deadline (issued July 15, 2016).
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done in a cost-of-service approach, therefore there is no need
for further investigation or comments on the detailed costs.
But the Commission notes that the in-depth examination of costs
did reveal significant information confirming the Commission's
concerns that the zero-emissions attributes of the upstate
nuclear plants, are at serious risk absent a program to value
and pay for the attributes.

The Commission is aware that Staff

in particular is extremely grateful to the parties that

participated in the Constellation Case for the insight they
brought to assist Staff in its examination.
B. Public Necessity
Staff proposes that the ZEC program provide a ZEC
payment where there exists a public necessity to preserve the
zero-emissions environmental attributes of a nuclear generating
facility.

Staff further proposes that public necessity be

determined on a plant-specific basis at the discretion of the

Commission, using criteria the Commission finds to be
reasonable, on the basis of (a) the verifiable historic
contribution the facility has made to the clean energy resource
mix consumed by retail consumers in New York State regardless of
the location of the facility; (b) the degree to which energy,
capacity and ancillary services revenues projected to be
received by the facility are at a level that is insufficient to
provide adequate compensation to preserve the zero-emission
environmental values or attributes historically provided by the
facility; (c) the costs and benefits of such a payment for zeroemissions attributes for the facility in relation to other clean
energy alternatives for the benefit of the electric system, its
customers and the environment; (d) the impacts of such costs on
ratepayers; and (e) the public interest.

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1. Verifiable Historic Contribution
There does not appear to be any dispute that the
FitzPatrick, Ginna, and Nine Mile Point nuclear generation
facilities have all made verifiable historic contributions to
the clean energy resource mix consumed by retail consumers in
New York State regardless of the location of the facility.85
Their unit-specific contributions are well documented in
numerous NYISO reports as well as in the DPS-administered
Environmental Disclosure database.

The Commission finds that

these facilities have provided a significant verifiable

contribution to New York States clean energy resource mix as
consumed by New Yorkers.
2. Inadequate Compensation to Preserve Attributes86
The Commission accepts Entergy's commercial decision
to close the FitzPatrick nuclear generating facility, evidenced
by the filing of a Notice of Intent to Retire with the Secretary
on November 2, 2015, as proof that the owner was receiving
inadequate compensation to ensure that the zero-emissions
attributes of the facility will be preserved and that the risk
of losing those attributes is a certainty without action by the
Commission.

In the Constellation Case that makes up a part of

the record in these proceedings, the Commission, Staff, as well

as other interested parties, have reviewed financial data from
the Ginna and Nine Mile facilities.

The Commission has already

authorized the Ginna facility to retire without further action

85

The Indian Point nuclear generation facility has also made

verifiable historic contributions, but is not included further
in this discussion because its zero-emissions attributes are
not currently at risk. The owner of Indian Point has not
claimed that the zero-emissions attributes of the Indian Point
facility are currently at risk.

86

Units in single ownership located in the same NYISO Zone and

that share costs at the same site are treated as a single
facility for the determination.
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from the Commission in 2017.87

The information demonstrates that

the projected revenues fall well short of anticipated costs,

which seriously jeopardizes the preservation of the zeroemissions attributes of these facilities.
3. BCA in Relation to Alternatives
Considering the anticipated costs of the ZEC program
against the benefits related to the large amount of zeroemission power the facilities will produce,88 the benefits
clearly outweigh the costs.

Indeed, during the first two years

of the program, the total attribute payments are calculated to

be up to $965 million, achieving a carbon-alone benefit of $1.4
billion.

If more of the value of the carbon-free attributes

becomes internalized into the forecasts of energy and capacity

prices in New York, as expected, it will result in reductions of
the ZEC attribute payments adopted here.

Further, given that

the model adopted here locks in 12 years of significant carbon

emission reductions at a fraction of the benefit to be achieved,
New York customers will continue to benefit for years to come.
AGREE and NIRS suggest that because the marginal cost
of additional increments of energy efficiency compares on a cost
basis favorably with ZEC unit costs, it provides an alternative
to nuclear plant retention.

As noted elsewhere in this Order,

the Commission is working to ensure that the potential of energy

efficiency is maximized in New York.

However, it is simply

unrealistic to assume that sufficient additional energy

efficiency measures could be identified and implemented in time
to offset the 27.6 million MWh of zero-emissions nuclear power
87

Case 14-E-0270, Proposal for Continued Operation of the R.E.

Ginna Nuclear Power Plant, LLC., Order Adopting the Terms of a
Joint Proposal (issued February 24, 2016), pp. 29-30.

88

Upstate New York nuclear-power generating facilities are

expected to produce approximately 27.6 million MWh of zeroemissions power per year.
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that would need to be replaced per year.

For example, even if

the incremental energy efficiency rate could be increased by 25%

per year above the projected rate, only 13% of the cumulative
zero-emissions MWh produced by the nuclear plants would be
offset during the 12-year duration of the program.

To offset

all of the cumulative zero-emissions MWh the annual incremental

rate of energy efficiency would have to be tripled to 6.6
million MWh per year.
The marginal cost of additional increments of
renewable resources is expected to always be significantly
higher than ZEC prices.

In periods where market revenues are

expected to be low, both ZEC and REC prices will tend to be

high, with REC prices projected to be higher than ZEC prices.
In periods where market revenues are expected to be high, ZEC
prices will fall, perhaps all the way to zero, but REC prices,
while lower too, may not.

In any event, under the RES the

Commission is pursuing new renewable resources at an ambitious

pace.

As in the case of energy efficiency, it is not realistic

to assume that sufficient additional renewable resources at a

reasonable price or perhaps any price could be identified and
implemented in sufficient time to offset the 27.6 million MWh of
zero-emissions nuclear power per year.

For example, replacing

all the 27.6 Million MWh of zero-emission energy with renewable

resources would require 9,000 MW of onshore wind or 22,000 MW of
solar deployment.

It is virtually impossible to deploy this

magnitude of resources in the short-term.

4. Cost Impacts on Ratepayers
The Commission has reviewed the potential customer
bill impacts of these investments and finds them to be
reasonable, particularly in the context of today's historically
low commodity costs.

The expected bill impact for a residential

customer using the statewide average monthly usage of about 600

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kWh is less than $2 per month in the first tranche.

Since the

cost of maintaining the zero-emissions attributes of the nuclear

plants will be recovered on a volumetric energy consumption
basis from all the LSEs, the expected impact on the States
higher load factor commercial and industrial customers will be
higher and vary depending on their level of energy intensity.
Such customers frequently benefit from low-cost power and/or
reduced delivery charges resulting from their participation in
various economic development programs offered by the utilities
or NYPA.

