The Virginia State Corporation Commission will conduct a hearing on Virginia Electric and Power Company’s proposed virtual power plant pilot in response to the recently enacted Community Energy Act, which requires the company to submit a pilot program evaluating methods to optimize system demand through various technology applications and distributed energy resources, including virtual power plants. The proposed pilot would aggregate demand response and demand-side management programs for eligible customers through a distributed energy resource management system. If approved, the Dominion Energy subsidiary expects to launch the pilot in the first quarter of 2027, with operations continuing through mid-2028. The commission has consolidated the company’s demand-side management and virtual power plant proceedings for procedural and hearing purposes. PUR-2025-00211

Member states of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, will hold their 72nd quarterly auction of carbon allowances. The auction clearing prices will be posted on June 5. The previous auction sold out at a clearing price of $24.99, about 6.5 percent lower than the December auction, and generated about $652 million, bringing the total proceeds to nearly $10.8 billion. READ MORE

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection seeks input on potential large-scale energy generation or storage projects that could qualify for PJM Interconnection’s Expedited Interconnection Track, or EIT, process. The department issued a request for information aimed at identifying developers capable of designing, constructing, and operating projects that could quickly add energy capacity to Pennsylvania’s power grid. PJM proposed the process in February to accelerate the review of up to 10 large projects annually over the next two years. The grid operator intends to open an EIT by August 2026 to enable eligible projects with sponsorship from the state in which they are located to secure interconnection agreements within 10 months of application.

The Idaho Public Utilities Commission seeks written comments on Clearwater Power Company’s 2026 wildfire mitigation plan filed pursuant to the Wildfire Standard of Care Act enacted in 2025. Under the law, an electric utility is presumed to have acted without negligence in wildfire litigation if it reasonably implemented a commission-approved plan. The plan outlines the utility’s approach to reducing wildfire risk through several measures, including fuel and vegetation management, workforce training, community outreach, coordination with government agencies, and other preventive programs and actions. CO1-E-26-01

The Washington Department of Ecology will hold its 14th quarterly carbon auction, which will offer allowances for current and future years. The current auction will offer 2024, 2025, and 2026 vintage allowances totaling about 4.9 million, and the advance auction will offer 2029 vintage allowances totaling 1.8 million. A summary report is expected to be released on June 10. The previous quarterly auction, held in March, sold out, with current allowances clearing at $65.26 per allowance. READ MORE

The Wisconsin Public Service Commission will hold a hearing on Dawn Break Solar LLC’s proposed 180-megawatt alternating current solar project in Waushara County. The project would be developed in two concurrent phases. Phase one is planned to deliver 100 megawatts of solar generation capacity, while phase two would add 80 megawatts. In addition, the company intends to integrate a 180-megawatt/720-megawatt-hour battery energy storage system. 9825-CE-100

The Kansas Corporation Commission seeks written comments on Liberty Utilities’ application to adjust retail rates and charges applicable to electricity service. The company is seeking an increase of approximately $15.8 million, to be phased in over a three-year period. If approved, customers with average usage of 1,000 kilowatthours per month would see an increase of $11.88 in the first year and $21.28 in each of the following two years. The proposal would increase the average customer’s total bill by approximately 40 percent after three years.