US Quadrennial Energy Review second round

The U.S. Department of Energy is holding a series of public meetings centered on the topic of the second installment of its Quadrennial Energy Review, an integrated study of the U.S. electricity system from generation through end use.

On January 9, 2014, President Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum establishing a task force and directing the administration to conduct a Quadrennial Energy Review (QER).  The task force was directed to “gather ideas and advice from state and local governments, tribes, large and small businesses, universities, national laboratories, nongovernmental and labor organizations, consumers, and other stakeholders and interested parties...”  This input is designed to inform a report to the President that includes the following:

• Provides an integrated view of, and recommendations for, Federal energy policy in the context of economic, environmental, occupational, security, and health and safety priorities, with attention in the first report given to the challenges facing the Nation’s energy infrastructures.
• Reviews the adequacy of existing executive and legislative actions and recommends additional executive and legislative actions, as appropriate.
• Assesses and recommends priorities for research, development, and demonstration programs to support key energy innovation goals.
• Identifies analytical tools and data needed to support further policy development and implementation.

The QER Task Force released the first installment of the Quadrennial Energy Review in 2015, “Energy Transmission, Storage, and Distribution Infrastructure”.  This volume reviewed U.S. infrastructure for transmission, storage, and distribution, including liquid and natural gas pipelines, the grid, and shared transport such as rail, waterways, and ports, and noted "the critical enabling role of electricity."

Based on this role, the Administration determined that the second installment of the QER will focus on the electricity system, including "not just physical structures, but also a range of actors and institutions." A stakeholder briefing memorandum for the QER's second round describes consideration of fuel choices, distributed and centralized generation, physical and cyber vulnerabilities, federal, state, and local policy direction, expectations of residential and commercial consumers, and a review of existing and evolving business models for a range of entities throughout the system.  The second installment is expected to result in a set of findings and policy recommendations to help guide the modernization of the nation’s electric grid and ensure its continued reliability, safety, security, affordability, and environmental performance through 2040.

As part of this process, the Department of Energy is holding a series of stakeholder engagement meetings.  Meetings will include a mix of panel discussions and public comment opportunities.

The first meeting of QER's second installment was held in Washington, D.C., on February 4.  Future meetings include:

Boston, Massachusetts -- April 15, 2016
Salt Lake City, Utah -- April 25, 2016
Des Moines, Iowa -- May 6, 2016
Austin, Texas -- May 9, 2016
Los Angeles, California -- May 10, 2016
Atlanta, Georgia -- May 24, 2016