Additionally, the future ZEC prices can decline if

market energy and capacity price forecasts go up; perhaps all

the way to zero.
5. Overall Public Interest
Retention of the zero-emissions attributes of New
Yorks upstate nuclear plants would avoid the emission of
approximately 15 million tons of carbon per year.

Losing the

carbon-free attributes of nuclear generation, before the

development of new renewable resources between now and 2030,
would undoubtedly result, based on current market conditions, in
significantly increased air emissions due to heavier utilization
of existing fossil-fueled plants or the construction of new gas
plants.

The added emissions would complicate the States

compliance with likely federal carbon standards and would result

in dangerously higher reliance on natural gas, radically
reducing the States fuel diversity and making consumers more
vulnerable to natural gas and concomitant electric price spikes.
Applying the public necessity criteria described
above, the Commission determines that there is a public
necessity to provide ZEC payments to the FitzPatrick, Ginna and
the Nine Mile Point facilities.

The Commission finds that it is

in the public interest to provide these ZEC payments for the

purpose of maintaining the emission-free attributes because
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there are insufficient zero-emission alternatives available to
replace them any time soon.

Retention of the upstate nuclear

facilities would also help maintain fuel diversity and fuel

security.

The facilities in question represent significant

investment in infrastructure, are operational, and have

excellent safety records.
This determination of necessity in no way undermines
the Commission's commitment to meeting the SEPs goal of having
50% of the States electricity be generated by renewable
resources by 2030.

As Staffs proposal makes clear, the

obligation of LSEs to purchase ZECs will be independent of the

obligations imposed herein to encourage generation utilizing
renewable resources.

Ideally, as markets and technologies

develop and more renewable generation becomes available, nuclear

power could be replaced by those alternatives.

In the near-

term, however, the Commission is convinced that it is essential

to keep these zero-emissions attributes available for New York
consumers.
AGREE characterizes the ZEC proposal as contrary to
the Commissions action in 1996 of divesting generation from
utilities, where the Commission acted to shield ratepayers from
the economic risks of failing power plants.
different situation.

This is an entirely

The ZEC proposal does not leave the

stranded costs of a closed facility on the shoulders of

ratepayers.

Quite to the contrary, it provides a mechanism to

preserve the zero-emissions attributes these facilities are

providing.

Qualifying facilities will be paid for the value of

the ZEC attributes, not reimbursed for costs stranded by their

market position.
C. ZEC Price Formula Mechanics
Staff proposes that the ZEC contracts be administered
in six two-year tranches with the price paid for the ZECs being
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updated for each tranche pursuant to a set formula that provides
certainty as to how the prices will be set.

Staff proposes that

the Tranche 1 ZEC price be based upon the average April 2017
through March 2019 projected SCC as published by the USIWG in
July 2015 (nominal $42.87/short ton).

The proposal then

subtracts a fixed baseline portion of that cost that is already

captured in the market revenues received by the eligible
facilities due to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI)
program based upon the average of the April 2017 through March
2019 forecast RGGI prices embedded in the CARIS Phase 1 report
(nominal $10.41/short ton).89

This yields a Tranche 1 net cost

of carbon of $32.47 (nominal $/short ton), and a ZEC price of

$17.48 per MWh.90
The Commission notes Staffs caveat that this approach
may not make sense for establishing a ZEC price for the
downstate Indian Point facility because of its location.

Indian

Point is located in an area of higher electric system

constraints and has a much higher level of market revenues.

At

this time, the Indian Point zero-emissions attributes are not at

risk.

However, the Commission reserves the right should the

Indian Point attributes become at risk, to possibly calculate

the ZEC price to reflect the difference between upstate and
downstate market revenues in order to put downstate facilities
on an equal footing with upstate facilities.

A methodology to

calculate the upstate/downstate price differential may be

developed if its use becomes necessary.

89

The need for an administratively determined price results from

too few owners of the affected facilities for there to be a
valid competitive process.

90

Staffs Responsive Proposal provided detailed calculations

behind this price. They are also provided in Appendix E.
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Staff proposes that for the contract periods of
Tranche 2 through Tranche 6, the ZEC prices would be calculated
pursuant to a formula by tranche.

In general concept, the

formula is as follows:

Social
Cost of
Carbon

Baseline
RGGI
Effect

Amount Zone A Forecast Energy

Price
and ROS Forecast Capacity Price
combined exceeds $39/MWh

ZEC
Price
($/MWh)

1. Social Cost of Carbon

Staff proposes that the Social Cost of Carbon
component (nominal $$ per short ton of CO2) would be fixed by
tranche based on SCC estimates published in July 2015 by the
USIWG, as follows:

Period
Tranche 2
Tranche 3
Tranche 4
Tranche 5
Tranche 6

SCC
$46.79
$50.11
$54.66
$59.54
$64.54

API expresses concerns about the certainty of the

USIWG estimates because it believes they were not subject to a
rigorous federal notice, review and comment process.

MI

characterizes the estimates as highly controversial and having

not been subject to independent analysis or shown to be an
accurate measure of savings if emissions are avoided.

MI also

notes that internalizing the SCC benefits society at large, not

New York.

NYC expresses concern that there is no link between

the value of carbon and the ZEC payment needed to maintain the
operation of the nuclear plants.
NYU Institute for Policy Integrity supports use of the
SCC as the best available estimate of the marginal external
damage caused by carbon dioxide emissions.
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Pace applauds the

CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

proposal as an important first step in pricing the cost of
carbon into energy consumption more broadly.

Environmental

Progress states that putting a monetary value on the benefits

provided by zero emissions nuclear power derived from the
federal governments estimate of SCC is a common-sense
principle.

The Indicated Joint Utilities state that basing the

price of ZECs on the SCC, adjusted by removing the RGGI value

embedded in rates, is a reasonable method to establish the
emissions credit value that is not reflected in electric prices.
CENG stated that compensating nuclear facilities based on the
SCC is consistent with the programs original environmental
purpose and appropriately values the environmental attribute
that nuclear facilities provide.
Indicated Suppliers (IS) argue that Staffs Responsive
Proposal will significantly harm the NYISO wholesale competitive
electricity market by artificially suppressing installed
capacity (ICAP) prices thereby dis-incenting development of new
capacity.

Further, it claims that the proposal is a

discriminatory and inefficient tool to meet the States clean

energy goals.

