The ISO New England Inc. will discuss efforts to ensure reliability and performance during the 2018-2019 winter season, spanning from December through February. The grid operator will go over key winter preparedness challenges and the operator’s system enhancements and market changes to address them. New England has some of the nation’s highest power prices thanks to constraints in natural gas supplies during the winter, when the fuel is used to both heat homes and businesses as well as run electric generators.

The Puerto Rico Energy Commission is due to receive an updated integrated resource plan from the Puerto Electric Power Authority, ahead of the March 2020 schedule, to reflect changes in demand and generation as a result of hurricanes Irma and Maria, which devastated the island’s power grid last year. In March, the commission determined the need to update the 20-year resource plan before the mandatory three-year review date to assess any effects from the hurricanes on the island’s electric market. In January, in the wake of the hurricanes, the commission proposed rules to encourage microgrids to facilitate quicker power restoration and to integrate more renewable energy supplies to strengthen the system’s resilience to disruptions. The authority has recently requested an extension of the deadline with a final submission in Jan. 21, 2019. (CEPR-AP-2018-0001)

The Missouri Public Service Commission will discuss the recent approval of an application submitted by Union Electric Company to construct and operate the 400 megawatt High Prairie wind farm in northeast Missouri, set to be the biggest in the state. The regulator granted a certificate of convenience and necessity to Ameren Missouri’s subsidiary on Oct. 24 after reaching an agreement with the company intended to mitigate the impact of the wind farm on the local environment. Construction is set to begin by summer 2019, and the facility should be operational in 2020. (EA-2018-0202)

The Missouri Public Service Commission will discuss the recent approval of an application submitted by Union Electric Company to construct and operate the 400 megawatt High Prairie wind farm in northeast Missouri, set to be the biggest in the state. The regulator granted a certificate of convenience and necessity to Ameren Missouri’s subsidiary on Oct. 24 after reaching an agreement with the company intended to mitigate the impact of the wind farm on the local environment. Construction is set to begin by summer 2019, and the facility should be operational in 2020. (EA-2018-0202)

The North Dakota Public Service Commission will discuss an application by Harmony Solar ND LLC to build a 200 megawatt solar energy facility in eastern North Dakota. The $250 million project will be the state’s first major solar array. Harmony Solar ND is a subsidiary of Geronimo Energy LLC. North Dakota ranked fifth in the nation in the share of its electricity generated from wind energy, but solar remains relatively underdeveloped. (PU-18-219)

The California Independent System Operator Corp. is scheduled to implement amendments to broaden options for energy storage and customer-sited generation to earn revenue in wholesale power markets. The changes include three new evaluation methods for demand response, which is one of the most common ways for distributed resources, including energy storage, to participate in the wholesale markets. CAISO said that the two existing evaluation methods, one for pure load resources and another to include behind-the-meter generation, may be inadequate to capture the performance of various resources. The new methods for evaluating performance are intended to improve accuracy, and reduce bias and variability. (ER18-2242)

The Texas Public Utility Commission is scheduled to receive feedback on over a dozen questions as it looks to formulate rules on the use of battery storage and other “non-traditional technologies” in electric delivery service. The probe arises from the fact that batteries serve many functions, from absorbing as well as dispatching electricity to respond to swings in supplies or demand. Among the inquiries include whether utilities can legally own energy storage equipment and facilities to support grid reliability without an exemption from the agency, and whether they should be required to contract with a non-utility service provider to deploy the systems. The regulator also questioned how energy from the devices should be measured and accounted for within the market run by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas Corp. and under which circumstances it would be appropriate for the utility to dispatch the devices. Other questions concern the effects the policy would have on the wholesale and competitive retail markets and what steps utilities could take to mitigate adverse impacts. (48023)