Presentation of Sustainability in Electric Utilities Analysis

At the beginning of the year, ZCM Sustainability began working with a team of M.S, M.B.A., and Ph.D. students from the Energy Analysis and Policy Program (EAP) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to conduct an analysis of electric utilities that have made specific carbon-neutral commitments. They researched domestic investor-owned electric utilities (IOU) with low-carbon or carbon-neutral commitments, assessing if they have a well-documented and credible plan to achieve those commitments. This assignment fulfilled their Capstone requirements.

Last week the team presented their findings to ZCM and industry colleagues. All were overwhelmed by the quality of their work and professionalism in explaining their approach to evaluating IOUs on the scalable, measurable, and repeatable environmental benefits of their net-zero commitments.

Challenges faced along the way included the lack of transparency and specificity in sustainability reports along with data not always presented in a uniform or useful way. Some lessons learned upon reflection were:

• Further work is necessary for IOUs to achieve net-zero goals by 2050
• Neither locality nor political orientation matters with respect to decarbonization
• IOUs have been increasingly aggressive about net-zero goals from 2016 onwards
• Repeatability for ambitious zero-carbon plans is highly limited

We appreciate the work the team put in. If you would like to learn more about this project or receive a summary of their findings, please contact Todd Davis at tdavis@zieglercap.com or call 312-368-1442.