Governing Transactive Energy: Institutional Drivers and Barriers for Community Choice Aggregators

• In Event: From Perception to Policy to Behavior: Governing Emerging Distributed Energy Systems

Abstract

As electric grids incorporate more distributed energy resources, transactive energy systems (TES) are increasingly viewed as a promising way to coordinate rooftop solar, battery storage, electric vehicles, and flexible loads through price or incentive signals. In the United States, many states have authorized Community Choice Aggregation (CCA), allowing municipalities to aggregate residential and small-business electricity demand. Although pilot projects suggest TES is technically feasible, much less is known about the institutional conditions under which Community Choice Aggregators (CCAs) can adopt TES in practice. CCAs are an important setting for studying TES because they play a growing role in local electricity governance and may be better positioned than traditional utilities to align procurement, customer programs, and local policy goals around distributed energy resources. Yet existing research has paid limited attention to the institutional factors that shape whether CCAs view TES as feasible, desirable, and compatible with their governance role.

To fill the gap, this paper asks: What institutional drivers and barriers shape CCA adoption of TES? To answer this question, we use a comparative case study design based on semi-structured interviews with stakeholders in two state contexts: California and New Hampshire. These cases vary in electricity market structure, regulatory environment, and the maturity of CCA institutions. California represents a relatively mature CCA landscape and New Hampshire an emerging Community Power context. This comparison helps illuminate how state-level institutional arrangements shape the opportunities and constraints CCAs face in considering TES adoption.

We interview multiple stakeholders involved in the regulatory and implementation environment, including public utility regulators, CCA officials, utilities, and TES vendors. The interviews examine several dimensions central to TES adoption: perceived benefits, legal and regulatory authority, business and market incentives, technical and data infrastructure, settlement and operational risks, relationships with utilities and third-party actors, and concerns related to equity, customer participation, and political acceptability.

This paper contributes to policy research in two ways. First, it extends the TES literature by shifting attention from technology performance to the institutional feasibility of adoption by CCAs. Second, it offers a comparative framework for understanding how state context and stakeholder relationships shape the governance of emerging energy innovations. The findings will inform debates on distributed energy governance, grid modernization, and the role of CCAs in advancing TES.

Author

• Tian Tang, Florida State University
  Presenting Author