The Virginia State Corporation Commission will consider Appalachian Power Company’s application for adjustments of retail rates and charges applicable to its electric service. The American Electric Company subsidiary requested an annual revenue increase of approximately $65 million, or 5 percent, and a return on equity of 9.9 percent. The change would result in a monthly bill increase of 6.5 percent for residential customers that consume 1000 kilowatt-hours. PUR-2020-00015

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities is due to receive comments on a draft Capstone Report examining an incentive framework for the state’s next-generation Solar Successor Program. New Jersey is in the process of establishing a new solar incentive program, following the closure of the legacy Solar Renewable Energy Certificate program in April. To attain incentive values that better align with project types and maximize ratepayer savings, the report recommends transitioning from the competitive “market-style” model adopted by the legacy solar program to a hybrid approach that uses competitive solicitations for large-scale solar projects and fixed incentives for smaller installations. READ MORE

The Maryland Public Service Commission is scheduled to receive comments on Columbia Gas of Maryland Inc.’s application for adjustments of retail rates and charges applicable to its gas service. The NiSource Inc. subsidiary requested an annual revenue increase of approximately $6.5 million, or 14.29 percent, and a return on equity of 10.95 percent. The change would result in a bill increase of $11.78 for residential customers that consume 7 dekatherms per month. 9644

The Maine Public Utilities Commission will discuss rules governing small generator interconnection procedures, in accordance with a 2019 law that expanded net energy billing and created a distributed generation procurement program. The law directs the agency to establish requirements for utilities to interconnect distributed generation resources and financial penalties to ensure timely actions by those utilities to achieve the procurements. In March, the commission approved changes to the small generator interconnection rule following stakeholder collaboration to reach consensus on important issues. The commission is continuing stakeholder effort to further develop the provisions of the rule. 2020-00004

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission will begin evidentiary hearings on CenterPoint Energy Minnesota Gas’ application for adjustments of retail rates and charges applicable to its natural gas service. The Utility Holding LLC subsidiary asked for an annual revenue increase of $62 million, or about 6.8 percent, and a return on equity of 9.21 percent. The change would result in an average monthly bill increase of $4.79 for the typical residential customer.

The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission is due to receive comments on a second set of draft rules regarding investor-owned electric utilities’ integrated resource plans and the clean energy implementation plan, a new planning requirement created under the 2019 Clean Energy Transformation Act. The commission is seeking comments on a series of questions including funding to support equity-related public engagement, interpretations of the incremental cost of compliance, and how utilities should demonstrate the elimination of coal from the allocation of electricity. The law requires the state’s electricity supply to be carbon-neutral by 2030 and carbon-free by 2045, and directs electric utilities to phase out coal from their generation portfolio by 2025. UE-190698