As previously noted, FERC has determined that

attributes credit payments do not interfere with wholesale

competition.

Instead, it argues that unless the RGGI emissions

allowance cap is substantially reduced to increase RGGI auction

prices to the level of the social cost of carbon, which is not
anticipated in Staffs Responsive Proposal, all other resources
in New York that provide carbon emissions reductions benefits
will receive less than one fourth of the price that the
uneconomic nuclear facilities receive for providing the same
benefits.
IS is incorrect.

The proposal is neither inefficient

nor an attempt to artificially suppress wholesale prices.

It

does not establish wholesale energy or capacity prices, it only

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establishes pricing for attributes completely outside of the
wholesale commodity markets administered by NYISO.

To the

contrary, it addresses a well-recognized externality that

otherwise would lead to economic inefficiencies with respect to
the costs incurred due to environmental damage, in particular,
climate change.

Failing to adequately account for these costs

has led the worlds best scientists and economists to warn that
inefficiencies caused by this externality will be significant
unless action is taken immediately.91

In this case, failing to

recognize this externality will lead to the uneconomic loss of

significant zero-emissions attributes.

But such losses and the

related permanent environmental damage, is unnecessary if the

value of zero-emissions attributes is better recognized.
Further, ISs suggestion that the only solution is to
reduce RGGI caps and raise RGGI prices to the federal SCC is
flawed.

It fails to recognize the alternative ways the State

can improve on the status quo.

Raising the RGGI price is not

within the States unilateral control and is clearly not the

only way to incent clean generation and conservation in an
efficient manner.

Indeed, each of the RGGI States have

renewable portfolio standards that they apply to supplement and

help implement RGGIs overall objective of reducing carbon in
electric supply.
The cost to consumers of reducing the RGGI caps until
wholesale energy market prices increase by $17.48/MWh would be
about $2.8 billion dollars in the first year alone, or almost

91

See, e.g., IPCC, 2014: R.K. Pachauri and L.A. Meyer, Climate
Change 2014: Synthesis Report, Contribution of Working Groups
I, II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; IPCC, Geneva,
Switzerland, p. 151; William Nordhaus, The Climate Casino:
Risk, Uncertainty, and Economics for a Warming World (New
Haven: Yale University Press, 2013).
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CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

six times higher than the costs of Staffs Responsive Proposal
(this could be partially offset by additional RGGI revenues).

residential customer using the statewide average monthly usage

of about 600 kWh per month would see a bill increase of over $11
per month under this alternative.

Meanwhile, the only

incremental emissions reductions of this approach identified by

the Independent Market Monitor would be the potential
construction of a 300 MW gas-fired combined cycle plant on Long
Island, which could provide lower emissions relative to
existing, less efficient gas-fired units.92
Based on the comments received, the USIWG value of the
SCC is the best available estimate and will be adopted.
Notably, the USIWG value was developed by the Environmental
Protection Agency in extensive coordination with other federal
agencies.

As noted earlier, the Commission has previously

directed that avoided CO2 emissions be valued at the SCC, less

the RGGI value already internalized" in the bulk power market.93
Those opposed to its use do not offer a method of setting ZEC
prices by alternatively valuing the damage caused by carbon
emissions.

Instead, NYC and others propose different

methodologies that fail to recognize the need to keep the ZEC

pricing methodology untethered to a generator's wholesale market
participation.
MI questions why future estimates of the SCC, which
increase from year to year, then should be adjusted by
inflation.

The USIWGs SCC central values are expressed in

constant 2007 dollars per metric ton, and reflects the federal
groups estimation that the climate change damage caused by
carbon emissions will increase over time.

Staff correctly

92

See 2015 State of the Market Report, pp. 17 and A-24.

93

Case 14-M-0101, supra, Order Establishing the Benefit Cost

Analysis Framework (issued January 21, 2016), p. 13.
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inflated the 2007 values to nominal year values by using the
gross domestic product implicit price deflator, since the
purchasing power of the dollar is forecast to decrease over
time.
MI also questions why the SCC values are based on a 3%
discount rate when using a larger discount rate, such as 5%,
would be more appropriate and less expensive.

This issue has

been previously settled in the BCA Order wherein the Commission

adopted the central SCC values after consideration of party
comments.

Use of SCC values in the ZEC formula based on the

central value 3% discount rate is approved consistent with the

Commissions prior determination.
2. Baseline RGGI Effect
Staff proposes that the fixed baseline portion of the
SCC already captured in the market revenues received by the
eligible facilities due to the RGGI program be subtracted from
the SCC at the same fixed amount for all tranches at a nominal
$10.41/short ton.

Staff notes that the energy price forecast

part of the adjustment in the methodology would capture forwardgoing changes due to RGGI.
Some parties (e.g. MI, the Indicated Joint Utilities)
urge that RGGI values not be held constant in future tranches.
MI states that if RGGI allowances are reduced, the impact of
RGGI on wholesale energy prices might be much higher in the
future.

The Indicated Joint Utilities agree with the approach

of estimating RGGI values using the CARIS forecasts of RGGI

prices, but offer that RGGI prices should follow the CARIS model
to increase over time, either at the SCC escalation rate or the
rate of inflation.
Staffs Responsive Proposal held RGGI prices constant
in the ZEC price formula since increases in RGGI prices are
expected to be reflected in the Forecast Energy & Capacity Price
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Change Adjustment.

The Commission agrees with Staff that

inflating the RGGI offset in future tranches would constitute a

double count when combined with the Adjustment.

If for some

reason increased RGGI prices failed to be reflected in Zone A

energy price forecasts due to transmission constraints between
upstate and downstate, the upstate nuclear units would receive
reduced market revenues and therefore no additional offset to
the SCC would be warranted.
3. Conversion Factor $$/Ton to $$/MWh
Staff proposes the use of a fixed 0.53846 conversion
factor for all tranches to convert the SCC figures from $$/short
ton to $$/MWh.94

The conversion factor is based on the emissions

rates of the mix of resources that would be avoided by the

preservation of zero-emissions attributes.

Indicated Joint

Utilities believe the conversion factor used to reflect the

quantity of carbon emissions avoided per MWh should be updated
in future tranches to reflect changes that will occur in the
resource mix.
While the Commission does not expect there to be
radical swings in the resource mix over short time periods, the
duration of the program is such that as cleaner resources enter
the mix, continuing to use the current factor may overstate
carbon value.

The Staff Responsive Proposal utilized a marginal

carbon emissions rate of 0.53846 short tons per MWh.

