The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation seeks applications for a $5.9 million competitive grant offered through the Environmental Justice Community Impact Grants program for community-based organizations. The program aims to help communities facing environmental justice challenges implement innovative projects that address environmental concerns. Organizations can apply to receive up to $200,000 in funding for projects that address environmental and public health concerns of residents in impacted neighborhoods.

The District of Columbia Public Service Commission will hold an evidentiary hearing to discuss Washington Gas Light Company’s request to increase rates and charges for natural gas service. The WGL Holdings subsidiary is seeking an increase of $45.6 million, which includes a transfer of $11.7 million associated with costs from natural gas system upgrades previously approved by the commission. This brings the net increase in new revenues to $33.9 million, reflecting an 11.9 percent increase over current rates. FC1180

The Georgia Public Service Commission will consider Georgia Power’s request for certification of utility-scale power purchase agreements under the Clean and Renewable Energy Subscription, or CARES, initiative. The company seeks approval for a 1,068-megawatt portfolio of standalone solar and solar-plus-storage resources through five power purchase contracts. The commission’s order on Georgia Power’s 2022 integrated resource plan approved the procurement of up to 2,100 megawatts of utility-scale renewables, including up to 650 megawatts of around-the-clock, carbon-free resources that pair renewables with battery storage systems. In the CARES request for proposals, the company rolled forward 1,250 megawatts left unfilled from previous procurements, bringing the total target to 3,350 megawatts. The CARES 2023 RFP sought to procure 2,875 megawatts of renewables, with anticipated in-service dates in 2026, 2027, or 2028. 56181

The California Energy Commission will host a workshop to address barriers and solutions to accelerating clean energy interconnection and energization as part of its 2025 Integrated Energy Policy Report, or IEPR, proceeding. The workshop will include presentations on the status of improvements to interconnection and energization processes and gather suggestions for policies or process changes to further improve them and address ongoing issues. The IEPR is prepared every two years to provide assessments and forecasts of energy industry supply, production, transportation, delivery and distribution, demand, and prices. 25-IEPR-06

The California Public Utilities Commission will consider a proposed decision to open a rulemaking to refine interconnection policies for distributed energy resources under Electric Tariff Rule 21 of Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Southern California Edison Company, and San Diego Gas & Electric Company, and the equivalent rules of the small and multi-jurisdictional electric utilities. Rule 21 outlines the requirements for certain generating and storage facilities seeking to connect to the distribution system. The proceeding aims to update and improve the rule to enhance grid safety and reliability as distributed technologies evolve, improve transparency and certainty in the interconnection process, and contain costs for ratepayers.

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission seeks comments on pilot projects proposed under Xcel Energy’s 2023 Natural Gas Innovation Plan. With a nearly $55.4 million budget, the plan supports 14 pilot projects and several research and development initiatives. In approving the plan, the commission reduced the budget by about $6.7 million and directed Xcel to reallocate those funds to two new pilots rather than scaling back the plan. Xcel recently proposed the Income-Qualified Strategic Electrification Pilot, which aims to study the challenges of electrifying income-qualified customers with hydronic heating. The second, the Commercial Air Source Heat Pump & Thermal Energy Storage Pilot, will explore the challenges, barriers, and impacts of electrifying natural gas heating in commercial buildings, in addition to coupling thermal storage to aid in demand management. M-23-518