The MEEA Policy Insider summarizes the latest state and federal policy activity and provides new resources to aid members in their outreach, education and advocacy initiatives.
In this issue:
- State Updates: IL / IN / IA / KS / KY / MI / MN / MO / NE / ND / OH / SD / WI
- Federal Update
- New Resources & Publications
Legislative
The legislature will reconvene for lame-duck session January 2-7, 2025, before the 104th General Assembly is sworn in on January 8. The deadline to submit a drafting request for a new bill to the Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) is January 24.
The Senate schedule is here, and the House schedule is here.
Regulatory
On December 5, the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) approved the annual update to the state Technical Resource Manual (TRM) in Docket 24-0750. IL TRM Version 13.0 goes into effect January 1, 2025. The ICC is required to update the IL TRM annually, and prior to opening a docket, potential updates were discussed at Illinois stakeholder advisory group (SAG) meetings earlier this year. For more information about the annual TRM update process, visit the SAG TRM page.
The ICC is expected to release final orders in Dockets 24-0238 and 24-0181 on December 19 concerning Ameren and ComEd’s multi-year integrated grid plans. The ICC rejected both plans last year, ordering Ameren and ComEd to refile. The ICC’s proposed draft orders, released in October, accepted the refiled plans.
The ICC hosted the latest workshop in the second phase of the Future of Gas proceedings on December 16. MidAmerican Energy presented on its energy efficiency programs and three presenters discussed the benefits and potential of geothermal networks. Meeting materials for all past workshops can be found here.
The SAG met on December 3 and 4 for evaluators to present draft evaluation plans. The evaluator presentations for Ameren and ComEd are available here and the evaluator presentations for Nicor, Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas are available here. Meeting materials for prior SAG meetings can be found here. Information about upcoming SAG meetings can be found here.
How to Get Involved
For more information about Illinois or to get more involved, contact Kit White.
Legislative
Session reconvenes on January 8, 2025. Session is anticipated to adjourn sine die on April 24 (and must adjourn by April 29). Session schedules: Senate; House.
House Utilities, Energy and Telecommunications will consist of Chair Soliday, Vice-Chair Norman, Culp, DeVon, Jeter, Morris, Pressel, Shonkwiler, Wesco on the Republic side, and Pierce (Ranking Minority Member), Burton, Hamilton, Pryor on the Democratic side.
Senate Utilities will consist of Chair Koch, Buchanan (Ranking Member), Byrne, Deery, Donato, Doriot, Leising, Zay on the Republican side, and Hunley (Ranking Minority Member), Ford, Spencer on the Democratic side.
Regulatory
The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) has an open investigation in Cause 46043 into whether a Distributed Energy Resource aggregator is a public utility. Proposed orders have been submitted and commented on but there is still no broad agreement among intervening parties.
The IURC is conducting a study of performance-based ratemaking, as required by 2023 legislation. A stakeholder survey will inform the commission’s consultant as they continue research and drafting for a future report.
CenterPoint filed its 2025-2027 Demand Side Management Plan in Cause 46100 at the end of July. A joint stipulation and settlement agreement has been filed in the case, resolving issues around lost revenue recovery and performance incentives, and modifying some program designs.
The current integrated resource planning (IRP) processes in Indiana are:
- Indiana-Michigan Power (AEP) - The IRP process has two remaining stakeholder meetings, Meeting 3a was held via Teams on December 18, and Meeting 3b remains to be scheduled. The IRP due date was extended by the IURC to March 3, 2025.
- NIPSCO – NIPSCO’s 2024 IRP has been submitted to the IURC and can be downloaded on the IURC IRP page. Comments are due by March 10, 2025, and should be sent to the Director of Research, Policy, and Planning, Dr. Bradley Borum, at bborum@urc.in.gov.
- Indiana Municipal Power Agency (IMPA) – The Draft Director’s Report on IMPA’s 2023 IRP has been posted and the comment period on the draft has closed. The utility submitted its response to the draft report and the upcoming final Director’s Report will finalize the process.
Updates from the Commission on integrated resource plans in Indiana will be posted to the IURC’s IRP page.
How to Get Involved
For more information about Indiana or to get more involved, contact Greg Ehrendreich.
Legislative
The 91st Iowa General Assembly will convene its annual session on January 13. View the 2024 Iowa Legislative Session Timetable here.
On December 11, House Speaker Pat Grassley (R – New Hartford) announced Republican committee assignments for the 91st General Assembly. View committee details here. Further committee member assignments are forthcoming.
How to Get Involved
For more information about Iowa or to get more involved, contact Clara Stein.