94

This rate

The 0.538456 is made up of contributions from natural gas,

coal and oil on the margin. The Benefits and Costs of Net
Energy Metering in New York, Energy and Environmental
Economics, Inc., December 11, 2015, p. 57, submitted December
17, 2015 in Case 15-E-0703 In the Matter of Performing a
Study on the Economic and Environmental Benefits and Costs of
Net Metering Pursuant to Public Service Law 66-n.

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was developed in the 2015 Net Metering Study95 and measures the
change in system emissions due to an incremental change in
resources.

The use of this rate is conservative, as the

elimination of up to 27,618,000 MWh of nuclear zero-emissions

attributes would likely lead to an increased reliance, at least
in the near-term, on higher-emitting resources such as coal,
oil, less efficient gas, and imports.

Parties have pointed out

that as the system mix changes, it may be appropriate to reduce

the marginal emissions rate in the event that a significant
amount of incremental renewable resources are built.

The

Commission agrees with this assessment, and believes that when

setting the marginal emissions rate the formula must be forwardlooking regarding the possible change in the rate that
increasing amounts of renewable energy might bring about.
Given the forecasts under the RES, a material change
is not expected to the marginal emissions rate due to additional
renewable energy penetration in the near-term.

However,

beginning with Tranche 4, the total amount of renewable energy

consumed in the State will be used to determine if a reduction
in the marginal emissions rate is warranted.

Tranche 4, which

will cover the April 2023 through March 2025 time period, will
use a marginal emissions rate based on the renewable energy
consumed in the State during calendar year 2022.

If this level

is over 50,000,000 MWh, the marginal emissions rate will be

adjusted downward.

The amount of the adjustment will be 0.00491

tons per MWh for each 1,000,000 MWh of renewable energy consumed
above 50,000,000 MWh.96

Under this methodology, should the State

95

See id.

96

This adjustment factor is designed so that the marginal

emissions rate begins to fall once 50,000,000 MWh of renewable
energy is achieved, and a rate of 0.45 tons per MWh is reached
when 68,000,000 MWh of renewable energy is achieved.
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achieve a level of renewable energy consumed of 68,000,000 MWh
(a level approximately 27,000,000 MWh above the 2014 baseline
amount), the marginal rate will be 0.45 per MWh.

This is a

reasonable result, as an incremental 27,000,000 MWh of renewable

energy would be approximately enough to replace all of the
upstate nuclear plants zero-emissions attributes.

It is

anticipated that this level of renewable energy usage would

allow the marginal emission rate to reach a level consistent
with natural gas units being on the margin.
For Tranche 5, the 2024 calendar year renewable energy
level will be used (again, with a marginal emissions rate of
0.00491 per 1,000,000 MWh of renewable energy consumed above
50,000,000 GWh).

For Tranche 6, the calendar year 2026

renewable energy level will be used.

This approach will

recognize the emissions impact of significant additional

renewable energy, while providing a further incentive to ramp up
renewable energy penetration New York.
4. Forecast Energy & Capacity Price Change Adjustment
For Tranches 2 through 6, Staff proposes to use
changes in independently published forecasts of going-forward
energy and capacity prices to adjust the ZEC price (downward
only so as not to exceed the SCC) by the amount that future
forecasts predict that NYISO Zone A energy prices combined with
the Rest of State (ROS) capacity prices will exceed $39/MWh.
NYISO Zone A and ROS were chosen as relevant proxies that have
liquidity and available data.

These components measure only the

change in forecasts over time; they do not establish energy or

capacity prices.

The $39/MWh baseline figure approximates a

recent period average of the forecasts of Intercontinental

Exchange (ICE) of the NYISO Zone A energy prices projected by
ICE for the period April 2017 through March 2019 combined with
the per MWh equivalent of a recent period average of the
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forecasts of New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) NYISO Rest of
State Capacity Calendar Month Futures projected by NYMEX for the
period April 2017 through March 2018.97
Various parties (e.g. Nucor, AGREE) incorrectly
interpret the $39/MWh baseline figure in the adjustment
mechanism to be either an estimate of the market revenues that
the upstate nuclear plants are currently receiving, or a floor
price that they would be paid in the future for energy and
capacity.

Both of those interpretations are incorrect.

Based

on that misinterpretation, Nucor mistakenly concludes that the

formula would result in combined market and ZEC payments to the
upstate nuclear plants of $56.48/MWh (the sum of the $39/MWH
Zone A market price forecasts and the $17.48/MWh ZEC price), or
more forecasted revenue than Constellation requested in the
Constellation Case for its Ginna and Nine Mile Point facilities.
The upstate nuclear units, which are located in NYISO
Zones B and C, do not receive market energy revenues at the Zone
A LMP price.

Zone A was chosen as a reference price solely for

the mechanics of the adjustment mechanism because of the

availability of regular ICE and NYMEX forecasts based on
sufficiently liquid transactions.

That same quality of

independent forecasts is not available for Zones B and C.

It

must be understood that the reference price forecast does not

act within the formula to establish a quantity of energy and
capacity revenues.

As a deliberate intention, no part of the

formula establishes energy or capacity prices or revenues.

Rather, the Zone A forecasts are used in the Adjustment to
measure only the change in independent forecasts over time.
A significant basis differential exists between the
Zone A prices and the prices within Zones B and C at the

97

See Appendix E.
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connection points called "busses" where the revenues paid to the
nuclear facilities are determined.

A forecast of approximately

$39/MWh at Zone A is inclusive of about $6/MWh equivalent for

the capacity forecast for Rest of State based on recent 12month forecast prices and about $33/MWh for energy.

When the

$33/MWh LMP forecast is adjusted for the recent 12-month basis

differential between Zone A and the nuclear unit busses of about
$6/MWh, the generator energy revenues forecast becomes only
about $27/MWh.

Notwithstanding the capacity price forecast of

$6/MWh, if the most recent 12-month period actual capacity

revenues of $3/MWh equivalent is utilized as potential revenue
to the generator, then the total revenue the generator is
expected to receive would be only $30/MWh at the relevant busses
for energy and capacity.98

The $56.48/MWh computed by Nucor

should be $47.48/MWh (the sum of the $30/MWh at-the-busses

market price forecast and the $17.48/MWh ZEC price).

That

forecasted level would be less than the level of revenue that

Constellation requested in the Constellation Case for its Ginna
and Nine Mile Point facilities.99
The Indicated Joint Utilities believe that it would be
reasonable to include a basis differential update in the
mechanism.

