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week of Oct. 1, 2018

Get ready for a busy October with the EnerKnol Week Ahead. Coming up, the EPA will gather input on its controversial replacement of the Obama-era Clean Power Plan; FERC discusses the New England grid operator's plea to reward a 2-gigawatt Exelon gas plant for fuel security; federal regulators receive testimonies on PJM's plan to tackle subsidies in wholesale markets. All this and more, powered by the EnerKnol Platform.

Featured Entities


California PUC

D.C. Circuit

Virginia DMME

EPA

FERC

ISO New England

MA DPU

Federal Agencies

Monday,
October 1
EPA Affordable Clean Energy Rule Hearing

The Environmental Protection Agency will receive public input on the long-awaited carbon emission rules for the nation’s power sector, set to cut annual compliance costs by an estimated $400 million compared to the more stringent Obama-era restrictions it replaces. The agency’s “Affordable Clean Energy Rule” gives states the discretion to choose from a list of “candidate technologies” to improve efficiency at coal-fired generators and set performance standards for individual facilities, in a break from the previous standards that called for deeper cuts that went beyond plant upgrades. A number of states have vowed to challenge the EPA’s weaker regulation. (EPA-HQ-OAR-2017-0355)

Starts
Monday,
October 1

Ends
Saturday,
October 6
FERC Exelon Retirement Waiver Hearings

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will discuss an agreement allowing Exelon Corp.’s Mystic 8 and 9 natural gas-fired generating units to collect cost-of-service payments to stay in operation. Following Exelon’s bids to retire the money-losing plant in 2022, ISO New England Inc. asked the commission for waivers to maintain the units, arguing that the loss of the 1,700 megawatts of capacity and closure of the accompanying Distrigas liquefied natural gas terminal would lead to “unacceptable fuel security risks”. FERC denied the grid operator’s request in July and ordered it to file permanent revisions to address regional fuel security needs by July 2019. The New England Power Generators Association estimated that out-of-market support for the generator could displace up to about 1,300 megawatts of otherwise economic resources and suppress prices by up to $642 million in the grid’s next auction. (ER18-1639)

Tuesday,
October 2
FERC PJM Capacity Market Reform Deadline

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is scheduled to receive comments on PJM Interconnection LLC’s sweeping changes to rules governing its capacity market. FERC rejected the grid operator’s plans to shore up its annual capacity auction, which regulators see as under threat from a growing influx of subsidized generation. The commission proposed another approach in late June under which PJM would expand its minimum offer price rule to all sponsored resources regardless of resource type and also establish an alternative mechanism, allowing subsidized generators to be removed from the capacity auction. The commission expects to issue a final ruling by early January 2019. (ER18-2222)

Wednesday,
October 3
D.C. Circuit EPA Emission Rule Court Challenge

A federal appeals court is scheduled to hold oral arguments in a challenge against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Cross-State Air Pollution Rule in compliance with air quality standards for sulfur dioxide, a harmful pollutant emitted from coal-fired power plants and factories. The agency has begun to rely more on modeling instead of monitoring to gauge air quality, a trend which has given rise to disputes over which areas are in attainment of the federal limits, known as national ambient air quality standards. Areas failing to meet the standards face strict limits on economic development. The case is State of Wisconsin v. U.S. EPA (16-1406).

Friday,
October 5
D.C. Circuit Renewable Fuel Standard Court Challenge

A federal appeals court will consider a dispute arising over the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s final Renewable Fuel Standards for 2017 and Biomass-Based Diesel Volume for 2018. The regulator is being challenged by Coffeyville Resources Refining & Marketing LLC and Wynnewood Refining Company LLC, companies that operate refineries in Kansas and Oklahoma and which are forced to comply with the standard. The program, established in 2007, directs the agency to set annually increasing blending mandates for renewable fuel use in the transportation sector to reach 36 billion gallons by 2022. Both companies are subsidiaries of CVR Energy Inc. The case is Coffeyville Resources Refining & Marketing, LLC v. EPA (17-1044).

Eastern Region

Monday,
October 1
DMME Virginia Energy Plan Deadline

The Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy is scheduled to submit a plan to the governor, State Corporation Commission and the General Assembly on the state’s energy plan, which calls for doubling the 20 kilowatt residential net metering cap, boosting the overall net metering program cap from 1 percent of the utility’s peak load to 3 percent, developing the 113,000-acre Virginia Wind Energy Area and slashing the state’s energy consumption by 10 percent by 2020.

Wednesday,
October 3
ISO NE New England Retirements, Withdrawals

ISO New England Inc. will report on the power plants that seek to be removed from the forward capacity auction, known as de-listing requests, which typically indicates a plant’s retirement.

Starts
Thursday,
October 4

Ends
Friday,
October 5
MA DPU Vineyard Wind Transmission Hearing

The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities will discuss transmission infrastructure needed to connect Vineyard Wind LLC’ planned 800-megawatt offshore wind farm. The project, located south of the island of Martha’s Vineyard, will be the first large-scale offshore wind farm in the U.S. and is scheduled to start by 2021. The state’s electric utilities are required to enter into contracts for 1,600 megawatts of offshore wind energy by the end of June 2027 as part of Massachusetts’ goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. Vineyard Wind LLC is co-owned by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Avangrid Renewables. Avangrid is owned by Iberdrola SA. (EFSB17-05)

Thursday,
October 4
ISO NE Installed Capacity Requirements Review

ISO New England Inc.’s planning committee is scheduled to review and vote on the installed capacity requirement proposal for the regional market’s 13th forward capacity auction, covering the 2022-2023 delivery period. Clearing prices in the 12th annual auction, held in February, fell to the lowest in five years.

Western Region

Tuesday,
October 2
CA PUC PURPA Conference

The California Public Utilities Commission will discuss updates to the rules governing the power purchase contracts utilities must enter into with small producers under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, or PURPA, to reflect market changes. The commission intends to adopt a new standard offer contract for facilities that are 20 megawatts or less to sell electricity to utilities, as well as a price payable at the time of delivery if a facility chooses to sell as-available energy. Under PURPA, independent generators that meet certain criteria based on size and technology or efficiency are entitled to sell their output to regulated utilities at the avoided cost, or the cost the utility would spend to generate the electricity or purchase from another source. The rule enabled the first renewable investments in California and has resulted in over 4,000 megawatts of qualifying facilities in the state. (R1807017)