The Public Utilities Commission has opened an investigatory docket to address battery storage technologies. It has scheduled a workshop on May 19 to discuss comments submitted in response to specific questions it has posed, including:

• What is the state of battery storage technologies in terms of the maturity of the technologies, R&D and product commercialization?
• What services are currently being provided to the grid and where? What services can be potentially offered over the next 15 years?
• Have cost-benefit analyses for storage for utility and customer applications been performed?
• What types of residential, commercial and/or utility-scale storage options are currently offered and by whom?
• How does battery storage compare to other storage options?
• Which states have had success in deploying battery storage technologies? How is “success” defined? How do state programs interact with any federal efforts in this area?
• Should Nevada Power and Sierra Pacific Power be required to address storage as part of their resource planning? If so, how?
• Are there changes that should be made to Nevada’s statutes, the PUC’s regulations, and/or the two utilities’ tariffs and rates to eliminate possible barriers or unintended outcomes pertaining to storage technologies?
• What are the two utilities doing to investigate deployment of storage technologies at the residential, commercial and/or utility-scale levels?

Comments on these questions are due May 2.