It is true that the current level of basis could be

98

Using a $3/MWh capacity price expectation is reasonable,

rather than the $6/MWh capacity price referenced in the Staff
Responsive Proposal, because at the time of the $6/MWh
forecast, the market would have been factoring in the closure
of both the Ginna and FitzPatrick plants. If these plants
continue to operate, the capacity revenues will presumably be
lower.

99

In the Constellation case, the cost study presented was for

Nine Mile and Ginna plants for a weighted average cost of
$49.60/MWh. FitzPatrick cost data is not included and as it
is a single unit facility, its costs would be higher than the
blended average of the Nine Mile and Ginna plant costs,
driving the total weighted average cost above $49.60/MWh.
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an anomaly compared to historic lower levels.

If the basis

differential goes down, the revenue the generator would receive

increases, all else equal.

The formula could be adjusted to

subtract the change in the basis differential from the $39/MWh

reference price.

While again, the Commission does not expect

there to be radical swings in the differential basis over short

time periods, the duration of the program is such that the
formula should be updated in Tranche 4, half way through the
contract period.
The basis differential is dependent on the electric
system configuration and especially the congestion patterns in
the region.

There are efforts to address Western New York

congestion and it is likely the basis differential will change

in the future.

However, these changes will not happen overnight

and will take some time.

In order to capture the effects that

changed congestion patterns will have on the basis differential,

the $39/MWh reference price used in ZEC price formula will be
updated one time, at the time of the Tranche 4 ZEC price is
determined.
The one-time update will be calculated by determining
the historic basis over the 2017-2022 time period and adjusting
the $39/MWh reference price used in the ZEC price formula if the
historic basis is outside of a range of $5-$7/MWh.

The exact

methodology is described in Appendix E.

5. Contract Duration
Comments were received from several parties regarding
the duration of the ZEC requirement.

The major theme of these

comments was that if the Commission should approve a ZEC

mechanism, the design and duration of the mechanism should be
such that it can be modified or eliminated if market-based
solutions develop or if the energy resources in New York are
such that supporting the nuclear facilities is no longer
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necessary.

MI and some others suggest that in future tranches,

the Commission should review whether the public interest

criteria would still be satisfied.
Of those that indicate a preferred duration of the ZEC
requirement, MI advocates for the shortest time period.

It

states that a time period of two years, or ideally no longer

than the refueling cycles of the plants (e.g. 18-to-24 months),
would be best.

MI points out that the energy markets are

continually evolving, so customers should not be locked into

binding agreements through March 2029.

MI also states that

energy and capacity prices may not act in a manner which would
lead to Staffs Responsive Proposal making sense over the full
12 years.
Like MI, Nucor is concerned with the proposed 12-year
duration of the ZEC mechanism and states that the term of the
program should not extend beyond 2020.

Nucor urges that the

proposal only lead to a bridge to a market-compatible approach.

Nucor states that by 2020, it would be possible to revise
NYISOs market-based tariff products and implement a new ZEC
requirement that would be consistent with the revised marketbased tariffs.
National Grid proposes a period of six years for the
ZEC mechanism.

It counsels that this time period is long enough

to provide the nuclear plant owners with a reasonable level of

financial certainty, while giving the Commission time to
reassess if the nuclear plants are even still needed.

National

Grid expresses concern that a 12-year contract could delay the

transition to a post-nuclear future which will be based on
renewable energy.

Further, National Grid says that market-based

solutions to keeping the nuclear plants open could be developed,

negating the need for the ZEC requirement.

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The Indicated Joint Utilities do not propose any
specific duration for the ZEC requirement, but agree that it was
important to build in the flexibility to respond to future
wholesale market and CO2 allowance market development.
Similarly, Pace states that the mechanism should be flexible so
that given the States evolving energy resource mix, it does not
continue past the point where it is needed.
The Commission approves the 12-year duration for the
program in six two-year tranches.

As in the case with the RES,

durability is important to the programs success.

Under the RES

program developers of new renewable facilities are to be offered

20-year REC contracts to provide sufficient certainty to induce
them build new generation facilities.

Just as it is

unreasonable to expect an investor to make a long-lived capital

investment without a revenue stream that is durable and certain,
a purchaser will not invest in FitzPatrick without similar
assurances.

In the case of FitzPatrick, the magnitude of the

risk taken on in the investment far exceeds refueling costs and

capital improvements because a new owner must assume the risks
of the ownership as part of the transaction.

Given the

continuing significant long-lived investments required for all

of the units, a long-term contract providing certain terms is
warranted.

The long duration also has the considerable benefit

of ensuring that the zero-emissions attributes will be preserved

for a considerable period of time to give the RES program an
opportunity to provide new renewable resources on a scale
necessary to prevent backsliding on carbon emissions.

The 12-

year duration however will be conditional upon a buyer

purchasing the FitzPatrick facility and taking title prior to
September 1, 2018, the date six months before the commencement
of the period of Tranche 2.

If the sale and closing does not

occur, there will be no commitment for the program to continue

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beyond Tranche 1 and the Commission will have six months before
the otherwise-planned commencement of Tranche 2 to determine a
future course of action, if any.

Similarly, the program and

especially the caps on eligible production of ZECs is designed

to preserve the zero-emissions attributes of all of the
qualifying facilities and NYSERDA as the contract administrator
shall ensure that contracts for all of the facilities are in
place before any of the contracts are allowed to become
effective.
The Commission also agrees and determines that the
design and duration of the mechanism shall be such that it can
be modified or eliminated by the Commission if there is a
national, NYISO, or other program instituted that pays for or
internalizes the value of the zero-emissions attributes in a
manner that adequately replicates the economics of the program
such that the Commission in its sole discretion is satisfied
that the zero-emissions attributes are no longer at risk and
that discontinuing the mechanism can be done in a manner that is
fair to both the facility owners and the ratepayers.
6. Contract Performance
Staff proposes that the amount of ZECs to be purchased
on an annual basis will be capped at a MWh amount that
represents the verifiable historic contribution the facility has
made to the clean energy resource mix consumed by retail
consumers in New York State.

Staff further proposes that each

facility have an obligation to produce the ZECs and to sell them

to NYSERDA through March 31, 2029, except during periods when
the calculated ZEC price pursuant to the contract is $0.
Finally, Staff proposes that the obligation to produce be
enforced by appropriate financial consequences for failure to
produce.

