The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is scheduled to receive bids for the procurement of zero-carbon power supplies. Connecticut passed a law last year allowing Dominion Energy Inc.’s Millstone generator, the state’s only nuclear power plant, to compete for long-term contracts to supply emission-free electricity, even as preliminary analysis showed the generator will be “highly profitable” through 2035. Regulators have concluded that the 2,100-megawatt plant is critical for the region’s fuel security and emission reduction goals.

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission will discuss modifications to Enbridge Energy LP’s certificate of need for its approximately $7-billion Line 3 project. The commission approved the pipeline on June 28, including the company’s preferred route, but concerns have since been raised by the Minnesota Department of Commerce over inadequate insurance coverage to protect the public from damages related to crude oil spills. The project entails replacement of Enbridge’s aging and deteriorating 50-year old pipeline, which spans over 1,000 miles to deliver crude oil from Alberta, Canada, to refineries in the Midwest and beyond. (14-916)

The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission is scheduled to take comments on the integrated grid planning reports by the island’s main utilities: Hawaiian Electric Company Inc., Hawaii Electric Light Company Inc., and Maui Electric Company Limited. In the report the utilities propose to combine the historically separate planning processes for generation, transmission, and distribution, while also integrating competitive procurement. Integrating the planning process is expected to drive the development of more diverse distributed and grid-scale resources to meet the system’s needs, resulting in customer savings. The companies propose a planning cycle every two years starting in 2019, with the first integrated plan due by late 2020.

The International Energy Agency will release its closely watched report on U.S. and foreign oil markets, covering supply, demand and prices. Among recent trends include the higher output at Gulf Coast and Midwest refineries, which are operating at historic levels due to strong domestic and international demand for petroleum products, such as motor gasoline and distillate fuel oil. (Previous Report)