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week of Oct. 28, 2019

Welcome back to the EnerKnol Week Ahead, the energy policy calendar powered by the EnerKnol Platform. In this edtion, lawmakers in congress mull ways to advance a 100 percent clean energy economy this time with a focus on electricity generation; the Nuclear Regulatory Commission discusses an ongoing effort to overhaul the agency's regulatory framework; Hawaii advances its largest procurement of renewable energy to date in an effort to replace imported oil for power generation.

Featured Entities


CT PURA

HECO

MD PSC

MN PUC

NRC

NY PSC

U.S. Congress

Federal Agencies

Tuesday,
October 29
NRC Transformation at the NRC Meeting

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will discuss how to become a more modern, risk-informed regulator. Earlier this year the agency’s Executive Director of Operations Victor McCree created a task force to identify transformative changes to the NRC’s regulatory framework. The initiative will look into areas including technology in nuclear power plant control rooms, advanced reactor licensing and a more risk-informed regulatory framework. Final recommendations are expected in May 2020.

Wednesday,
October 30
U.S. Congress EPA Inspector General Nomination Hearing

The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works will discuss the nomination of Sean O’Donnell to be Inspector General of the Environmental Protection Agency. President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate the Department of Justice trial attorney for the position that has been vacant since October 2018.

Wednesday,
October 30
U.S. Congress Building a 100 Percent Clean Economy

The U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce is set to discuss ways to move towards 100 percent clean energy, a goal already adopted by a growing number of states across the nation. Plummeting costs of clean energy technologies and dire warnings about the impacts of climate change have emboldened elected leaders to set evermore aggressive targets.

Wednesday,
October 30
U.S. Congress Water and Power Hearing

The U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources will examine the use of technology and innovation to increase water security and enable economic development in the West. The precious life-sustaining liquid is required in the production of almost all forms of energy and increasing water scarcity threatens the operation of thermal and hydroelectric plants throughout the region.

Eastern Region

Monday,
October 28
NY PSC Revisions to Value Stack Compensation Rule Deadline

The New York Public Service Commission is scheduled to receive comments on recommended changes to the value stack compensation rule. The regulator seeks to clarify the eligibility criteria for certain high-capacity-factor resources, such as fuel cells, to prevent excessive cost shift to non-participating ratepayers. Utilities expressed concerns that the issue has become particularly relevant given the growing number of prospective fuel cell projects entering the interconnection queue. The revenue shift and bill impact for a specific technology vary with the capacity factor and can be considerably higher than that of a similarly-sized low-capacity factor resource, such as solar. READ MORE

Tuesday,
October 29
CT PURA Community Distributed Generation Conference

The Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority will hold a technical meeting to review and approve the proposed program requirements for the Statewide Shared Clean Energy Facility Program, or SCEF, rules submitted by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Under the program, electric distribution companies purchase their subscribed energy produced by a selected SCEF facility at the commission-approved price and allocate the value of that purchase as on-bill credits to SCEF subscribers on a monthly basis. 19-07-01

Friday,
November 1
MD PSC Participation in Regional Program Deadline

The Maryland environment and transportation departments are scheduled to report to the legislature on the status of a regional initiative that limits or reduces emissions from the transportation sector. The report follows legislation enacted on May 25 that authorizes the governor to include Maryland in such initiatives. The state is part of the Transportation and Climate Initiative, a regional collaboration of nine Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states and Washington DC, that are exploring ways to design a program that would cap and reduce carbon emissions from transportation fuels and invest proceeds in low-carbon and resilient transportation infrastructure. READ MORE

Friday,
November 1
VA SCC Dominion Rate Rider Effect

Dominion Energy Inc.’s new rate adjustment clause to recover a portion of the costs incurred to comply with state and federal environmental regulations will come into effect. On Aug. 5, the Virginia State Corporation Commission granted the request authorizing Dominion to recover $48 million for projects at the Mt. Storm coal plant and $7.6 million for those at the Clover coal plant. For the Chesterfield coal plant, the company can recover a portion of the total $247 million it requested for the four units. READ MORE

Western Region

Thursday,
October 31
HECO Hawaiian Electric Solicitation Deadline

The Hawaiian Electric Companies is scheduled to receive grid service proposals for about 900 megawatts of new renewable generation capable of delivering nearly 2 million megawatt-hours each year. The company issued a solicitation which marks Hawaii’s largest effort to procure renewable energy that will replace coal and reduce the dependence on imported oil for power generation. The companies have a goal of reaching 100 percent renewable energy in 2045. Proposals for the renewable energy projects are due by Nov. 5. READ MORE

Friday,
November 1
MN PUC Distributed Resource Plans Deadline

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission’s new requirements for the state’s regulated utilities to file integrated distribution plans will come into effect. Utilities must submit their filings biennially, providing a five-year action plan, as well as a ten-year plan for distribution system development. Each utility is required to provide system and financial data and an evaluation of varying levels of distributed resource deployment. READ MORE