Some parties have also advocated that the contract

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between NYSERDA and the generators should include performance
factors to hold the generators accountable for performance.
While the verifiable historic output of zero-emissions
MWhs of the FitzPatrick, Ginna, and Nine Mile Point facilities
has varied from year to year, the sum of the most recent four
quarters of production, July 2015 through June 2016, is the most
recent and is a reasonable measure of their output and will be
applied as the MWh cap on an annual basis requested by Staff.
Therefore, the amount of ZECs to be purchased on an annual basis
will be capped at that amount, which sums to 27,618,000 MWh.
The FitzPatrick plant, so long as it remains in ownership
separate from the other facilities, shall have an individual cap
and obligation of 25.4% of the total or 7,014,972 MWhs (based on
a multi-year historic average).

The Ginna and Nine Mile Point

facilities under common ownership shall have a group cap and

obligation of the remaining 74.6% of the total or 20,603,028
MWhs.

If the FitzPatrick facility is acquired by the owner of

the Ginna and Nine Mile Point facilities, the caps will all be
combined and treated as a single group.
Clearly the mechanism that pays for ZECs on a per unit
output basis provides incentives for the generators to maximize
output.

These plants have been performing at a very high level

of performance.

The intent of the ZEC program is to preserve

the zero-emissions attribute benefits of the facilities to

prevent backsliding in the State's carbon reduction performance
that likely could not be avoided in any other way.

However, the

scale of the investment being made warrants further protections

against poor short-term performance.

A performance mechanism

will be included in the contract between NYSERDA and the plant

owners.

The Ginna and Nine Mile Point facilities under common

ownership will be treated as a group for these purposes.

The

FitzPatrick facility when in separate ownership from the other

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facilities shall be considered a group of one for these
purposes.

If the FitzPatrick facility is acquired by the owner

of the Ginna and Nine Mile Point facilities all three facilities
will be considered together as a group for these purposes.

If

the facilities in a group perform in any tranche period at less

than 85% of their group MWh cap and obligation for the tranche
period, then the cap and obligation for the next tranche period
for the group will be reduced by 1,000,000 MWh if all three
facilities are in the group; 666,666 MWh if two facilities are
in the group, and 333,333 MWh if only one facility is in the
group.

After the next tranche in which the facilities in a

group perform at or above the new lower cap and obligation, the
original cap and obligation will be restored for the subsequent
tranche.
7. Facility Closure Contingency
Should any of the three facilities (FitzPatrick, Ginna
and Nine Mile Point100) permanently cease producing zeroemissions attributes for any reason whatsoever the overall cap
of 27,618,000 MWh will be reduced by one-third for each facility
that permanently ceases producing zero-emissions attributes.
Therefore, if one of the facilities ceases producing zeroemissions attributes, the overall cap will be reduced to
18,412,000 MWh; if two of the facilities cease producing zeroemissions attributes, the overall cap will be reduced to
9,206,000 MWh.

These requirements will act both as an incentive

to the facility owners to keep all of the plants operating, and

to ensure that the continuing program keeps the original balance
between ratepayer and generator interests.
100

Nine Mile
facility.
emissions
qualified
producing

The reductions will

Point Units 1 & 2 qualified jointly as a single

If either unit permanently ceases producing zerocredits, it will be treated as if the entire
Nine Mile Point facility has permanently ceased
zero-emissions credits.
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be pro-rated within a tranche period to the date upon which the
facility permanently ceased producing zero-emissions.
8. LSE Obligations and Allocations
Staff proposes that each LSE, including NYPA and LIPA,
be required to encourage the preservation of the environmental
values or attributes of qualified zero-emissions nuclear-powered
electric generating facilities for the benefit of the electric
system, its customers and the environment by purchasing an
amount of ZECs per year of the total amount of ZECs purchased by
NYSERDA in proportion to the electric energy load served by the
LSE in relation to the total electric energy load served by all
LSEs in the New York Control Area.

The ZECs obligation is

separate from any obligation on LSEs to encourage generation

utilizing renewable resources.
MI and Nucor raise concerns regarding the volumetric
cost allocation, pointing out that nuclear costs have
traditionally been recovered through delivery rates (physical
plant) and energy prices.

MI and others urge that NYPA

customers should not pay any ZEC cost, as they have the ability
to leave the State and go where there is no subsidy for the
nuclear plants.

They state that NYPA rates are for economic

development, and such rates have not traditionally been charged

for similar subsidies (e.g. SBC, RPS).

Similarly, NYAPP urges

that municipal and cooperative utilities should be exempted from

the obligation to purchase ZECs from NYSERDA based on the
Commission's long-standing recognition of the unique nature of
municipal utilities and co-ops which in the past has resulted
in exemption from similar policies.

For instance, in 2003, they

were exempted from the Renewable Portfolio Standard because

NYAPP members had already exceeded the proposed target, so
additional requirements were not appropriate.

NYAPP urges that

the same rational applies to the Clean Energy Standard in

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general and ZECs in particular because as a group, 86% of NYAPP
energy comes from renewable resources, namely NYPAs Niagara
Project.

NYAPP says that it has demonstrated that it can

meaningfully contribute to the States clean energy goals even

in the absence of mandatory requirements.

Further, a mandate to

purchase ZECs may be counterproductive, inhibiting NYAPPs or

NYPAs ability to develop innovative proposals to advance the
States clean energy goals.
NYPA commented that given the importance of retaining
nuclear resources for New Yorks clean energy and emissions
reduction goals, and subject to any directive from its Board of
Trustees following finalization of the initiative, NYPA fully
intends to comply with the Staff Responsive Proposal.

LIPA also

supports Staffs Responsive Proposal stating that LIPA staff

intends to seek the approval of its Board of Trustees and
applicable regulatory authorities to enter into the necessary
agreements to procure its appropriate share of zero-emissions
credits and to receive its appropriate share of such revenues as
a co-owner of the Nine Mile Point 2 Nuclear Station, in
accordance with the requirements to be adopted by the
Commission.
AGREE urges exemption of customers who have
voluntarily purchased extra renewable resources above and beyond
that prescribed by the Clean Energy Standard as forcing these
customers to pay for ZECs on top of the premium for renewable
resources will reduce the amount of funds they would have
otherwise spent on renewable power and be a disincentive to
voluntarily purchase additional renewable resources that would
run counter to the States clean energy goals.

