The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities will hold a virtual stakeholder meeting to discuss draft guidance outlining requirements for companies seeking to develop advanced nuclear energy projects in the state. The draft Expression of Interest Guidance Document describes the process for the state’s initial review of proposed projects and information that developers must provide about local impacts, safety, costs to ratepayers, and other public interest considerations. The review marks the first step in implementing the Power NJ Act, enacted in July, directing New Jersey to seek at least 1,100 megawatts of new advanced nuclear capacity. The legislation directs the board to issue a request for expressions of interest for advanced nuclear projects and requires that proposed projects deliver a net benefit to ratepayers. Comments are due by Dec. 4.

The Vermont Public Utility Commission will hold a virtual workshop to gather information from electric utilities as part of its proceeding to update net metering regulations. The proceeding presents an opportunity to improve incentives for customers to align their generation with their consumption and facilitate revisions that could avoid increased costs for ratepayers. This could be achieved by compensating net metering systems based on the value they provide, encouraging these systems to offset load at times when they can provide the greatest value to utilities and ratepayers, and encouraging siting where the grid can accommodate additional distributed energy resources. Vermont’s net metering program, which has been in place for nearly three decades, has resulted in the addition of more than 390 megawatts of generation capacity, a significant portion of the more than 600 megawatts of distributed solar capacity in the state. The commission seeks information on several topics, such as the benefits and costs of net-metered generation and societal considerations, including emissions reductions, economic development and employment, land use, and environmental justice. 26-1786-RULE

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission will conduct in-person hearings on NextEra Energy Transmission MidAtlantic Inc.’s application for authority to operate as a public utility in the state. NextEra seeks authorization to provide transmission service in Greene and Fayette counties for portions of the proposed MidAtlantic Resiliency Link Project, a 107.5-mile, 500-kilovolt transmission line spanning Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Virginia, along with a new substation in Virginia. The company’s siting approval application is being considered in a separate proceeding and is on hold pending a decision on the current application. The proposal has drawn comments, protests, and petitions from landowners and other concerned parties. READ MORE

The Maryland Public Service Commission will hold an in-person meeting to discuss Baltimore Gas and Electric Company’s application for adjustments to its electric base rates. The company is seeking an annual increase in base rate revenue of approximately $156.1 million, with a return on equity of 10.4 percent. If approved, the adjustment will result in an overall increase of 2.8 percent in total electric bills, with impacts varying by rate schedule and customer. The average residential customer using 851 kilowatt-hours would see a monthly bill increase of about $8, or approximately 4 percent. 9888

The California Air Resources Board and Quebec’s Ministry of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks will hold their 49th joint quarterly carbon auction, which will offer allowances for current and future years. The current auction will offer 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2026 vintage allowances totaling about 49.4 million, and the advance auction will offer 2029 future allowances totaling about 6.5 million. The previous auction, held in August, sold nearly 49 million current allowances at a price of $32.48 per allowance and 6.5 million future allowances at $32.75 per allowance. California’s cap-and-trade program places an economy-wide cap on major emitting sources.

The California Energy Commission seeks written comments regarding advancing energy interoperability standards as part of its proceeding on load flexibility policy and planning. The agency is considering a technology-neutral approach that supports dynamic signals, including price, greenhouse gas emissions, and grid conditions. The approach would also enable consumer-authorized control, align on-site and utility-to-device communication ecosystems, and provide original equipment manufacturers and implementers with a consistent pathway to deploy automated features. 24-FDAS-02