The New York Public Service Commission is scheduled to receive comments on a report recommending options to improve compensation for rooftop solar power. The report, issued by the Department of Public Service staff last December, proposes the continuation of net metering with improvements that ensure fairness for all utility customers by increasing the accuracy of pricing signals and lowering subsidies that are not directly associated with environmental values. As solar becomes a mainstream element of the power generation sector, traditional net metering, applied at the current default rates, will become unsustainable, according to the report. New York has a goal of installing 6 gigawatts of distributed solar by 2025. READ MORE

The Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority is scheduled to receive comments on the updated price cap and bid preferences for the first procurement under the Statewide Shared Clean Energy Facility, or SCEF, program. Under the program, electric distribution companies purchase their subscribed energy produced by a selected SCEF facility at the commission-approved price and allocate the value of that purchase as on-bill credits to SCEF subscribers on a monthly basis. The initiative promotes equitable participation by expanding access to clean energy for low- to moderate-income customers and optimizes the re-use of sites with limited alternative uses. 19-07-01

The California Public Utilities Commission will discuss electric utilities’ wildfire mitigation plans describing measures to prevent, combat, and respond to wildfires in their service areas. The Wildfire Safety Division established last year will review and resolve mitigation plans for 2020 and beyond to ensure that the electrical utilities are taking effective actions to reduce utility-related wildfire risk. The commission approved the mitigation plans for 2019 last May, and directed electric corporations to track data and evaluate the outcomes to improve future plans. Catastrophic fires in 2017, 2018 and 2019 resulted in billions of dollars in damage across the state, forcing Pacific Gas & Electric to declare bankruptcy last year. R1810007

The Arizona Corporation Commission will discuss two draft rules issued by Chairman Robert Burns and Commissioner Justin Olson on customer participation in retail electric competition. Among the primary differences, one of the drafts does not have a definition for eligible customer, meaning all customers qualify for retail choice. The second draft permits customers that do not individually meet the 100-kilowatt threshold specified in the initial draft to aggregate their load up to 400 kilowatts, so as to allow all customers to participate. The workshop will also discuss the commission staff’s research on retail electric competition rules in other states. READ MORE

The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission will hold a workshop regarding equity in utility planning pursuant to the Clean Energy Transformation Act, which requires the state’s electricity supply to be carbon-neutral by 2030 and carbon-free by 2045. The law, enacted last year, directs the state’s electric utilities to phase out coal from their generation portfolio by 2025. The commission is in the process of developing rules and guidance related to the equity provisions, including equity assessments within a utility’s resource plan and requirements to ensure that all customers are benefiting from the transition to clean energy. UE-190837

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is due to issue draft permits on the water quality certification for Enbridge Inc.’s Line 3 oil pipeline project. The agency released a revised permitting schedule after the Public Utilities Commission approved and re-issued a certificate of need and route permit for the project earlier this month, finding that a court-ordered, revised environmental review of the project is adequate. The schedule includes a 30-day comment period starting March 2. The project has been delayed for a year due to opposition from environmental groups and permitting issues. The Line 3 project is designed to fully replace more than 1,000 miles of pipeline between Hardisty, Alberta, and Superior, Wisconsin. READ MORE