Executive
On November 25, the Kansas Energy Office submitted their applications for the Home Efficiency Rebates and the Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates programs to DOE. You can follow application status updates on the DOE’s tracker here.
Legislative
The Kansas Legislature will convene its annual session on January 13.
The Kansas Legislature announced House and Senate leadership for the upcoming session earlier in December. In the Senate, Sen. Ty Masterson (R – Andover) will remain Senate President and Sen Dina Sykes (D – Lenexa) will remain Senate Minority Leader. In the House, Rep Dan Hawkins (R – Wichita) was reelected as Speaker of the House and Rep. Brandon Woodard (D – Lenexa) was chosen to replace Rep. Vic Miller (D – Topeka) as House Minority Leader. Read further on House and Senate leadership here.
Regulatory
On October 31, the Kansas Corporation Commission issued its final order approving Evergy Kansas’s Energy Efficiency Rider (EER). These tariffs became effective November 1, 2024. You can review Evergy Kansas’s final EER tariff here, and track developments in Docket #25-EKCE-080-TAR. This process is a continuation of Evergy’s KEEIA 2024-2028 Demand Side Management Portfolio – which became effective following Commission order and approval under Docket #22-EKME-254-TAR. Evergy Kansas’s energy efficiency and demand response programs and incentives are now active, and you can view available programs here.
How to Get Involved
For more information about Kansas or to get more involved, contact Clara Stein.
Legislative
Session Part I will convene on January 7, 2025, for 4 legislative days. Session Part II will convene on February 4, for 30 legislative days. Session will adjourn sine die on March 28. See the session calendar here: 2025 Regular Session
House Natural Resources & Energy assignments are here.
Senate Natural Resources & Energy assignments are here.
Regulatory
Kentucky Power filed an application to expand its energy efficiency program in Case 2024-00115. An evidentiary hearing was held on December 19. The case is ongoing.
Duke Energy Kentucky is involved in integrated resource planning in Case 2024-00197. A public hearing was held on December 10. The case is ongoing.
Duke Energy Kentucky has also filed to amend its ongoing DSM plan in Case 2024-00264. The case would expand the scope and adjust budgets across a suite of programs for the 2024-2025 biennium. There are no intervenors in the case and a procedural schedule has not been set.
How to Get Involved
For more information about Kentucky or to get more involved, contact Greg Ehrendreich.
Legislative
Lawmakers concluded the lame duck session on December 19 and will reconvene when the 103rd General Assembly is sworn in on January 8, 2025.
SB 237, which would extend tax credits to data centers to encourage companies to site them in Michigan, passed both chambers and has been sent to the Governor for approval. HF 4906, which is virtually identical but focuses on the sales tax portion as opposed to the use tax portion, also has passed both chambers and is headed to Governor Whitmer.
The bills have gathered opposition from energy and environmental advocates who are concerned that an influx of data centers could jeopardize the state’s target of carbon-free electricity generation by 2040, which was enacted into law last year by the legislature. To qualify for the credits, a data center facility must attain one or more green building standards, such as BREEAM®, ENERGY STAR®, ISO 50001, LEED®, Green Globes® or UL 3223. The bill additionally states that data centers are encouraged (but not mandated) to take positive steps towards mitigating environmental impacts, including adoption of energy efficiency measures.
Sen. Singh and Sen. Outman have introduced a package of bills – SB 879, SB 880 and SB 881 – that would collectively amend the state’s processes around the state’s Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund. Both SB 880 and SB 881 passed both chambers and are headed to the Governor for her signature. Among other changes, the legislation would allow the Commission to increase the funding factor for the assistance from $1 per ratepayer to $2, remove the $50 million cap, remove the provision that utilities could opt-out of collecting the funding factor and institute a requirement that the Department of Health and Human Services submit an annual report on the disbursement of funds.
The rules to adopt the 2021 IECC residential and commercial codes were introduced to the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) this summer. To pass the JCAR, bills need to be voted on, accrue 15 joint-session days on the docket (when both the House and Senate are in session), or have the remaining joint session days waived (which has the same impact as an approval). On December 11, the rules to adopt the commercial code accrued all 15 joint session days, while the residential code did not accrue 15 days prior to the end of session on December 19. The rules to adopt the commercial code can now be filed with the Secretary of State.
Regulatory
The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) released its annual report on energy waste reduction programs. The report shows that Michigan utilities spent more than $550 million on energy efficiency programs in 2023 ($386 million on electric; $165 million on gas). Those programs resulted in savings of $1.4 billion over the 12-year lifecycle of measures, meaning each dollar spent on programs led to $2.54 in savings.
