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week of Jul. 22, 2019

Welcome back to the EnerKnol Week Ahead, the calendar that brings you the most important energy events coming up next week, all powered by the EnerKnol Platform. In this edition, the Department of the Interior reviews what is set to be the nation's largest solar plus storage project; Several states discuss requests by utilities to bump or slash electric and natural gas rates; Congress considers ways to improve hurricane resiliency as devastating storms become more frequent and cripple the power grid.

Featured Entities

BLM

California PUC

DOE

Louisiana PSC

Michigan PSC

Missouri PSC

NRC

U.S. Congress

Washington UTC

Wisconsin PSC

Federal Agencies

Monday,
July 22
U.S. Congress Hurricane Resiliency Hearing

The U.S. House Committee on Science, Space and Technology will weigh options for improving hurricane resiliency. The year 2017 saw 17 named tropical storms in the Atlantic Basin, six of which had a direct impact on U.S. energy infrastructure, including Harvey, Irma and Maria, which caused massive damage in Texas, Florida and the Caribbean.

Starts
Tuesday,
July 23

Ends
Wednesday,
July 24
BLM Gemini 690 MW Solar and Storage Hearing

The Bureau of Land Management will gather public input on Solar Partners XI LLC’s proposed Gemini solar project, which consists of an approximately 690 megawatt solar photovoltaic facility on 7,100 acres of BLM-administered public land, 33 miles northeast of Las Vegas. The plant would be the largest solar facility in the U.S. and one of the largest in the world. The plan also includes the world’s largest battery system, with storage for 531 megawatts, or 2,125 megawatt-hours. Comments on the project are due on September 5.

Wednesday,
July 24
U.S. Congress Decarbonizing the Economy Hearing

The U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce will discuss ways to decouple economic growth from mounting greenhouse gas emissions. U.S. energy-related emissions are projected to see a 2.2 percent decrease this year, after a 2.7 percent increase in 2018, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Thursday,
July 25
U.S. Congress Public Land Renewable Energy Hearing

The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee will debate the Public Land Renewable Energy Development Act of 2019. Sponsored by Republican Representative Paul Gosar and Democratic Representative Andy Levin, the bill seeks to promote the development of renewable energy on public lands. The 500 million acres of public lands, subsurface rights, and offshore areas produce approximately 19 percent of the nation’s energy.

Thursday,
July 25
U.S. Congress Energy Innovation Hearing

The U.S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources will examine the importance of energy innovation to economic growth and competitiveness. The Department of Energy’s latest budget set aside $1.7 billion for early-stage technology research and development for renewable, nuclear and fossil fuel energy.

Thursday,
July 25
DOE Advanced Solar Technologies Funding

The U.S. Energy Department is due to receive applications for the agency’s $130 million program to advance research and development of early-stage solar technologies. The department is looking to support up to 80 projects focused on photovoltaics, concentrating solar-thermal power, soft costs reduction, innovation in the solar manufacturing sector, and advanced grid integration technologies.

Friday,
July 26
NRC TVA Small Modular Nuclear Reactors Hearing

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will discuss the Tennessee Valley Authority’s application to use the Clinch River Nuclear Site in Roane County for two or more small modular reactors or SMRs. TVA is exploring the possibility of building at least a couple of new SMRs in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Energy to help test the new technology. In its integrated resource plan, TVA predicts that power demand will remain stagnant, so there is no need for major new baseload generation.

Eastern Region

Monday,
July 22
LA PSC Energy Efficiency Technical Conference

The Louisiana Public Service Commission will study the development of financial incentives for the promotion of energy efficiency by jurisdictional electric and gas utilities under its energy efficiency program. The regulator is looking for input on performance incentives, opt-out rules, energy savings targets and budget caps and other details for the second phase of the program. R-31106

Western Region

Monday,
July 22
MO PSC Ameren Electric Rate Case Deadline

The Missouri Public Service Commission is scheduled to receive applications to intervene in an electric rate case filed by Union Electric Company, a subsidiary of Ameren Corp. The company filed the application earlier this month seeking to decrease annual electric revenues by approximately $800,000. ER-2019-0335

Monday,
July 22
WA UTC NW Natural Gas Rate Case Deadline

The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission will review a settlement agreement with NW Natural Gas Company to bump its natural gas annual base revenues by $5.1 million, or 7.8 percent, and to issue customer refunds totalling $2.5 million to reflect the 2017 federal corporate tax cuts made by the Trump administration. If approved, the average residential customer would pay $1.82 more, for an average monthly bill of about $50. The company had originally wanted to hike rates by 12.6 percent, or $8.3 million. UG-181053

Tuesday,
July 23
MI PSC AEP Rate Case Hearing

The Michigan Public Service Commission will discuss Indiana Michigan Power Company’s application to raise its retail rates for electric service by about $60 million annually for one testing year. The company wants to bump its return on equity to 10.5 percent and revise depreciation rates. Indiana Michigan Power is a subsidiary of American Electric Power Company Inc. U-20359

Wednesday,
July 24
CA PUC PG&E Rate Case Hearing

The California Public Utilities Commission will debate Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s request to bump rates to meet precautionary measures to reduce wildfire risks. The proposed hike for 2020 would translate to a bill impact of 6.4 percent or $10.57 per month for PG&E’s typical residential electric and gas customer. The utility noted the financial and regulatory uncertainty it is facing, having recorded wildfire-related liabilities totaling $14 billion in 2018. The potential liability for the 2017 and 2018 Northern California wildfires, estimated to exceed $30 billion, prompted PG&E in January to file for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. bankruptcy code. A1812009

Thursday,
July 25
WI PSC Xcel Energy Rate Case Hearing

The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin will review the application of Northern States
Power Company to slash its natural gas rates for 2020-2021 by $3.2 million, about 4.6 percent. The company also reached a settlement agreement to keep electric base rates steady by offsetting capital investments with anticipated fuel cost savings and retirement of customer bill credits from the federal tax reform. Northern States Power is a subsidiary of Xcel Energy. 4220-UR-124

Friday,
July 26
MO PSC Empire District Resource Plan Deadline

The Missouri Public Service Commission is due to receive applications to intervene in the Empire District Electric Company’s 2019 Integrated Resource Plan proceeding. Empire District Electric is a subsidiary of Liberty Utilities Co. serving approximately 153,000 electric customers in the state. EO-2019-0049

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