The Commission previously ordered in the Standard Offer Service (SOS) proceeding that a pilot program be established to procure renewable energy through long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) for electricity generated by solar or wind power facilities located within PJM with a target quantity of 5% of the SOS load. The Commission has now issued an order on the terms of the pilot program.

The "95/5 Model" of cost recovery was adopted. Under this model 95% of the SOS load would be bid out as a full requirements product, and the long-term renewable energy PPA would supply the remaining 5% of the SOS load. Under this model only SOS customers are responsible for costs.

Pepco is entitled to collect a margin for risk associated with acting as counterparty to the PPA. The margin for administering the SOS shall be based on receiving the average margin calculated based on a three-year rolling average. For the last three years, Pepco’s collections for the margin (including taxes) have been roughly 2.5 percent of SOS generation revenues.

The Tier One RECs generated by the PPA will be retired to meet a portion of the annual RPS obligations of all SOS electricity suppliers, including Pepco.

Pepco was directed to file a revised RFP and a draft final agreement consistent with the terms of the Order. It is anticipated that the RFP for the PPA will be issued by Pepco in September 2020, and that energy from the PPA will begin to serve the target quantity of 5% of SOS load on June 1, 2024.

The full text of the Order is available at this hotlink.

This week, the Commission Secretary granted extensions related to the December 2019 Order in the retail market investigation.

First, an additional extension of time was granted for ESCO compliance with the Order as had been requested by NEM and other stakeholders. The Secretary decided that, "[u]pon consideration of all stakeholders’ interests and given the importance of ensuring an orderly transition and implementation of the Order’s requirements, an additional extension is warranted. Based on the information provided, and considering the justifications underlying the extension requests, an extension of 90 days is granted to ESCOs eligible to operate in New York to comply with the requirements of Ordering Clauses 1, 2, 5, 6, and 8 of the Order. The new compliance date for Ordering Clauses 1, 2, 5, and 8 is August 10, 2020, and the new compliance date for Ordering Clause 6 is September 9, 2020.”

Second, Staff was previously directed by the Commission to a file a report on the ESCO financial assurance requirement as part of the eligibility criteria for ESCOs by this Friday. Staff requested and was granted an extension to May 29, 2020, to file the report.

The full texts of the ESCO Extension Notice and Staff Extension Notice are available on the NEM Website.

The heads of NYSERDA, NYPSC, NYPA, LIPA and NYSDEC issued a letter to members of the clean energy industry. The letter notes the challenges faced by the clean energy sector as a result of the COVID19 emergency and that "to meet and exceed the commitments New York has adopted as part of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), the state needs you to endure through the current crisis and grow and thrive in the years ahead." As a result, the agencies have begun and will continue coordinated industry outreach to receive input on the issues.

"In addressing the current uncertainty, we want to make sure first and foremost we have an opportunity to hear from you. We want to provide you with a forum to describe existing and emerging roadblocks and threats to your businesses, and the opportunity to put forward creative ideas and solutions for your sector in collaboration with our agencies. To achieve this necessary goal, our agencies will jointly launch a coordinated effort to engage with you over the coming weeks and months to collect your input. This effort will take numerous forms with multiple opportunities for engagement, including sector-specific webinars, surveys for employers and employees, virtual public comment/listening sessions and other opportunities for feedback.

We have already begun these efforts. We recently held an Energy Efficiency and Heat Pump Focused Input Session hosted by the Department of Public Service (DPS) and NYSERDA on March 27. In addition to seeking input directly from you, as members of the clean energy industry, we will also invite and encourage input from industry-adjacent stakeholders such as environmental groups, labor groups, environmental justice advocates, investor-owned utilities, consumer advocates, non-governmental organizations, local communities, and many others. Furthermore, our agencies are actively monitoring similar steps being taken by neighboring states and peer agencies in the Northeast so as to promote regional alignment and collaboration wherever appropriate.

We will be shortly launching these engagement efforts across the following sectors:
• Energy efficiency and heat pumps
• Solar and energy storage
• Large-scale land-based renewables
• Offshore wind development and supplies
• Offshore wind ports
• Electric Vehicles & EV charging
• Innovation ecosystem support organizations (investors, incubators, accelerators)
• University, Brookhaven National Labs, and Private R&D
• Green/climate start-ups
• QA/QC service providers
• Program evaluation service providers
• NY Green Bank partners and network (renewable and energy efficiency project development)
• Demand Response
• Community Choice Aggregation"

The full text of the Letter is available on the NEM Website.

The Commission issued a letter providing guidance on electric and natural gas supplier reporting requirements during the COVID19 emergency. The Commission's physical facilities are closed, causing an interruption in the receipt and sending of mail. Commission regulations require the filing of Annual Retail Electricity Choice Sales Activity Reports, EGS Quarterly and Annual Reports, and NGS Annual Reports, and the filing requirements remain in effect. The reports have historically been filed as hard copies to the Secretary because they contain confidential or proprietary information that cannot be e-filed.

To accommodate these filings during the emergency, the following guidance is provided:
"• Where practical, EGSs and NGSs should file by mail an original quarterly and annual report on its normal due date. These original reports should display “wet” signatures or digital signatures, preferably in blue ink.
• EGSs and NGSs should email a copy of the original reports directly to Secretary Chiavetta at rchiavetta@pa.gov. Secretary Chiavetta has waived the restriction on emailed filings that contain confidential and proprietary material. As such, quarterly and annual reports will be permitted to be filed by email for the duration of the Commission’s work from home order.
• The Commission’s Bureau of Technical Services – Energy Section should also receive an email copy of the original reports at pc-puc-tus-energy@pagov.onmicrosoft.com."

The full text of the Guidance Letter is available on the NEM Website.