Enjoying your free sample of EnerKnol Research? Get more with a premium subscription! Upgrade now or see all benefits.
week of May. 21, 2018

Time to mark the calendar with EnerKnol's Week Ahead. In this edition, South Carolina's legislature races to cut rates tied to SCANA's nuclear plant debacle, PJM unveils the results of its annual capacity auction and Virginia reviews its largest-ever solar farm. All this and more brought to you by the EnerKnol Platform. Make us even better with your feedback at research@enerknol.com.

Featured Entities


CAISO

D.C. PSC

EIA

Maryland PSC

New York ISO

New York PSC

PJM

South Carolina Legislature

Texas PUC

U.S. Congress

Virginia SCC

Washington UTC

Federal Agencies

Tuesday,
May 22
U.S. Congress DOE Advanced Nuclear Technology Hearing

The U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce will discuss legislation to promote advanced nuclear energy technologies, including modular reactors. Advocates argue that modular nuclear plants would serve as the ideal complement to growing supplies of renewable power given that the facilities are cheaper, easier to deploy and would help lower carbon emissions.

Thursday,
May 24
EIA Monthly U.S. Energy Review

The U.S. Energy Information Administration will issue its Monthly Energy Review, providing data on energy production, consumption, prices and trade. Solar has recently outpaced biomass to become the nation’s third largest source of renewable energy while shale oil production continues to hit records. (Previous Report)

Eastern Region

Tuesday,
May 22
NY PSC Distributed Generation Compensation

The New York Public Service Commission scheduled to receive proposals on distributed generation compensation rules, which are designed to better credit the benefits of customer-sited solar power and other forms of distributed energy. The measure comes as the state aims to source half its electricity supplies from renewable sources by 2030. (17-01276)

Tuesday,
May 22
MD PSC Pepco Rate Case Hearing

The Maryland Public Service Commission will review an agreement calling for Potomac Electric Power Company to lower its electric distribution rates by $15 million to reflect the recently enacted federal tax cuts, allowing for a $10.09-refund per residential customer. The utility originally asked for a $41 million rate hike. Pepco is a subsidiary of Exelon Corp.

Tuesday,
May 22
D.C. PSC Electric Vehicle Workshop

The Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia will discuss Potomac Electric Power Company’s proposal for expanding the use of electric vehicles in the District of Columbia. Pepco will consider ways to boost penetration and overcome barriers to the adoption of the cars by broader and more diverse populations. Pepco is a subsidiary of Exelon Corp. (FC1130)

Wednesday,
May 23
PJM 2021/2022 Auction Results

PJM Interconnection LLC will post the results of its annual auction aimed at securing generating capacity for the 12-month period starting June 2021. The grid manager seeks to obtain commitments for about 152 gigawatts of supply, about 1 percent below the peak load of the previous auction.

Wednesday,
May 23
NY ISO Plant Closure Review Re-Hearing

The New York Independent System Operator Inc. will discuss the process for retiring generators in order to provide greater transparency and certainty to power plants and wholesale markets. The hearing follows an April 23 ruling from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which found that a lack of a clear schedule could affect the ability for generators to make informed decisions about shuttering plants. (EL15-37-003)

Wednesday,
May 23
VA SCC SPower 500 Megawatt Solar Farm Hearing

The Virginia State Corporation Commission will take comments on Sustainable Power Group LLC’s 500-megawatt Pleinmont solar farm in northeastern Virginia. The project, set to become the state’s largest, plans to sell over 300 megawatts of generation to Microsoft Corp. for use in its data centers. The farm is expected to become operational in late 2019. SPower is an AES Corp. and AIM Corp. business. (PUR-2017-00162)

Wednesday,
May 23
SC Legislature South Carolina Vote on Rates Legislation

The South Carolina House and Senate will convene for a possible vote on Senate bill S954, which would cut customer rates tied to the abandonment of the V.C. Summer nuclear plant expansion, until the public service commission makes a final ruling on the issue. SCANA subsidiary South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. and Santee Cooper scrapped the project last July after spending about $9 billion. The measure would deal a setback to Dominion Energy Inc.’s proposed $7.9 billion all-stock merger with SCANA. (S 954)

Western Region

Monday,
May 21
CAISO Distributed Energy Workshop

The California Independent System Operator Corp. is scheduled to take comments on a plan to enhance the ability of distributed generation, like rooftop solar, demand response and electric vehicles, to participate in the wholesale market. CAISO considers these resources an increasingly important part of the power supply as the state looks to achieve massive cuts in carbon emissions.

Tuesday,
May 22
WA UTC Avista-Hydro One Merger Hearing

The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission will hold an evidentiary hearing as part of its review of the $5.3-billion merger between utility Avista Corporation and Hydro One Limited, a Canadian transmission and distribution service provider. Under the all-cash merger announced in July 2017, the combined companies will create one of North America’s largest regulated utilities with over $25 billion in total assets, serving more than two million retail and industrial customers in Ontario, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska. (U-170970)

Friday,
May 25
TX PUC NRG $1.38B Power Plant Sale Hearing

The Public Utility Commission of Texas will discuss NRG Energy Inc.’s request to sell its Zephyr Renewables LLC, NRG Yield Inc., and NRG Renew LLC generation facilities to a fund managed by Global Infrastructure Partners. Under the deal, the infrastructure investment fund will buy power plants from NRG in the Southwest Power Pool, PJM Interconnection LLC, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator Inc., New York ISO Inc., and ISO New England Inc. (48139)