The Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority is due to receive comments on electric distribution companies’ solicitation plan for Year 10 of its Low and Zero Emissions Renewable Energy Credit, or LREC/ZREC, program. The agency initiated a proceeding in 2019 to review the program for Year 9 and 10 solicitations that apply to 2020 and 2021, respectively, and to make determinations regarding the bid price caps following legislation that extended the program for the aforementioned years. A 2011 law added ZRECs and LRECs as new classes of RECs under the state’s renewables portfolio standard. The companies are required to purchase Class I RECs under long-term contracts with owners and developers of renewable energy projects in Connecticut.

The New York Public Service Commission will hold a virtual public statement hearing to consider Number Three Wind Energy LLC’s request for a certificate of public convenience and necessity for its proposed 105.8-megawatt wind farm in the Towns of Harrisburg and Lowville, Lewis County. The Invenergy Renewables LLC affiliate also seeks an order that it will be governed by a lightened regulatory regime, which will provide maximum flexibility to serve the competitive electricity market. The project construction and operation will be subject to the conditions in the certificate of environmental compatibility and public need issued by the New York State Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment in November 2019, and modified in February 2020. 19-E-0287

The Maine Public Utilities Commission is due to receive comments regarding performance metrics and alternative regulatory mechanisms for utilities to examine how best to align utility incentives with customer needs. The commission opened a docket in December to determine whether to revise existing metrics and performance incentives or adopt new metrics to facilitate service quality improvements and customer service performance. The performance areas under consideration include customer service, affordability and cost control, deployment of distributed resources, energy and environmental policies, and service reliability, quality and storm restoration. The commission is also seeking input on other performance categories to examine, and whether metrics should be adopted for both consumer-owned and investor-owned utilities.

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities will hold the second in a series of work sessions regarding the agency’s ongoing investigation to examine whether the state can achieve its long-term clean energy and environmental goals under the current resource adequacy procurement paradigm. The session will explore alternative ways to integrate the state’s clean energy goals into its resource adequacy construct and whether such a structure could lower the cost or accelerate the timeline for achieving those goals while ensuring adequate resources to meet demand. The board launched the investigation in response to reforms to expand the minimum offer price rule, effectively raising the bid price for state-subsidized resources to participate in the capacity market. READ MORE

The California Public Utilities Commission will hold the first Policy + Innovation forum as part of the Electric Program Investment Charge, or EPIC, program to align research, development, and deployment of energy projects with current and emerging policy issues. Focus areas of the forum include the Policy + Innovation Coordination Group’s collaboration on equity, wildfire mitigation, transportation electrification, and utilities’ safety power shut off measures. EPIC is a ratepayer-funded research program that invests in scientific and technological research to advance clean energy solutions.

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission is due to receive reply comments regarding its proposed rules establishing the filing of distribution system plans and the evaluation of non-wires alternatives in accordance with a 2019 law. The commission expects distribution system plans to provide quantitative and qualitative benefits, including integration of grid technologies that support, reliability and resiliency, emissions reductions, energy efficiency, demand flexibility, and load management. 20R-0516E