What's Happening in Energy highlights the most interesting findings from public utility commission filings.
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What's Happening in Energy — Sept 26
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In New York, utilities have submitted plans for managed charging of electric vehicles. (see list below). Comments have been received from ACE NY and Advanced Energy United, CALSTART, New York Power Authority, NYC, NYSERDA, Tesla, and others.
The utilities’ managed charging plans include:
Finally, tons of great insights emerged from the State of EV Charging presentations by Paren + Atlas Public Policy. These included the deployment of direct current fast chargers (DCFC), the charge point operator (CPO)/network market, and the national charging infrastructure requirements.
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In California, Southern California Edison filed its Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) report for the de-energization event on August 10, 2025, which impacted 8 counties and 81 distribution circuits.
SCE’s decision-making process for de-energization includes both: 1) forecasts of fire weather conditions using both wind speeds and a Fire Potential Index (FPI), which estimates the likelihood of a spark turning into a major wildfire, and 2) the PSPS decision-making diagram(s)/flowchart(s) displayed below.
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In Idaho, Idaho Power filed an application for the Bennett Gas Expansion Project. The project aims to secure 138 MW of incremental peak capacity, along with 555 MW of supply-side additions starting 2028. The company plans to address this through an all‑source request for proposal (RFP) in 2028 to fulfill the identified capacity needs for 2028-2029. The most recent system reliability assessment indicates a near-term incremental capacity deficit that is significantly larger than previously anticipated for 2028. This deficit has increased by 152% compared to the Integrated Resource Plan released just three (3) months ago.
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Also in Idaho, regulators approved Rocky Mountain Power’s request to increase the Bonneville Power Administration’s (BPA) Residential Exchange Program (REP) credit for residential and small farm customers. The credit will rise from $0.007376 to $0.012545 per kilowatt-hour, effective October 1, 2025. Additionally, BPA has released its final Average System Cost (ASC) report for the REP for fiscal years 2026-2028, revealing that PacifiCorp’s ASC has increased more than that of other investor-owned utilities in the Northwest (see Table 1).
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In Texas, Oncor filed supplemental information in its 2025 base-rate case, sharing an investor presentation detailing growth drivers, forecasts for large-load demand, a $36.1 billion capital plan 2025–2029, and a $3 billion resiliency plan.
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Also in Texas, two self-certification filings were submitted for the “Heritage Project,” a virtual power plant with an approximate capacity of ~7.5 megawatts. This project consists of around 75 behind-the-meter batteries located across ERCOT’s West and South Load Zones. Try our new Halcyon Search with the provided string to learn more: https://app.halcyon.io/search?publisher=32&docket=e958bcf5-9123-4706-84cf-b7c5c6f23cab&keyword=Heritage+Project
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In Arizona, UNS Electric has applied for a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility to construct the 138-kilovolt (kV) Santa Cruz Reliability Project North transmission line. This application is currently under consideration by the state siting committee. The 1,158 page filing includes various details, such as a preferred route decision matrix featuring emojis and a biological evaluation that highlights species like the cactus ferruginous pygmy-owl.
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The Southwest Power Pool released its final 2025 Integrated Transmission Planning assessment and report. In Future 1 (slide 50), New Mexico has the highest benefit-cost ratio at 76, followed by Texas at 57.8, while Kansas ranks lowest at -19.3.
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In Texas, the Commission proposed new rules to establish forecasting criteria for “large load” (≥25 Megawatt) in ERCOT. The rule includes specifics on qualifying thresholds and attestations for inclusion. It sets the criteria for a large load customer to be included in ERCOT's load forecasts, which are used for transmission planning and resource adequacy models, ultimately leading to more accurate load forecasts.