Similarly,

ClearChoice Energy, an ESCO, argues that ESCOs that provide 100%

renewable energy to their customers should not be required to
purchase ZECs that subsidize nuclear facilities.
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CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

Energy notes that while nuclear power is zero-emission, it is
not a renewable resource, and therefore, to the extent that LSEs
that provide renewable energy to customers are forced to
subsidize nuclear resources, there will be a double payment.
ClearChoice Energy proposes a narrow exception that would exempt
ESCOs that provide 100% renewable energy to their customers.
AGREE also opposes allocating ZEC purchases based on electric
usage that will impose costs on downstate consumers who will
receive few direct benefits due to transmission constraints.
PULP asserts that the program places disproportionate
costs on low-income and fixed-income customers and that more
weight should be given to avoiding bill impacts and to avoid
undermining the newly created statewide low-income/fixed-income
rate reduction program.
The Commission has considered the requests for
exemptions and is of the opinion that the threat to the
preservation of the zero-emissions attributes of nuclear
facilities is a general threat that affects all ratepayers and
is of such a scope that the costs of protection should be spread
as broadly as possible.

The ZECs program obligation on LSEs is

a separate obligation from the RES and is not satisfied by

supporting renewable resources of whatever quantity.

Applying

the obligation on a volumetric basis is a rational and the most

appropriate basis to broadly allocate the costs given the nature
of carbon emissions that are a creature of the volume of
electric generation and consumption.

The Commission is

instituting this program to prevent widespread damage from

carbon emissions that affect everyone.

It is fair and

appropriate for all consumers to participate.

Accordingly, the

Commission directs each LSE that serves end-use customers in New

York, beginning April 1, 2017, for the benefit of the electric
system, its customers and the environment, to purchase the
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percentage of ZECs purchased by NYSERDA in a year that
represents the portion of the electric energy load served by the
LSE in relation to the total electric energy load served by all
such LSEs.

LSEs will make ZEC purchases by contract with

NYSERDA and will recover costs from ratepayers through commodity

charges on customer bills.
9. Conclusion
Staffs research, the comments received in this
proceeding and the Commissions review of the arguments made all
point the Commission toward an undeniable conclusion that
preservation of the zero-emissions attributes of New York
States existing upstate nuclear facilities in the near future
is crucial in the strategy to fight climate change and to
achieve New York States commitment to reduce carbon emissions.
Further, as Staff points out, the benefits of maintaining these
attributes far outweighs the costs.
The Commission finds Staffs Responsive Proposal, in
which it recommends paying ZEC payments to zero-emissions
attributes based upon the social cost of carbon to be fully
consistent with the Commissions approach in setting guidelines
for Benefit-Cost Analysis.101

As emphasized by the Institute for

Policy Integrity, the value of avoided carbon emissions is most

accurate if tied to the value of the avoided external damage, or
the value of avoiding the carbon emissions that would be emitted

101

Case 14-M-0101, Reforming the Energy Vision, Order

Establishing the Benefit Cost Analysis Framework (issued
January 21, 2016), pp. 17-19.
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CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

if zero-carbon generators are replaced by other generators.102
Further, this model more closely ties the pricing mechanism for
ZECs to the environmental attribute, leaving no doubt that it
falls squarely within the States exclusive jurisdiction.
Therefore, the Commission adopts Staffs Responsive Proposal, as
modified and set forth in Appendix E, for a mechanism and a
price for zero-emissions attributes of nuclear zero-carbon
electric generating facilities where public necessity to
encourage the continued creation of the attributes is
demonstrated.

This adoption of the Zero-Emissions Credit

Requirement is a changed regulatory requirement for the purposes

of the UBP.
Each Load Serving Entity is directed to enter into a
contractual relationship with NYSERDA to periodically purchase
ZECs during a program year based on initial forecasts of load
and a balancing reconciliation at the end of each program year.
In this manner, after the reconciliation process, each Load
Serving Entity will have purchased the correct proportion of
ZECs on an annual basis.

In accordance with Staffs proposal,

that ZECs will not be tradable except between NYSERDA and the
Load Serving Entities during this balancing process.

102

Comments of the Institute for Policy Integrity, New York

University School of Law (filed April 22, 2016), p. 16; see
also, Reply Comments of Constellation Energy Nuclear Group,
LLC Concerning Staff White Paper on Clean Energy Standard
(filed May 13, 2016), p. 13. It is significant to point out
that the cost of carbon-based approach for pricing RECs that
appears in Staffs Responsive Proposal was proposed by these
other parties in their comments to the White Paper. As more
fully discussed with the July 15, 2016 Notice Extending
Comment Deadline, supra, Staffs Responsive Proposal falls
squarely within the issues that have been contemplated since
the inception of this proceeding and within the scope of
original Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued in contemplation
of the determinations made today.
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As an alternative to contracting for ZECs with NYSERDA, LSEs and
self-supply customers may seek permission from the Commission to
meet their ZECs obligations by entering into combined ZEC plus
energy and/or capacity contracts directly with the nuclear
facilities.

However, such proposals will be carefully

scrutinized by the Commission to ensure that these alternate

contracts will not unfairly shift ZECs costs onto other
ratepayers.
The ZEC mechanism adopted in this Order is the best
way for the State to preserve the nuclear units environmental
attributes while staying within the States jurisdictional
boundaries.

ZECs provide a vehicle for monetizing the States

environmental preferences and the program will allow time for

new clean energy technologies to mature and take their place in
the ultimate generation mix.

The independent renewable resource

and ZEC obligations that together make up the CES each

contribute uniquely to serving the long-term goal of achieving a
largely de-carbonized energy system by the middle of the
century.
VIII. IMPLEMENTATION
This Order adopts the Clean Energy Standard (CES) and
establishes the policies that will govern the Renewable Energy
Standard and the Zero-Emissions Credits Requirement.

Given the

need for momentum to implement the important initiatives adopted

here, in many cases this Order establishes specific requirements
to provide for swift implementation where necessary.

But there

are also a number of additional implementation measures that

will be necessary to fully administer the CES.

Those additional

measures will be determined in an implementation phase that will

address a number of issues identified in Appendix F, along with
other implementation issues that may arise.
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Full implementation

CASES 15-E-0302 & 16-E-0270

will require various phases going forward and typically will
involve a Staff or NYSERDA proposal, adequate notice, and the
opportunity for comment before Commission action.

The

Commission intends that implementation matters will be addressed

in a planned and deliberate manner to ensure that market
participants receive timely guidance on matters that affect
them.
IX. SEQRA FINDINGS
In February 2015, in accordance with the State
Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), the Commission
finalized and published a Generic Environmental Impact Statement
that explored the potential environmental impacts associated
with two major Commission policy initiatives: REV and the Clean
Energy Fund.

