Anya Schoolman on decentralized power

By Sophie Martin on November 25, 2014

Bill Howley, author of the fantastic blog The Calhoun Power Line recently wrote about CPN founder Anya Schoolman’s involvement in the DC PSC Exelon/Pepco merger case and her testimony on the case. Check it out!

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Anya Schoolman on Decentralized Power

Anya Schoolman is the genius behind the Community Power Network which has built solar generation in communities in the District of Columbia and three states, including two community solar co-ops (so far) in WV. Anya is also one of the leading experts in the world on building community-based solar power generation.

Here on The Power Line, I have been posting a little bit (here and here) about the takeover of Pepco, the retail utility in DC, by nuclear giant Exelon. Exelon, with its numerous nuclear plants, which are often forced to take negative prices for electricity when renewable resources flood the grid, has led the battle against decentralized power wherever it rears its head.

Here is a link to Anya Schoolman’s testimony in the DC PSC Exelon/Pepco merger case. The testimony looks long, at 455 pages, but most of that is appendixes, which you can skip. Anya’s testimony is only 64 double spaced pages long.

Her testimony includes a history of DC Sun (well worth reading in itself), an account of how local utilities have to change to effectively handle new high penetrations of decentralized power and how obsolete holding companies like Exelon are desperately trying to hold onto their control of the grid.

Anya’s testimony is well worth the read. You will get an education from one of the most knowledgeable experts on decentralized power and one of the most effective community organizers in the US. Anya is a treasure and a teacher to us all.