The Louisiana Public Service Commission will hold a technical conference to discuss the responses to its questions regarding the best approach to design a renewable energy program including green tariffs. Last October, the commission launched a proceeding, exploring green tariffs in different states with the focus of bringing new renewable energy resources to the state. The commission staff’s research found that 23 green tariffs in 17 states have been proposed or approved since 2013, paving the way for more than 900 megawatts of new solar and wind projects. Green pricing options allow customers to meet a portion of their electricity needs from renewable energy resources. These programs provide larger consumers the option to meet their varying sustainability and renewable energy goals. R-35423

The Virginia State Corporation Commission will hold a hearing on Dominion Energy Inc.’s proposal to establish voluntary time-of-use, or TOU, rates for residential customers. Under the proposal, customers shifting from on-peak to off-peak periods achieve bill savings. Participants would be subject to time-varying energy charges based on the season and the time period of consumption that the company categorizes as on-peak, off-peak, and super off-peak. The proposed rate would be available to the company’s residential customers with smart meters, subject to an enrollment limit of 10,000 participants. PUR-2019-00214

The Maryland Public Service Commission will consider utilities’ semi-annual reports for EmPOWER Maryland, the state’s energy efficiency program, for the period from July 1 through December 31, 2019. The year 2019 represents the most productive annual period in terms of megawatt-hours of savings, according to the commission staff’s report. The commission established an energy savings goal in 2015, directing utilities to achieve annual incremental savings of 2 percent of retail sales per year. Statewide, more than 2 percent of sales have been saved through 2019. The hearing will also examine the Coordinated Residential New Construction Program report filed by the Electric and Natural gas Coordination Work Group. 9494

The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission will hold a virtual workshop to discuss the integration of public participation across utilities’ integrated resource plans and the clean energy implementation plan, a new planning requirement created under the 2019 Clean Energy Transformation Act. The commission is currently drafting rules to guide investor-owned electric utilities’ planning efforts to meet the requirements of the legislation, including public engagement in utility planning. The law requires the state’s electricity supply to be carbon-neutral by 2030 and carbon-free by 2045. The act directs the state’s electric utilities to phase out coal from their generation portfolio by 2025. UE-190698

The California Public Utilities Commission is due to vote on a proposal to impose a fine of nearly $2 billion in penalties on Pacific Gas & Electric Company for the utility’s role in causing the 2017, 2018 and 2019 wildfires. The penalties include more than $1.82 billion in disallowances for wildfire-related expenditures, $114 million in system enhancement initiatives and corrective actions. The penalty also includes a $200 million fine payable to the state’s general fund, but the company’s obligation to pay that amount is permanently suspended, so that the payment does not reduce the funds available to satisfy wildfire victims’ claims. READ MORE

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission will discuss the financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on natural gas and electric utilities. The state’s regulated utilities have requested authorization to establish a regulatory asset to track the costs incurred to implement COVID-19 related measures. The commission will consider whether to solicit stakeholder input on the type of actions it should take and to identify the types of financial impacts that should be considered as pandemic-related. The meeting will also examine whether the commission should gather information from utilities on the financial effects. CI-20-425