On February 23, 2016, the Commission issued a

Draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement

specifically relating to the CES and the establishment of a
support mechanism to sustain the operations of eligible nuclear
facilities.

Seven entities submitted comments, and on May 19,

2016, the Commission adopted the Final Supplemental Generic

Environmental Impact Statement (FSGEIS).

In conjunction with

the decisions made in this Order, the Commission has considered

the information in the FSGEIS and FGEIS and hereby adopts the
SEQRA Findings Statement prepared in accordance with Article 8
of the Environmental Conservation Law (SEQRA) and 6 NYCRR Part
617, by the Commission as lead agency for these actions.

The

SEQRA Findings Statement is attached to this Order as

Appendix G.

The SEQRA Findings Statement is based on the facts

and conclusions set forth in the FSGEIS and the FGEIS.

The CES

program is expected to yield overall positive environmental

impacts, primarily by reducing the States use of, and
dependence on, fossil fuels, among other benefits.
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conjunction with other State and Federal policies and
initiatives, CES is designed to reduce the adverse
environmental, social and economic impacts of fossil fuel energy
resources by increasing the use of clean energy resources and
technologies.
X. CONCLUSION
For the reasons stated above, and in accord with the
discussion in the body of this Order, the Commission adopts a
Clean Energy Standard consisting of a Renewable Energy Standard
and a Zero-Emissions Credit Requirement program.
The Commission orders:
1.

The goal of the State Energy Plan that 50% of New

Yorks electricity is to be generated by renewable sources by

2030, as part of a strategy to reduce statewide greenhouse gas
emissions 40% by 2030, is adopted as a foundational basis and
essential component of the Clean Energy Standard.
2.

The Clean Energy Standard consisting of the

Renewable Energy Standard (RES) and the Zero-Emissions Credit

Requirement, as described in the body of this order and in the
appendices, is adopted.
3.

Every Load Serving Entity (LSE) in New York State

shall pursuant to Tier 1 of the RES invest in new renewable

generation resources to serve their retail customers evidenced
by the procurement of qualifying Renewable Energy Credits
(RECs), acquired in quantities that satisfy mandatory minimum
percentage proportions of the total load served by the LSE for
the applicable calendar year as set forth herein.

The

compliance period shall be January 1 to December 31 of each

year, beginning in 2017, and will continue annually, determined
by multiplying the LSEs actual load for the year by the
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percentage RES requirement for that year.

LSEs may satisfy

their obligation by either purchasing RECs acquired through

central procurement by the New York State Energy Research and
development Authority (NYSERDA); by self-supply by direct
purchase of tradable RECs; or by making Alternative Compliance
Payments to NYSERDA.

Each LSE will demonstrate compliance

through an annual compliance filing.

4.

NYSERDA may offer RECs acquired in the 2016

Procurement for RES Tier 1 compliance and if NYSERDA determines

that acceleration is warranted because the additional financial
commitment would result in an overall weighted average award
price of 2016 Main Tier projects equal to or less than the 2015
Main Tier weighted average award price of $24.57 per REC, it is
authorized to implement additional procurement levels in the
2016 procurement and file a report with the Commission
documenting its determination and the results.
5.

For the Year 2017 compliance period, by

December 1, 2016, NYSERDA shall publish on its website a REC

price and the estimated quantity of the RECs NYSERDA will offer
for sale in the 2017 compliance period.

The REC price offered

will equal the weighted average cost per MWh NYSERDA paid to
acquire the RECs to be offered, plus a reasonable Commissionapproved adder to cover the administrative costs and fees
incurred by NYSERDA to administer Tier 1.

NYSERDA will file a

petition with the Commission proposing the amount of the adder

by August 25, 2016.
6.

By December 1, 2016 for the Year 2017 compliance

period, NYSERDA shall publish on its website a per MWh ACP price
for the 2017 compliance period.

The ACP price will equal an

amount calculated as the published REC price plus 10%.

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7.

By December 1, 2016 for the Year 2017 compliance

period, each LSE will inform NYSERDA whether it intends to

purchase RECs from NYSERDA during the compliance period.
8.

For the 2017 procurement period NYSERDA shall

establish and publish on its website no later than December 1,

2016, a firm schedule of fixed dates for the annual and
potential supplemental solicitations.
9.

Pursuant to Tier 2 of the RES, if the Commission

awards Maintenance Contracts, eligible costs will be recovered

from delivery customers in the same manner as in the Renewable
Portfolio Standard program Maintenance Tier, or from such other
sources as the Commission shall determine.
10.

Every LSE in New York State shall purchase

through contract with NYSERDA, at a price and by the terms

described in this Order, an amount of zero-emission credits
(ZECs) representing that LSEs proportional share of ZECs
purchased annually by NYSERDA pursuant to the Zero-Emissions
Credit Requirement.

The LSEs proportional share is determined

based on the proportion of electric energy load served by the

LSE in relation to the total electric energy load served by all
LSEs in the New York Control Area.

The LSE/NYSERDA contractual

relationship will require LSEs to periodically purchase ZECs

during a program year based on initial forecasts of load and a
balancing reconciliation at the end of each program year.
11.

The compliance period shall be for two-year

tranches commencing April 1, 2017 and will continue until

March 31, 2029.

Each LSE will demonstrate compliance through an

annual compliance filing.

12.

There being a public necessity to preserve the

zero-emissions environmental attributes of certain Zero Carbon

Electric Generating Facilities, NYSERDA shall offer long-term
contracts for the purchase of ZECs from the FitzPatrick, Ginna
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and Nine Mile Point generating facilities in accordance with the
price, contract period and other terms specified in this Order.
The contract terms shall conform to all of the requirements
specified in this Order.
13.

In the Secretarys sole discretion, the deadlines

set forth in this Order may be extended.

Any request for an

extension must be in writing, must include a justification for

the extension, and must be filed at least one day prior to the
affected deadline.
14.

Case 15-E-0302 is continued; Case 16-E-0270 is

closed.
By the Commission,

(SIGNED)

KATHLEEN H. BURGESS
Secretary

APPENDICES
Appendix A Eligibility of Resources
Appendix B Comment Summaries
Appendix C New York Generation Attribute Tracking System
Appendix D Renewable Energy Standard - Tier 2
Appendix E Zero-Emissions Credits Requirement
Appendix F Implementation Phase
Appendix G SEQRA Findings Statement

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Commissioner Diane X. Burman, concurring:
As reflected in my comments made at the August 1,
2016 session, I concur on this item.