The Maine Public Utilities Comission is scheduled to receive comments on proposed amendments to rules governing small generator interconnection procedures, in accordance with a 2019 law that expanded net energy billing and new distributed generation procurement programs. The law directs the agency to establish requirements for utilities to interconnect distributed generation resources to the grid and financial penalties to ensure timely actions by those utilities to achieve the procurements. The commission adopted temporary rule changes in December to tackle the surge in grid connection requests in response to the law that broadened opportunities to invest in distributed solar. 2020-00004

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities will hold a public meeting to discuss the Energy Savings Improvement Program, which allows retrofitting of public facilities without new capital investment, using the future value of energy savings instead of paying up-front costs. The program allows contracts up to 15 to 20 years, ensuring that efficiency upgrades are installed in such a way that annual payments are lower than projected savings, so that entities that lack significant capital resources can benefit from lower energy bills.

The District of Columbia Public Service Comission is due to receive a final settlement report on the second phase of Washington Gas Light Company’s PROJECTpipes plan, a 40-year accelerated pipeline replacement program launched in 2014 to enhance the safety and reliability of the utility’s system. The second phase, which covers the period from October 2019 to December 2024, consists of 13 distribution and transmission programs estimated to cost about $305 million. WGL seeks to recover the cost associated with the plan through a surcharge mechanism. Last September, the commission extended the first phase by six months to March 31, 2020. FC1115

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission will discuss a proposal by the Public Service Company of Colorado to implement time-of-use, or TOU, rates for residential customers. The Xcel Energy subsidiary began testing optional time-based rates in 2017, following a settlement agreement in its last rate case. Based on the results of the test program, the company is now proposing to require all residential customers to take service under the TOU rate once they have a smart meter. 19AL-0687E

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission will conduct a meeting to provide information to the public about the certificate of need and site permit applications for Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners’ proposed 200-megawatt Three Waters wind farm. The meeting provides an opportunity for the public to participate in the development of the environmental report and the draft site permit by providing comments on the potential impacts associated with the project, mitigation measures for those impacts, and possible conditions to be placed on the project’s construction and operation. The project footprint would occupy about 48,000 acres in Jackson County, and is expected to commence construction in 2021. The output of the facility will be sold to Minnesota Municipal Power Agency through a 20-year contract. CN-19-154

The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission is due to receive final reports from two working groups tasked with drafting tariff language for microgrid services and rules regarding interconnection and islanding or reconnection of the systems. The reports will summarize the efforts of the Market Facilitation and Interconnection Standards working groups and provide recommendations, including identifying areas of consensus and disagreements of parties involved. The commission will conduct a technical conference on Feb. 27 to discuss the reports. The HECO Companies’ draft microgrid services tariff is due by March 30. 2018-0163