The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority is due to receive proposals for projects under Phase II of the Empire Building Challenge, a multi-phase initiative designed to support replicable and scalable low carbon retrofit approaches to achieving carbon neutrality in existing tall buildings. The first phase of this initiative was a competitive solicitation process to establish partnerships between NYSERDA and leading real estate owners with the ability to commit to carbon neutrality for one or more of their buildings in their portfolios by 2035. The second phase consists of funding demonstration projects that demonstrate different pathways to carbon neutrality for high-rise buildings.

The New York Public Service Commission will hold a joint meeting of the Indian Point Closure Task Force and Decommissioning Oversight Board established to provide guidance and support for communities affected by the three-unit Indian Point Energy Center ceasing operations. The meeting will examine the scope and goals of the task force and the oversight board, and presentations on key issues related to the decommissioning and spent fuel management. The task force is charged with exploring ways to mitigate local tax and workforce impacts and evaluate new economic opportunities and initiatives, as well as identifying a decommissioning timeline that is in the interest of local communities. The oversight board is required to assess ways to protect the interest of affected communities including current workforce and public safety. Indian Point, which had a capacity of 1,040 megawatts, shut down its last nuclear reactor on April 30, 2021, marking the end of 59 years of continuous power generation.

The Wisconsin Public Service Commission will hold the last in a series of four workshops to establish a condensed, enhanced list of goals and outcomes for performance-based ratemaking, or PBR. The workshop seeks to facilitate further information sharing and discussion related to identifying and prioritizing appropriate performance metrics for goals and outcomes identified in the previous workshops. The commission has listed PBR among four initial priorities for action in the state’s “Roadmap to Zero Carbon” investigation to consider the ongoing transition to zero-carbon electricity generation. The other three are utility resource planning, energy efficiency, and customer affordability.

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission will consider Northern States Power Company’s application for adjustments of retail rates and charges applicable to electric services. The Xcel Energy subsidiary is proposing a multi-year rate plan with a net increase of $396 million for 2022, $150.2 million for 2023, and $131.2 million for 2024, with a return on equity of 10.2 percent. The proposed plan is expected to increase the bill of an average residential electric customer by $18.56 on a monthly basis. GR-21-630

The California Energy Commission will hold a workshop to present the energy demand analysis for its 2022 integrated energy policy report and address the results from the 2022 California energy demand forecast. The workshop will include a presentation from the staff on the results of the baseline transportation forecast and the additional achievable transportation electrification scenarios. Commission staff will provide updates to the additional achievable energy efficiency and fuel substitution scenarios that include impacts from the California Air Resources Board’s state implementation plan strategy for zero-emission space and water heating proposal. Further, staff will present the overall electricity sales results and the hourly and peak demand forecast results.