The Maryland Public Service Commission is due to receive responses to a series of questions issued on July 8 regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on electric and gas utilities. The agency seeks to probe the impacts of stay-at-home orders and the prohibition on shutoffs on energy usage, utility operations, reliability, and revenue. The commission has authorized the state’s utilities to track the pandemic-related costs to serve customers and has also directed them to include any assistance or benefit received that may offset additional costs. READ MORE

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority will discuss its request for proposals for the second round of offshore wind energy procurement. The agency is seeking up to 2.5 gigawatts of capacity and a complementary $400 million investment in multi-port infrastructure. The procurement is expected to bring the state halfway toward the goal of achieving 9 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2035. The first round of solicitation held last year resulted in contracts for 1.7 gigawatts of projects expected to come online by 2024. READ MORE

The Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority and Department of Energy and Environmental Protection will discuss a draft study issued on July 1 regarding the value of distributed energy resources. The study focuses on identifying and quantifying the benefits that distributed resources can provide to electric ratepayers, in order to inform future policies and initiatives that incentivize their deployment. The move follows a 2019 law, which extended net metering through 2021, and directed the agencies to launch a joint study, so that the findings can be considered when determining tariffs for certain renewable energy programs. 19-06-29

The California Public Utilities Commission will hold public hearings to assess the three large investor-owned utilities’ readiness for Public Safety Power Shutoff, or PSPS, events in 2020. The commission adopted additional PSPS guidelines on June 5 to mitigate wildfire risk, ensure that the utilities support customer-friendly communication before and during such events, and minimize the impact on customers. The agency will hold separate hearings for San Diego Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission will consider an application by Plum Creek Wind Farm LLC for a certificate of need and a site permit to build a 414-megawatt wind project. The Geronimo Energy LLC subsidiary also requested a route permit to build approximately 30 miles of 345 kilovolt transmission line in order to connect the wind farm to the Brookings-to-Hampton transmission line. With a footprint of about 73,000 acres, the facility would span across the counties of Cottonwood, Murray, and Redwood in Minnesota. The project is expected to generate substantial economic benefits for the state, including $640 million in capital investment. CN-18-699

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission will consider a proposed settlement filed by Xcel Energy Inc. for the adjustment of retail rates and charges applicable to its gas service. The settlement reflects a net rate increase of about $77.3 million and a return on equity of 9.2 percent. The company’s initial filing, proposed in January, sought an increase of $126.7 million annually to recover costs incurred to improve its gas distribution system. 20AL-0049G

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission is due to receive comments on Xcel Energy’s proposed general time-of-use, or TOU, service tariff. The company seeks approval to make the tariff available early, on an experimental basis, for a limited number of services for the predominant purpose of electric vehicle charging. The pilot is expected to deliver significant information on the operation and customer response that will inform future residential TOU rate development and implementation. Reply comments are due by Sept. 14, 2020. M-20-86