Prior to the 2005 solicitation of supply bids to serve Maine standard offer customers, the Maine Office of Public Advocate requested that Synapse evaluate the 2004 standard offer procurement rules developed and implemented by the Maine Public Utilities Commission pursuant to ME PUC Docket No. 2004-147. Synapse filed comments in the proceeding that recommended the adoption of a portfolio management approach. Key elements included a multi-year procurement horizon and the specific acquisition of renewable resources as a hedge against fossil fuel price uncertainty. Project completed in September 2005.

Synapse investigated the impact that the March 1979 accident has had on the cost of decommissioning Three Mile Island Unit 2.  Synapse also evaluated whether ratepayers should have to pay these additional costs.  Finally, Synapse examined whether the Three Mile Island Unit 2 decommissioning funds are already fully funded given the likelihood that the start of decommissioning of the facility will be significantly later than previously planned.  Project completed March 2005.

Synapse conducted electricity price forecasts for St. Lawrence hydro plants.  Project completed in March 2005.

Through a grant from The Energy Foundation, Synapse provided technical support to several environmental groups participating in the northeastern Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The clients included: Environment Northeast, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Union of Concerned Scientists. Synapse was involved in reviewing the inputs for the RGGI modeling work and helped the client groups analyze and comment on the modeling results. Project completed in June 2005.

Synapse reviewed numerous categories of documents provided by the defendants during discovery related to Clean Air Act lawsuits against American Electric Power Company and Cinergy Corporation and evaluated whether the public release of these materials would cause competitive harm to the companies. Project completed in January 2005.

Synapse conducted an analysis of several case study utilities in PJM.  Synapse estimated the unbundled pre-deregulation prices for the generation portion of bundled electric service and indexed those prices forward in time to allow for comparison with the deregulated generation service market prices.  Project completed in August 2004.

Synapse testified and prepared recommendations to the California PUC with regard to California's long-term resource plans for electric utilities. In particular, Synapse focused on making sure plans were clear, comprehensive, forward-looking, and integrated, especially with respect to renewables generation and energy efficiency. To do this, Synapse focused on the concept of scenario planning with respect to carbon emission regulation and gas price forecasts, as well as making sure that transmission lines would be in place to serve renewable generation facilities. In addition, Synapse examined the effect of debt equivalency on long-term contracts for renewables. As a result of our contribution, the CPUC lowered the value of debt equivalency on all long-term contracts. In addition, the CPUC adopted our recommendation regarding carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions with regard to their use in fossil fuel plants. Specifically, the CPUC will consider cleaner generation sources more cost-effective than fossil fuel plant generation sources if the cleaner generation sources prevent carbon emissions at a cost of less than $8 - $25 per ton. Project completed in December 2004.

Synapse and Tellus Institute developed a plan for the aggressive implementation of energy efficiency and renewable resources in seven Interior West states.  The analysis included PROSYM electricity market simulation modeling, a technical assessment of cost-effective energy efficiency opportunities, a technical and economic assessment of renewable resource potential, and the development of policies for overcoming market barriers to these clean resources.  The study also assessed the role of renewable and distributed generation resources in addressing transmission constraints.

Bruce Biewald presented “Electric Transmission Technical and Policy Issues” before the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates in Austin, Texas on June 14, 2004.

Bruce Biewald presented “Electricity Portfolio Management” at the Illinois State University Institute for Regulatory Policy Studies Conference on “Beyond 2006” in Springfield, Illinois on May 20, 2004.

Building on our 2003 work for the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), Synapse analyzed several non-modeling based methods of estimating emission reductions from energy efficiency and renewable energy.  Based on a review of numerous papers, Synapse identified three common methods of estimating emission reductions using simplifying assumptions about power system dynamics.  Synapse assessed the extent to which each of these methods was likely to provide an accurate and credible assessment of emission reductions.  The most promising method sought to identify the marginal generating unit(s) in the relevant system based on a load curve analysis.  The report identified several aspects of this method that need to be further investigated to determine how robust the method is.  Project completed in November 2004.

Bruce Biewald presented “Incorporating Renewable Generation into a Risk Management Strategy” at the New England Conference of Public Utility Commissioners in Brewster, Massachusetts on May 25, 2004.

Synapse developed and analyzed scenarios for the electric power system in the United States, comparing “business as usual” with a clean energy development path.  Project completed in May 2004.

Synapse investigated the practicality and cost of installing cooling towers at the Indian Point nuclear power plants.  Synapse also evaluated the operating cost and reliability impacts of installing such cooling towers.  Project completed in March 2004.