CEA Energy Policy & Market Analysis 4

Question 1

Which demand-side management (DSM) program compensates customers for voluntarily reducing electricity use during grid stress events?

Accepted Answer

Demand response program

Answer

Demand response programs pay customers to curtail or shift electricity use on short notice, reducing peak load without building additional generation capacity.

Question 2

A utility integrated resource plan (IRP) is primarily a tool for:

Accepted Answer

Long-term planning of least-cost supply and demand resources

Answer

An IRP evaluates combinations of supply-side and demand-side resources over a planning horizon to identify the least-cost, reliable portfolio meeting projected load growth.

Question 3

In electricity markets, 'ancillary services' include all of the following EXCEPT:

Accepted Answer

Long-term capacity expansion planning

Answer

Ancillary services are real-time grid support products (regulation, reserves, reactive power); long-term capacity expansion planning is a resource adequacy function, not an ancillary service.

Question 4

The 'duck curve' problem in electricity systems with high solar penetration refers to:

Accepted Answer

A midday drop in net load followed by a steep evening ramp as solar output falls

Answer

High solar generation depresses net load midday but creates a rapid ramp need in late afternoon as solar output drops and evening demand rises, stressing dispatchable resources.

Question 5

Which instrument allows a clean energy developer to sell the environmental attributes of renewable generation separately from the electricity itself?

Accepted Answer

Renewable energy certificate (REC)

Answer

A REC represents the environmental attributes of one megawatt-hour of renewable electricity and can be sold or retired separately from the underlying energy.

(CEA) Certified Energy Analyst Practice Test

(CEA) Certified Energy Analyst Practice Test

CEA Energy Policy & Market Analysis 4