The New York Public Service Commission is scheduled to receive comments on an impact analyses study from the state’s utilities looking at community distributed generation. The regulator proposed revisions to how utilities should pay for distributed energy generation to more accurately reflect the environmental and system benefit of the supplies. Staff with the agency also recommended revisions that they said could help drive an additional 1,000 megawatts of new community solar power. (15-E-0751)

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities is scheduled to receive a tariff from electric distribution companies to recover a $0.004 per kilowatt-hour charge from their retail customers reflecting the emissions avoidance benefits associated with the continued operation of nuclear plants in the state. The Zero Emission Certificate, or ZEC, program was established under legislation enacted in May to compensate the fuel diversity and zero-carbon attributes of nuclear power. The law established a $300 million annual subsidy for the state’s nuclear plants, which account for 39 percent of its electricity generation. New Jersey was home to the 1.2-gigawatt Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station owned by Public Service Enterprise Group, the 2.3-gigawatt Salem Nuclear Power Plant co-owned by Public Service and Exelon Corporation and the 625-megawatt Oyster Creek Generating Station, also owned by Exelon. Oyster Creek was permanently shut down last month. (EO18080899)

ISO New England Inc. will notify generators that have qualified 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.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission is scheduled to receive comments on its proposed alternative ratemaking principles. The regulator is looking for input on whether revenue decoupling or other similar rate mechanisms encourage energy utilities to better implement energy efficiency and conservation programs and whether such rate mechanisms are just, reasonable and in the public interest. (M-2015-2518883)

The Illinois Commerce Commission is due to receive comments on its analysis of the benefits and challenges of electric vehicles on the grid, covering impacts on power demand, lack of charging stations, and rate designs to improve accessibility. Widespread adoption of electric vehicles is expected to reap $43 billion in benefits to the state by 2050. Illinois ranks sixth in the nation for the number of registered electric vehicles.

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)

The California Independent System Operator Corp. is scheduled to receive comments on an initiative to allow energy storage that’s paid for transmission services to also be eligible to sell into the energy and ancillary services markets. The proposal was revised in June following feedback from stakeholders and now includes more details on contractual arrangement between the grid operator and the resource owner, new cost recovery mechanisms and market participation rules. The grid manager’s move to allow energy storage to sell into multiple markets is the latest in its ongoing efforts to remove regulatory barriers for the emerging technology.

The California Independent System Operator Corp. is due to receive comments on its latest proposal to reforms the operator’s reliability must-run and capacity procurement programs, seeking input on changes in the amount of compensation awarded and adjustments to notification periods. The grid operator relies on contracts under the programs to secure supplies from generators to ensure sufficient generation is available to meet system demand. The revisions come as flagging power prices drive up retirements and leave the system more vulnerable to supply shortages.

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission will discuss Xcel Energy Inc.’s proposed revisions to its Solar Rewards and Solar Rewards Community Customer contracts to comply with changes to state legislation implemented in 2018, which doubled the nameplate capacity eligibility from 20 to 40 kilowatts for all solar systems that participate in the program. The simple tariff revision has caused disagreement about the intent of the legislature in revising the cap placed on the production incentive for small solar systems. (18-381)