The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection will hold a public hearing to discuss a proposed state plan concerning guidelines for greenhouse gas emissions from existing crude oil and natural gas facilities. The proposal follows a 2024 rule issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which established presumptive performance standards to limit methane emissions from designated facilities in the crude oil and natural gas source categories that were in operation on or before Dec. 6, 2022. Under the Clean Air Act, states are required to submit plans to the agency to establish, implement, and enforce performance standards for existing sources of designated pollutants for which emission guidelines have been issued. An additional hearing will be held on July 16.

The Illinois Power Agency seeks stakeholder feedback for a resource adequacy study aimed at examining several topics, including progress toward renewable energy development goals, the status of emissions reductions, and electric resource adequacy and reliability over a five-year period. A recent cross-agency workshop, held in collaboration with the Illinois Commerce Commission and Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, discussed the study’s purpose, statutory mandates, timeline, and proposed methodological approach. Following the workshop, the three agencies released stakeholder questions designed to gather valuable input at the outset of the study, with a focus on goals, scenario development, data inputs, key policy drivers and considerations, and supporting assumptions. READ MORE

The District of Columbia Public Service Commission will hold a conference to discuss best practices that electric and natural gas utilities are using to protect their infrastructure from cybersecurity threats. The commission is seeking feedback from Potomac Electric Power Company and Washington Gas Light Company on topics including cyber risk management programs, public notification procedures in the event of a breach, and reporting structures for cybersecurity attacks on information networks and control systems.

The Kansas Corporation Commission is due to receive comments on Evergy’s petition to adjust retail rates and charges applicable to electricity service. The company is seeking an increase of approximately $196.4 million, or 8.6 percent. If approved, the revisions would take effect in September, resulting in an average monthly increase of $13.05 for residential customers. 25-EKCE-294-RTS

The Oregon Public Utilities Commission seeks comments on draft updates to its integrated resource planning requirements and competitive bidding rules. Last year, commission staff opened an investigation into modernizing integrated resource plans, including electric utilities’ clean energy plans and request for proposals processes, and issued a straw proposal outlining a conceptual framework for discussing changes. The proposed changes aim to make planning and procurement processes more transparent and adaptable to changing circumstances. Staff emphasized that, as a best practice effort, utility IRPs and RFPs must respond to evolving policies, technologies, planning environments, and affordability considerations, among other factors. AR 669

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission will hold a meeting to consider requirements for electric utilities to evaluate their compliance with the state’s carbon-free standard, or CFS. Established through legislation enacted in 2023, the CFS requires electric utilities to procure 100 percent of their electricity for retail sales from carbon-free sources by 2040. The legislation also raised the state’s renewable energy standard to 55 percent by 2035. The commission is examining a range of issues, including when and how utilities should report their preparedness to meet upcoming CFS targets, as well as how to address the potential double counting of renewable energy credits used to satisfy multiple regulatory requirements. CI-23-151