The New York Public Service Commission is due to receive comments on the energy efficiency and building electrification proposals filed by the state’s utilities and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority for the 2026-2030 period. The commission seeks stakeholder input on a series of questions including whether the proposals sufficiently identify and address barriers to adopt energy efficiency, weatherization, and building electrification, and whether they outline strategies for effectively increasing access to disadvantaged communities. The commission is also exploring metrics to be used as performance indicators for various programs and cost recovery approaches.

The Maryland Public Service Commission seeks comments on semi-annual reports filed by the state’s utilities and the Department of Housing and Community Development for EmPOWER Maryland, the state’s energy efficiency program. The reports analyze the performance of their portfolios for the second half of 2023. The commission also seeks feedback on EMPOWER Maryland plans, as well as status reports of the finance work group, midstream work groups, and appliance recycling rebates. The commission will conduct legislative-style hearings on May 7 to consider the reports. 9648

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is due to receive bids on a request for proposals to procure grid-scale energy storage resources. The purpose of the procurement is to secure cost-effective energy storage to achieve the public policy goals of displacing fossil fuel generation, supporting the interconnection of large electrical loads such as electric vehicle fleet charging facilities that displace operation of diesel vehicles, and supporting reliability with the increasing interconnection of variable resources. Connecticut has a goal of developing 1,000 megawatts of energy storage by the end of 2030, with interim targets of 300 megawatts by 2024, and 650 megawatts by 2027.

The California Air Resources Board and Québec’s Ministry of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change are due to receive applications for participation in their 39th joint quarterly carbon auction, which will offer allowances for current and future years. The current auction will offer 2017 and 2024 vintage allowances totaling about 51.6 million, and the advance auction will offer 2027 future allowances totaling about 7.2 million. The previous auction held in February sold all of the more than 51.2 million current allowances at a price of $41.76 per allowance and 7.2 million future allowances at $41 per allowance. California’s cap-and trade program places an economy-wide cap on major emitting sources.

The California Energy Commission will host hearings to receive input on proposed revisions to the state’s Energy Code. The commission began the formal rulemaking of the 2025 Energy Code on March 29 following two years of pre-rulemaking development of the proposed changes. The Energy Code recommendations are required to be feasible and cost-effective when taken as a whole and are implemented as performance standards with optional prescriptive requirements. The Building Energy Efficiency Standards, which contain energy and water efficiency requirements for newly constructed buildings as well as additions and alterations to existing buildings, are updated every three years. The commission proposes to adopt the revisions in 2024 with an effective date of Jan. 1, 2026. Written comments will be accepted until May 13, 2024. 24-BSTD-01

The California Independent System Operator Corp. is due to receive comments on a final proposal for the 2023 Interconnection Process Enhancements Track 2 initiative. The grid operator held a stakeholder meeting on April 4 to discuss the proposal, which aims to address the unprecedented interconnection request volumes that are unsustainable in current processes and intends to enable rapid deployment of new generation, in order to increase reliability, affordability, and decarbonization. The initiative builds upon the new requirements established in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Order No. 2023 issued last year, establishing new standards for interconnection processes.