The Maine Public Utilities Commission is due to receive stakeholder input regarding priorities to be addressed in electric utility filings on a grid plan to facilitate the cost-effective transition to a clean and reliable electric grid. Recently enacted legislation – An Act Regarding Utility Accountability and Grid Planning for Maine’s Clean Energy Future – directs the commission to initiate a proceeding once every five years to identify the priorities to be addressed in the aforementioned filings. The commission seeks input on the type of process that should be utilized to identify the priorities, assumptions, goals, methods and tools that will assist the utility in developing a grid plan. The commission is also exploring how best to boost participation, especially by those stakeholders that do not regularly participate in commission proceedings. 2022-00290

The New York Public Service Commission is due to receive comments on a formal “midpoint review” of the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Market-Ready program run by the state’s large investor-owned electric utilities. On Sept. 20, the commission held a kickoff meeting on the review, which examined utility-specific program statuses and discussed the objectives of the review including investigating possible improvements. Among other things, the review aims to explore future-proofing requirements and budgets and utility ownership of charging station hardware. The commission approved rules last year allowing utility companies to fully implement the initiative aimed to facilitate a ten-fold increase in the number of non-residential charging ports within four years. 18-E-0138

The New York Public Service Commission is due to receive proposals for thermal network pilots from the seven largest investor-owned utilities in the state under the Utility Thermal Energy Network and Jobs Act. The law allows for the creation of utility-scale thermal energy projects that would connect several buildings in a shared network. Such networks offer clean energy alternatives to natural gas, allowing utilities to offer customers a renewable energy source to take care of their energy needs for heating and cooling. At least one of these pilot projects must be sited in an under-served community in each of the utilities area of operations.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority is due to respond to questions regarding its third offshore wind solicitation for at least 2 gigawatts of capacity. The solicitation includes the first phase of a $500 million investment in offshore wind ports, manufacturing, and supply chain infrastructure. Further, the solicitation includes provisions for the first of a kind “meshed ready” offshore transmission configuration based on recommendations from the New York State Power Grid Study to strengthen reliability and provide redundancy. The procurement is a critical step to bring the state toward the goal of achieving 9 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2035. This will allow for greater flexibility in developing offshore wind projects in the future, saving about $55 million to $60 million annually.

The Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission is due to receive public comments on a draft offshore wind procurement request for proposals. Rhode Island Energy, the state’s primary utility company, which is administering the RFP, will review and consider the comments prior to issuing the final RFP to the offshore wind market for competitive proposals in mid-October. The RFP seeks an additional 600 to 1,000 megawatts of offshore wind, which has the potential to meet at least 30 percent of Rhode Island’s estimated 2030 electricity demand.

The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission is due to receive an application from Public Service Company of New Mexico for authorization to implement grid modernisation components, which include advanced metering infrastructure and application to recover the associated costs. The commission granted an extension from the original July 23 deadline as a show of support for the company’s effort to prepare a ten year modernization vision that includes advanced metering infrastructure, as well as associated communication networks, automated control systems, investments related to reducing outages and restoration times, a customer portal and enhanced cybersecurity measures.

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission is due to receive post-hearing comments concerning topics raised in its rulemaking to revise existing provisions concerning gas rules in several areas including line extension, calculation of emissions, gas infrastructure planning, clean heat plan, and demand side management. Legislation enacted in 2021 directed the commission to adopt rules imposing requirements for utilities to reduce carbon emissions resulting from distributing gas to customers. The commission is also examining the contents and evaluation of gas distribution utilities’ clean heat plans.

The California Energy Commission will host a meeting of the Clean Transportation Program Advisory Committeeto discuss the revised version of a staff report on the 2022-2023 Investment Plan Update for the program. The commission has an annual budget of approximately $100 million for the program and provides financial and technical support for a number of projects. These include projects that reduce transportation sector emissions, support the deployment of electric vehicle charging and hydrogen refueling infrastructure, and address clean air, employment, and mobility needs of low-income or disadvantaged communities. 22-ALT-01

The California Energy Commission is due to receive comments on a solicitation to fund a block grant for projects aimed to promote and fund in-state battery manufacturing for zero-emission vehicles and related infrastructure. The commission staff developed a competitive block grant funding opportunity that will provide up to $100 million for ZEV battery manufacturing. The opportunity is part of the California Budget Act of 2021 which provides $3.9 billion over three fiscal years to support the transition toward ZEV technologies, including $1.165 billion to be administered by the commission. This includes $125 million for fiscal year 2021-22.