2010 Report - Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission

Section 1 - IntroductionPurposeElectric Power Outlook for Pennsylvania 2009-2014 summarizes and discusses the current andfuture electric power supply and demand situation for the 11 investor-owned jurisdictional electricdistribution companies (EDCs) operating within the Commonwealth and the entities responsiblefor maintaining the reliability of the bulk electric supply system within the region whichencompasses the state.The Bureau of Conservation, Economics and Energy Planning prepared this report, pursuant toTitle 66, Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, Section 524(b). This report is submitted annually tothe General Assembly, the Governor, the Office of Consumer Advocate and each affected publicutility, and also is made available to the general public on the Commission’s website. 9The information contained in this report includes highlights of the past year, EDCs' projections ofenergy demand and peak load, and a discussion of historical trends in electric utility forecasting.Since the eight largest EDCs operating in Pennsylvania represent 99.8 percent of jurisdictionalelectricity sales, information regarding the three smaller EDCs has been limited in this report. Thereport also provides a regional perspective with statistical information on the projected resourcesand aggregate peak loads for the region, which impacts Pennsylvania.Under section 2809(e) of the Public Utility Code, the Commission has the authority to forbearfrom applying any requirements of the Code, including section 524 and existing regulationspromulgated thereto, which it found no longer to be necessary due to competition among electricgeneration suppliers. Thus, the Commission adopted revised regulations reflecting a reduction inreporting requirements and a reduction in the reporting horizon for energy demand, connected peakload and number of customers from 20 to 5 years. Information regarding capital investments,energy costs, new generating facilities and expansions of existing facilities are no longer required.With the divestiture of generating facilities by the EDCs, the Commission relies on reports andanalyses of regional entities, including the ReliabilityFirst Corporation and the PJMInterconnection, to obtain a more complete assessment of the current and future status of theelectric power supply within the region.Informational sources include data submitted by EDCs, which is filed annually pursuant to theCommission's regulations. 10 Sources also include data submitted by regional reliability councilsto the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, which is subsequently forwarded to thefederal Energy Information Administration.Any comments or conclusions contained in this report do not necessarily reflect the views oropinions of the Commission or individual Commissioners. Although this report has been issued bythe Commission, it is not to be considered or construed as approval or acceptance by theCommission of any of the plans, assumptions or calculations made by the EDCs or regionalreliability entities and reflected in the information submitted.9 See http://www.puc.state.pa.us/general/publications_reports/pdf/EPO_2010.pdf.10 52 Pa. Code §§ 57.141—57.154.Electric Power Outlook for Pennsylvania 2009-2014 1