In a keynote address at the NASEO 2017 Energy Policy Outlook Conference on February 8th, U.S. DOE Acting Undersecretary for Energy and Science, Patricia Hoffman, emphasized key roles the Nation's 56 State and Territory Energy Offices play in strengthening America's energy system. She started by reflecting on major energy-related accomplishments in Texas under Secretary of Energy-designee, Gov. Rick Perry. Guided by market-based policies and fair regulation, Gov. Perry advanced clean, economical, and reliable energy in the Lone Star State.
Hoffman's address focused on five critical topics:
1. Partnerships with the State Energy Offices (SEOs),
2. Grid modernization and infrastructure dependencies,
3. Energy emergency preparedness and response,
4. Energy security and diversity, including roles of energy efficiency, demand response, and energy storage, and
5. Technology innovation and infrastructure investment.
The first item--partnerships with the SEOs--crosscuts all the others, reflecting SEO roles in working with the U.S. DOE, the National Laboratories, the private sector, localities, and other stakeholders. She recognized such efforts as the Energy Markets and Planning (E-MAP) grid modernization planning pilot project of Michigan, Nevada, Virginia, and NASEO; the U.S. DOE-NASEO Energy Emergency Coordinators agreement and its critical role in helping coordinate responses to multiple critical energy events; and energy assurance exercises. Hoffman highlighted themes of energy security and resilience, including cybersecurity. She emphasized fuel diversity and all-of-the-above energy approaches as keys to deploying clean energy technologies that also serve energy security, assurance, and resilience imperatives.
Hoffman concluded by reiterating SEOs as critically important, praising their unbiased and holistic approaches to energy policy and planning. She exhorted states and all stakeholders to emphasize energy system resilience.