Member states of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, are set to determine the third adjustment for banked allowances held by market participants based on the size of the bank at the end of 2020. The adjustment will be made over a five-year period for allocation years 2021 through 2025. RGGI, the nation’s first market-based program to cut power sector emissions, now has 11 member states following Virginia’s entry in January and New Jersey’s reentry in 2020. RGGI’s 51st carbon auction, held on March 3, sold nearly 23.5 million permits, clearing at an all-time high price of $7.60 per allowance, and generated nearly $180 million. READ MORE

The New York Public Service Commission is due to receive reply comments on a whitepaper that provides recommendations on how banked credits should be treated when subscribers close their utility account or terminate participation in a community distributed generation project. The recommendations would create consistent banked credit distribution rules and processes across utilities, and also avoid the forfeiture of credits. Excess monetary credits, which exceed the amount of the subscriber’s utility bill for a billing period, remain as banked credits. Utilities are currently implementing a consolidated billing or net crediting model, where they deduct the subscription fee instead of the project sponsor separately billing subscribers for the fee. 15-E-0751

The Maryland Public Service Commission will discuss Potomac Electric Power Company’s application for adjustments of retail rates and charges applicable to electric services. The Exelon subsidiary filed a three-year rate plan, starting from April 2021, seeking an increase in base revenues of $44 million in the first year, $78 million in the second year, and $110 million in the third year, and a return on equity of 10.2 percent. In light of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the proposal includes accelerating the provision of certain tax benefits to customers to totally offset the overall increase in the first and second years, and reduce the increase in the third year to $56 million. 9655

The North Carolina Utilities Commission will consider electric utilities’ 2020 integrated resource plan reports and plans to comply with the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard, as part of its annual investigation into resource plans. The commission is required to maintain an up-to-date analysis of the long-range electricity requirements in the state. The analysis must include an estimate of the future growth of electricity use, required generating reserves, generation mix, and location of power plants, among others. The planning process, intended to identify resource options that can be obtained at least cost to ratepayers, considers conservation, efficiency and load management, as well as supply-side alternatives. E-100 Sub 165

The Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority will discuss new rate designs to address the disproportionate impact of increased electric rates on the lowest income customers and the need for the state’s businesses to remain competitive with neighboring states. The hearing will specifically address proposed revisions to Eversource Energy’s rates. Phase II of the proceeding will consider the implementation of an interim rate decrease, low-income rates, and economic development rates for customers of electric distribution companies. The proceeding is part of a series of reopened proceedings to investigate topics considered integral for the agency’s framework for an Equitable Modern Grid. The framework seeks to foster solutions that address the challenges and opportunities facing the electric sector. 17-12-03RE11

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission is due to receive reply comments regarding a proposed transition plan for utilities to resume normal operations after the duration of the COVID-19 emergency. The commission seeks input on the proposed criteria for the plan and additional topics that should be included in utility plans. Topics of consideration include minimum or maximum parameters, such as duration of payment plans, how utilities should communicate their plans to customers, and changes to low-income efficiency programs. The commission opened a docket in March 2020 to investigate the customer impacts and utility response to the pandemic. An order issued in August established monthly reporting for rate-regulated utilities, extended consumer protections for the duration of the emergency, and required transition plans before utilities resume disconnections. CI-20-375

The Arizona Corporation Commission will host a virtual summit to ensure that the state’s grid is reliable during extreme weather conditions, including the summer of 2021, following outages in Texas and California. In addition to concerns raised by the recent weather events, the Western Electricity Coordinating Council released a report identifying resource adequacy concerns for Arizona, including summer 2021. The state’s electric utilities will convene to discuss the recent weather-induced power outages, and inform state leaders of their plans to ensure grid reliability this summer. The commission will also hear from the Arizona Power Authority, which receives the state’s power allocation from the Hoover Dam and distributes it to public power companies across the state, including cities and towns, irrigation and electrical districts.

The Texas Public Utilities Commission is due to receive comments on possible amendments to its rules to adjust the low system-wide offer cap prior to this summer. The measure is part of a series of actions in the wake of the widespread power outages across Texas during the extreme winter weather conditions in mid-February. The commission staff opened a proceeding on March 8 to review the scarcity pricing mechanism of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas Inc., the grid operator which manages about 90 percent of the state’s electric load. 51871