Synapse prepared a detailed analysis of the costs of decommissioning nuclear power plants, comparing the cost implications of prompt dismantlement versus delayed dismantlement.  The study included regression analysis and sensitivities to assumptions of labor costs, waste burial costs, and other decommissioning costs.  Project completed in 2000.

Synapse assisted CRR with a review of the New Hampshire Restructuring Settlement Agreement.  Synapse focused on the cost of providing standard offer services and the additional costs due to "retail adders."  This work included oral testimony before the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission in Docket 99-099.  Project completed in 2000.

Synapse investigated customer service performance standards in the context of an electric utility merger and rate cap plan. The analysis centered on the performance of customer call centers.  Project completed in June 2000.

Synapse drafted comments to the US Department of Energy regarding the electricity price assumptions that should be used in estimating the benefits of national air conditioner efficiency standards. This analysis included a review of hourly electricity prices from competitive and regulated US electricity markets in 1998, 1999, and 2000. Tim Woolf and Bruce Biewald provided results in oral testimony before the US DOE.  Project completed in November 2000.

Existing power plants often are subject to less stringent pollution standards than new plants under the Clean Air Act, providing a loophole for companies that own existing power plants. In “Electricity Market Distortions Associated with Inconsistent Air Quality Regulations,” an article published in The Electricity Journal, Synapse’s Tim Woolf and Bruce Biewald discuss how the loophole can create distortions in electricity markets, hinder the development of a competitive industry, and postpone some key benefits of the Clean Air Act.Access the article here: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1040619000000956.

On behalf of the Connecticut Office of Consumer Counsel, David Schlissel provided testimony before the Department of Public Utility Control regarding the potential impact of the proposed merger between Northeast Utilities and Consolidated Edison, Inc. Project completed in 2000.

Synapse participated in the Mississippi Public Service Commission’s Generic Docket to Consider Competition in the Provision of Retail Electric Service. First, Synapse reviewed and critiqued the filings of Entergy and the Southern Company with regard to standard offer pricing and performance-based ratemaking for transmission and distribution services. Synapse then prepared an assessment of the market power issues likely to arise in a restructured electricity industry in Mississippi, including a critique of the market power studies of Entergy and Southern Company. Additionally, Synapse and Resource Insight prepared an assessment of the stranded cost filings of Entergy and Southern Company. The results, including a discussion of divestiture of generation assets and the responsibility for stranded costs and gains, were presented in the testimony of Bruce Biewald before the Mississippi Public Service Commission in Docket No. 96-UA-389. Project completed in 1999.

This Synapse report assessed the cost and performance of selective catalytic reduction technologies for controlling NO_X emissions.  The report described the experience of SCR use in the US, Canada and internationally.  Report dated February 2000.

Synapse advised NESCAUM in the development of model regulations to implement uniform environmental performance standards for electricity suppliers in New England.  The project addressed technical issues related to the tracking of information in the New England Power Pool, as well as the appropriate definition of environmental performance standards.  Project completed in 1999.

This Synapse report assessed the ways SO₂ allowances, NO_X allowances, and New Source Review offset requirements can provide incumbent electric companies with unfair advantages in a competitive electricity market.  The report further evaluated how these requirements affected the electricity market at the time of the power plant divestiture, mergers of electric companies, or the construction of new power plants.  Project completed in 1999.

Synapse conducted an economic analysis of the cost of reducing nitrogen oxide emissions at coal-fired power plants in Ontario.  Project completed in June 1999.

The Massachusetts restructuring law enabled municipal aggregators to implement energy efficiency programs with funds raised through a system benefits charge.  Synapse assisted the town of Bedford in reviewing various energy efficiency options that could be provided through municipal aggregation.  Project completed in 1999.  

Synapse, as part of a team of consultants, prepared independent estimates of the stranded costs of the four electric utilities in Maryland: Delmarva Power and Light, Potomac Electric Company, Baltimore Gas and Electric Company, and Potomac Edison Company.  Synapse ran the ELFIN electric generation dispatch model to forecast market prices for electricity in the PJM and ECAR regions.  The results were presented in the testimony of Bruce Biewald before the Maryland Public Service Commission.  Project completed in 1999.

Synapse studied the implications of electric industry deregulation, including 1) the prospects for early nuclear power plant closure, 2) the potential unfunded liability for decommissioning, and 3) the potential unfunded liability for spent nuclear fuel transportation and storage. Project completed in 1999.