In October, the MPSC released a straw proposal on new requirements and planning parameters for integrated resource plans and proposed requirements for the new clean energy plans. The proposed requirements can be found here:
- Draft Revised Integrated Resource Plan Filing Requirements
- Draft Michigan Integrated Resource Planning Parameters
- Clean Energy Plan Filing Requirements for Rate-Regulated Electric Utilities
- Draft Clean Energy Plan Filing Requirements for Municipalities, Electric Cooperatives, and Alternative Energy Suppliers
How to Get Involved
For more information about Michigan or to get more involved, contact Maddie Wazowicz.
Legislative
Control of Minnesota’s House of Representatives will likely remain split evenly at 67 seats for each party, despite some remaining challenges to the results. Both parties have named their leadership teams including speaker-designates, with Democrats selecting Melissa Hortman and Republicans picking Lisa Demuth. Democrats maintain a narrow one seat Senate majority, 34 to 33. The next legislative session begins January 14, 2025.
Regulatory
On October 2, Xcel Energy announced a settlement with intervenors for its integrated resource plan (IRP) in docket 24-67. On October 25, Xcel submitted its comments and evidentiary support for the settlement agreement. Parties now have time to respond to Xcel’s comments, with the Public Utility Commission planning a final decision on the IRP in the first quarter of 2025.
How to Get Involved
For more information about Minnesota or to get more involved, contact Maddie Wazowicz.
Executive
On November 22, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources Division of Energy submitted their applications to the Department of Energy (DOE) for the Home Efficiency Rebates and the Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates. You can follow application status updates on DOE’s tracker.
Legislative
The first day of the 2025 Missouri Legislative Session is January 8. The House schedule is here, and the Senate schedule is here.
Regulatory
On December 11 the Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC) approved Evergy Missouri’s MEEA Cycle 4 plan in Dockets EO-2023-0369 and EO-2023-0370. The programs go into effect on January 1, 2025. Previously, parties put forward a Non-Unanimous Stipulation and Agreement, providing for a $69.5 million total program budget. Although PSC Staff were not signatories to the agreement, they did not object to the filing in their response.
On November 14, the Commission approved Ameren Missouri’s amended MEEIA Cycle 4 plan in Docket EO-2023-0136. Ameren and other parties filed a Non-Unanimous Stipulation and Agreement on October 30, outlining a total budget of $125.03 million and a more limited set of programs than their previous application. On December 11 the Commission granted approval of program details – including the Technical Resource Manual and Deemed Savings Table, Program Templates and Incentive Ranges – and Expedited Treatment, but only for those measures Staff outlined as having been previously approved by the Commission.
How to Get Involved
For more information about Missouri or to get more involved, contact Natalie Newman.
Executive
On November 25, the Nebraska Department of Energy and Environment (NDEE) submitted its applications for the Home Efficiency Rebates and the Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates programs to the DOE. You can follow application status updates on DOE’s tracker here.
The NDEE launched a new website, including an updated Climate Pollution Reduction Grant Implementation Grant page, ONE RED. This page details more information on each segment of the program, and funding allocated to each program. These allocations include $30,302,420 for Non-Residential Energy Efficiency and $4,078,027 for Residential Pre-Weatherization. View more details on each Implementation Grant program in the Nebraska CPRG Implementation Grant Workplan.
Legislative
The 2025 Nebraska Unicameral Legislative session is set to begin on January 8. View the tentative 2025 legislative schedule here.
At the end of the 2024 Legislative session, Senators voted 31-15 to impose a cap on how many bills each Senator can introduce. Beginning in 2025, Senators are limited to 20 bills per session, and legislative committees are limited to proposing no more than 10 committee bills a year. This is a controversial change and may lead to longer bills that stem across multiple topics.
The majority of bills are introduced during the first ten days of the session, making for an exciting, and pivotal, start to the new year.
How to Get Involved
For more information about Nebraska or to get more involved, contact Clara Stein.
Legislative
Committee assignments for the 69th Legislative Assembly were announced during a three-day organizational session that took place December 3-5. The next legislative session begins on January 7, 2025.
More information about the upcoming session, including legislative deadlines, can be found here.
How to Get Involved
For more information about North Dakota or to get more involved, contact Kit White.
Legislative
The 135th General Assembly will adjourn on December 31, 2024. The 136th General Assembly will be sworn in on January 6, 2025. Senate President Matt Huffman will return as Speaker of the House for the 136th General Assembly, and Senator Rob McColley will serve as the next Senate President. Committee assignments have not been released yet.
HB79 had its first hearing in Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee on November 19 with sponsor testimony. Proponent testimony was heard on December 3 (including written testimony from MEEA), and opponent testimony on December 10. Unfortunately, Committee was cancelled on Dec. 18, so the bill will not move forward.
