Arkansas Energy Resources Planning Task Force: 2021 Report Issued

The Arkansas Energy resources Planning Task Force (“Task Force”) issued its 2021 Report (“Report”).

Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson issued Executive Order 21-05 establishing the Task Force.

The Executive Order, in discussing the rationale for the Task Force, referenced the need to consider:

• Vulnerabilities in critical energy resources in extreme winter storms
• Increased demand/inaccurate supply of critical energy/Arkansas business closures
• The ability of Arkansas’s critical energy resources in infrastructure to address extreme events

Task Force members included:

By way of summary, the Task Force concludes in the Executive Summary:

After reviewing testimony from regulators, fuel suppliers and transporters, utilities, and energy users, the Task Force has identified potential opportunities for improved communication in advance of and during energy disruptive events and potential opportunities for improving the reliability of energy infrastructure. If outages are necessary to ensure the reliability of the electricity grid or curtailment is necessary due to limited fuel supply or weather-related electric outages, the Task Force recommends prioritizing energy so as to preserve human life, health, and safety and, to the extent possible, to businesses and industry that would otherwise incur damage to equipment or experience severe economic harm. The lessons learned and Task Force recommendations are discussed in more detail within this report.

The Task Force held three meetings in the Spring. It received written and oral testimony from a number of organizations. Further, the Task Force provided pre-hearing testimony questions addressing the proposed and additional related issues.

The two primary components of the Report addressed a “review of lessons learned during the February 2021 winter weather event” and “recommended actions to ensure adequate supply of critical energy sources during extreme events.”

The lessons learned section addresses:

• Communication
• Adequacy of Existing Energy Infrastructure
• Planning for Reliable Energy

The recommended actions section includes:

• Creation of an Energy Resources Council
• Creation of Energy Disruption Preparedness Tool Kit
• Areas for Additional Consideration and Study

In addition to the Governor’s Executive Order, the Appendices include:

• Task Force Meeting Materials and Minutes
• Pre-Hearing Written Testimony

A link to the Report can be found here.