What's Happening in Energy highlights the most interesting findings from public utility commission filings.
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This week’s What’s Happening in Energy covers:
Read at your leisure, or choose your own adventure on Halcyon’s platform by clicking and refining the linked queries below. Here are a few Halcyon queries of the week to start you off:
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What's Happening in Energy — Jan 16
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In Idaho, the Public Utilities Commission Staff commented on PacifiCorp’s (Rocky Mountain Power) request to reduce its parent company's equity capital structure to below the adopted 44% minimum threshold. The utility cited "material pressures" from wildfire liabilities, transmission investments, and renewable generation as justification.
Staff countered these points arguing that the wildfire liabilities mostly stemmed from Oregon, the special purpose vehicle set up to finance the transmission investment avoids the need for debt or equity “at the utility level”, and that Idaho has no “mandate to require renewable generation”. If, however, the Commission grants PacifiCorp’s request, Staff recommended the following:
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Still PacifiCorp but into Oregon, the utility shared a pie chart visualizing the costs underlying a typical retail bill for a residential user that consumes 900 kilowatt-hour (kWh) per month. Distribution makes up the biggest slice of the pie at 38.56%. Generation Power Costs and Generation “Other” make up a big chunk of the rest (combined for roughly 39.01%).
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In Delaware, the commission is submitting amended rules for the competitive retail electric supply market. A key change is the strike of the definition of “"Aggregator" means any person or entity who contracts with an electric supplier or PJM (or its successor) to provide energy services, which facilitate battery storage systems for grid integrated electric vehicles and related technologies.” By excluding Aggregators, this change would maintain a clear distinction between retail sales activities (Brokers/Agents) and grid-balancing services (Aggregators), preventing the technical management of EV storage systems from being conflated with standard retail marketing.
Interested in a summary of the changes since the previous amending rule order last June?
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In Texas, the ERCOT Batch Study Process presents initial stakeholder feedback emphasizing the need for a batch-based approach; that process uncertainty creates risk for developers with existing large load interconnection (LLI) requests; the importance of how existing and advanced LLI requests are treated; and greater transparency, consistency, and alignment with the transmission planning process. (see bold right below).
Check out the stakeholder feedback interview list (slides 3-5) – it's a who’s who of energy in Texas.
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In Louisiana, the Public Service Commission adopted final rules to implement the Louisiana Energy Efficiency Program (LEEP), ending a 16-year (!) saga.
Instead, the Commission moved to establish LEEP, which incorporated elements of the Quick Start program with some modifications. Read the full General Order below.
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In Texas, Southwestern Public Service (Xcel) filed testimony supporting its application of Certificate of Convenience and Necessity (CCN) for seven generation and storage projects totaling 3,849 Megawatts (MW). The chart below shows the types and expected commercial operation dates for the projects. A quick Halcyon query on the docket indicates that the “Surplus” label is meaningful: the wind, solar, and BESS projects are labeled as “Surplus” because they will utilize surplus interconnection capacity on the grid.
SPS will file another CCN application later this year for Build-Transfer and PPA projects. All the projects make up the “Final Recommended Portfolio”, seen below broken down by Bid ID, developer, and cost.
Despite this ambitious portfolio, the utility admits that it will not be resource adequate prior to Winter 2028/2029. To address the shortfall, “SPS will be working with customers to adjust the timing of new connections and in some instances adjusting load ramps of existing loads and seeking short-term capacity purchases.”
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In Arizona, applicants submitted environmental documents for a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility (CEC) for the Vulcan Interconnection Project – a 4.3-mile, 500 kilovolt (kV) gen-tie line connecting an 800 MW solar and battery facility to the grid. Because we at Halcyon love examining the technical details that reveal the painstaking fieldwork behind every utility project. These sketches from the 500+ page filing caught our attention—they map the Ordinary High Water Mark (OHWM) at multiple survey points along the proposed gen-tie line route.
The first one shows an OHWM 40 inches high.
The next one has slightly more intricate terrain befit for the Arizona desert.
If you love looking through all the cool graphics in environmental documents, check out more below.
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In Virginia, Dominion submitted three executed Generation Interconnection agreements (GIA) to FERC with interconnection charges entailing $2.4B and 2,489 MW. Want to know more? Check out this query or view the site plan below for a hint.
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In Oregon, gas utility NW Natural proposes to purchase the Coos County Pipeline from the county for $1 in exchange for assuming responsibility for the pipeline’s safety and maintenance (projected at $10 million for landslide prevention). The utility would cancel Schedule 160—a $0.02 per therm surcharge on sales customers in Coos County—and terminate its existing Transportation Services Agreement.
The pipeline has a history of physical risks, including landslides that triggered a level 3 emergency response (indicating a regional emergency is anticipated or occurring). Outstanding questions include whether the Commission has authority to approve the asset sale, as it can authorize utility sales but may lack jurisdiction over property purchases.
Check out this query: What are the options and corresponding trade-offs for this pipeline?
“... recent budget estimate changes were new costs required by refinement of the design, increases in the cost of the gas pipeline and other major equipment costs (including the CT, generator step-up transformer and high voltage breakers), and increased financing cost and contingency estimates… IMPA may be required to seek additional borrowing authority from the Commission; however, IMPA is hopeful that cost estimates for contingency and escalation will not be needed…”