Regulatory
First Energy applied for a $72.1 million / 4-year energy efficiency and demand response program as part of its Standard Service Offer case in docket 23-0301-EL-SSO. First Energy filed a Notice of Withdrawal of the application on October 29. A final order closing the case is pending.
Duke Energy Ohio has applied for a $28 million annual voluntary energy efficiency program for 2024-2026 in docket 24-0045-EL-POR. The case is ongoing. The administrative law judge filing from October 11 rescheduled the evidentiary hearing for “January 29, 2024” without correction.
How to Get Involved
For more information about Ohio or to get more involved, contact Greg Ehrendreich.
Legislative
House and Senate committee assignments for the upcoming legislative session have been announced. The 100th South Dakota Legislative Session begins on January 14, 2025.
The session calendar is available here.
Regulatory
The South Dakota PUC hosted a large electric load education session on November 26. Speakers included representatives from several investor-owned utilities, electric cooperatives, energy service providers and regional transmission organizations. PUC Commissioners acknowledged rumors of very large data center(s) potentially coming to SD and emphasized wanting to sort fact from fiction when it comes to data centers’ potential impact on load. A recording of the session is available here.
How to Get Involved
For more information about North Dakota or to get more involved, contact Kit White.
Legislative
The next legislative session, the 107th Wisconsin Legislature, will start January 6, 2025.
Regulatory
Commission Staff have opened an additional commenting opportunity in the Focus on Energy Quadrennial Planning Process IV docket. Staff are asking for comments on a method for calculating avoided transmission and distribution costs for the purpose of evaluating Focus on Energy. This is in response to the Commission’s November 2022 order where Commissioners ordered the Evaluation Working Group (EWG) to present an alternative method for calculating avoided electric transmission and distribution costs. The memo outlines a framework the EWG established in coordination with the Regulatory Assistance Project. Comments were due in docket 5-FE-104 on December 9. MEEA’s comments can be found here.
How to Get Involved
For more information about Wisconsin or to get more involved, contact Maddie Wazowicz.
Executive
President-Elect Donald Trump has named Chris Wright as his nominee for the Secretary of Energy. Wright was most recently the CEO of Liberty Energy, a Colorado-based fracking company. Trump named former North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum as his pick to lead the Department of the Interior. Burgum will also head the newly formed Council on National Energy, which will aim to reduce barriers to permitting and producing energy in America. Trump also announced Lee Zeldin as his pick to be the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Zeldin most recently served New York as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
On November 5, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an Order accepting PJM’s proposed tariff revisions eliminating energy efficiency resources from its capacity market. The Order, in response to PJM’s September 6 proposal, is effective immediately but will not eliminate energy efficiency resources from PJM’s capacity market until the 2026/2027 delivery year. On December 5, Affirmed Energy LCC, an energy efficiency resource provider, filed a motion for a stay of the order and a request for rehearing. Parties had until December 16 to file responses to the motion.
MEEA will continue tracking Docket ER24-2995 in the event that any parties appeal FERC’s Order.
How to Get Involved
Information about a number of federal funding opportunities can be found on the Funding Roundup page of MEEA’s website.
For more information about federal matters or to get more involved, contact Maddie Wazowicz.
Recent Publications:
White Paper: Building Decarbonization Policies in the Midwest
White Paper: Do Stronger Energy Codes Move Development to Neighboring Jurisdictions
White Paper: Potential Impacts of Using Off-Site Construction for Multifamily and Public Housing
Recent Testimony and Comments:
- MEEA Comments on OPPD’s Strategic Directive 7 Energy Burden
- MEEA Comments on ICC Future of Gas Phase I Draft Report
- MEEA Comments on Wisconsin Quad Planning Process IV – Underserved Customers
- MEEA Comments on OPPD's Strategic Directive 7 Annual Review
- MEEA Comments on Savings Attribution for Stacking of Benefits
Recent Blogs:
- Ensuring Cost Effective Heat Pump Solutions for Under-Resourced Communities
- Ensuring Equitable Access to Heat Pump Technologies
- A Historic Tie, One House Flipped and Several Supermajorities: Election Results in the Midwest
- Over $1 Billion in Federal Funds Flow into the Midwest: Energy Efficiency's Role in CPRG Implementation Awards
- Energy Markets 101: Regional Transmission Organizations, Independent Systems Operators and Energy Efficiency
- Energy Markets 102: Energy Efficiency Participation in PJM’s Capacity Market
- New Benchmarking Ordinance Advances Milwaukee’s Climate Goals
- Insights from ACEEE’s Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings