The New York Public Service Commission is due to receive comments on a whitepaper as part of its “midpoint review” of the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Make-Ready program run by the state’s large investor-owned electric utilities. The whitepaper provides recommendations to improve the program including increasing the initiative’s budget from $701 million to $1.108 billion and updating the plug targets, extending the program’s deadline beyond Jan. 1, 2025 if the plug targets are not met, and creating a $25 million micromobility make-ready program targeting disadvantaged communities. The commission had detailed a list of topics that the review should assess including future-proofing requirements and budgets and utility ownership of charging station hardware. 18-E-0138

The New York Department of Environmental Conservation and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority will hold the second in a series of webinars to discuss the impacts of extreme heat in the state. The agencies aim to gather information to develop an extreme heat action plan in response to the increased frequency of events caused by climate change. The webinar will focus on showcasing local solutions from different communities across the state, and illuminating tangible and positive change advanced by partnerships among community organizations, local governments, and the state.

The Oregon Public Utilities Commission will hold a public meeting to consider Idaho Power’s all-source request for proposals to meet 2026 capacity resource needs. The company filed an application in September 2022 requesting approval to solicit the acquisition of a combination of energy and capacity resources with as much as 1,100 megawatts of variable energy resources and a minimum of roughly 800 megawatts of peak capacity. The IDACORP Inc. subsidiary also sought approval to appoint an independent evaluator to oversee the RFP process and approve the proposed RFP scoring and modeling. UM 2255

The California Energy Commission will hold a workshop to present draft guidelines for its Equitable Building Decarbonization Program. The workshop will provide an overview of a series of topics including proposed funding allocations, eligible measures, cost caps, and coordination with other programs. The commission held a workshop in December to provide a review of the program, and discuss topics related to the program design, and identify opportunities to leverage and align with related local, federal, and state-funded incentive programs focused on decarbonizing existing buildings. Legislation enacted in 2022 directed the commission to develop and implement the program and provided $112 million in funding for the first year, and budgeted up to $922 million over the next four fiscal years. 22-DECARB-03

The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission will hold a prehearing conference to discuss PacifiCorp’s proposal to increase its electric revenues. The company has proposed a two-year rate plan with a return on equity of 10.3 percent. The plan proposes an increase in electric delivery revenues of about $26.8 million in the first year, and $27.9 million in the second year. The proposal would lead to an increase of about $12.11 and $9.34 in the first and second rate years respectively, for residential customers using 1,200 kilowatt-hours per month on average. UE-230172

The California Air Resources Board and Québec’s Ministry of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change will hold their 35th joint quarterly carbon auction, which will offer allowances for current and future years. The current auction will offer 2023 vintage allowances totaling nearly 56.1 million, and the advance auction will offer 2026 future allowances totaling about 7.6 million. The previous auction held in February sold all of the nearly 56.4 million current allowances at a price of $27.85 per allowance and 7.6 million future allowances at $27.01 per allowance. California’s cap-and trade program places an economy-wide cap on major emitting sources. READ MORE