The Office of Renewable Energy Siting and Electric Transmission will hold in-person hearings to receive comments on proposed rules and regulations for the environmental review, permitting, and siting of major renewable energy and transmission projects under the Renewable Action through Project Interconnection and Deployment, RAPID, Act passed last year. Among other things, the RAPID Act authorizes the office, in consultation with the Department of Public Service and subject to approval by the Public Service Commission, to establish rules and regulations to implement the new siting permit program for major electric transmission facilities established by the act. Additional in-person and virtual hearings will be conducted during February and March. 24-M-0433

The District of Columbia Public Service Commission seeks receive comments regarding Washington Gas Light Company’s leak reduction and management practices. As more information has become available through technical conferences held last year, the commission is allowing parties to update their public comments. A technical conference held in December explored the most effective technologies and procedures for detecting natural gas leaks in urban areas, including both current practices and innovative approaches to improve accuracy and efficiency. The discussion also covered advanced leak detection and lost and accounted for gas. FC1178

The New York Public Service Commission seeks comments on St. Lawrence Gas Corp’s application for adjustments of retail rates and charges applicable to its natural gas service. The Liberty Utilities subsidiary seeks to increase its annual gas delivery revenues by $2.17 million, which translates to an increase of 6.12 percent in total revenue or 11.45 percent in delivery revenue. This would result in a monthly bill increase of $10.91 for the average residential customer consuming 81 terms per month.

The Wisconsin Public Service Commission and Department of Natural Resources will hold public outreach sessions to determine the scope of the environmental impact statement for a transmission project proposed by American Transmission Company LLC and Northern States Power Company-Wisconsin. The proposed Grid Forward Central Wisconsin project involves construction and rebuilding work on high voltage transmission lines in central Wisconsin. The project would consist of rebuilding about 175 miles of existing transmission lines that would support the construction of a new 200 to 205-mile 345-kilovolt transmission line with two proposed routes crossing ten counties and 53 municipalities. The proposed project cost for construction and placing into service is estimated at $1.60 billion to $1.63 billion, depending on route selection. 5-CE-157

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission is due to receive comments regarding Iron Pine Solar Power LLC’s application for a permit to construct an up to 325-megawatt solar energy generating facility and a transmission line in Pine County, Minnesota. The Swift Current Energy subsidiary proposes to build the solar facility on approximately 1,537 acres within a site of 2,208 acres in Kettle River Township. The generation tie line would connect to the existing Minnesota Power 230-kilovolt Arrowhead-Bear Creek transmission line. GS-23-414

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission seeks reply comments on Castle Rock Solar LLC’s application for a site permit to construct an up to 150-megawatt solar energy generating facility in Castle Rock Township in Dakota County, Minnesota. The project would span about 1,355 acres with an approximate project footprint of 928 acres and interconnect to the existing Chub Lake to Hampton 345 kilovolt transmission line. GS-24-267

The California Energy Commission is due to receive comments regarding its Gas Research and Development program’s proposed energy-related gas research initiatives for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. The commission recently held a workshop where staff presented research initiatives on the topics of gas decommissioning, entrepreneurial ecosystem, and building decarbonization. A 2018 state law requires all retail electricity to be supplied by zero-carbon resources by 2045. 23-ERDD-02