The South Carolina Public Service Commission will discuss Dominion Energy Inc.’s $14.6-billion acquisition of SCANA Corporation, including the process of integrating departments, timelines for combining services and construction progress reports. The companies announced the merger in January after SCANA subsidiary South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. decided last July to abandon a $9-billion expansion of the V.C. Summer nuclear plant. Dominion seeks to complete the transaction by year end. (2017-305-E)

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission is due to receive comments on its tentative implementation order for Act 58 of 2018, which allows public utilities to petition the regulator for various alternative ratemaking mechanisms as part of utilities’ base rate proceedings. Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, a Democrat, signed legislation on June 28 that authorizes the state public utility commission to allow a range of rate designs including revenue decoupling, performance-based rates, formula rates, and multi-year rate plans. The bill sought to take advantage of innovations in utility operations and information technology to benefit consumers. (HB 1782)

The Maine Public Utilities Commission will discuss how best to amortize and return Emera Maine’s excess deferred income taxes arising from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. In July, regulators authorized Emera to increase its distribution rates by about $4.5 million, or 5.32 percent, down from its request of $10 million. The reduction reflects in large part savings related to the tax law, which was passed after Emera Maine’s initial rate filings. Emera Maine is a subsidiary of Emera Inc. (2018-00271)

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities will receive feedback on the state’s new Zero Emission Certificate program for nuclear power plants, which seeks to compensate the fuel diversity and zero-carbon attributes of nuclear power. The law, enacted in May, set a $300 million annual subsidy for the state’s nuclear plants, which account for 39 percent of its electricity generation. Under the legislation, electric distribution companies must file a tariff to recover from their retail customers a charge of $0.004 per kilowatt-hour for the emissions reduction benefits associated with the continued operation of qualifying nuclear plants. The program is set to be finalized in November, including an application process for eligibility review and a mechanism for the state’s electric companies to buy certificates. (EO18080899)

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission will continue its review of the second phase of Xcel Energy Inc.’s 400-megawatt, $320-million Blazing Star Wind Project in Lincoln County, among other issues.

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, the U.S. exported 7.3 million barrels per day of crude oil and petroleum products in the first half of 2018, the largest recorded for the first six months of a year. Crude oil exports, which exceeded hydrocarbon gas liquids exports, were about 80 percent higher compared to the first half of 2017, with 1.8 million barrels per day exported. (Previous Report)