On February 9, Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee signed an executive order directing the Division of Public Utilities and Carriers to evaluate and clearly communicate the ratepayer impacts of significant energy legislation, while also requiring the Office of Energy Resources to review the state’s Net Metering and Renewable Energy Growth Programs with the goal of lowering costs and improving cost-effectiveness without “materially harming” existing projects.
In early February, parties in Connecticut filed comments on the draft report on the future of renewable energy support programs in the state, which is due to the legislature by March 1. UI cautioned that changes to net-metering compensation would increase administrative and operational costs for utilities and ratepayers, and it supports competitive solicitations, extending the Energy Storage Solutions program, and creating a controlled carve-out for paired solar-plus-storage systems. Eversource supported lowering export compensation and shifting to instantaneous netting, along with stronger consumer protections, but opposes a “walk-up” tariff for commercial projects and is skeptical of a front-of-the-meter storage program due to ratepayer risk. The Connecticut Green Bank generally supported PURA’s proposals while urging careful implementation of instantaneous netting, expanded support for solar-plus-storage, longer program timelines, and a focus on low-income customers and interconnection reform. The Connecticut Solar and Storage Association argues PURA’s proposals would harm the solar market, especially for residential customers, by reducing compensation and abandoning full retail net metering for instantaneous netting. ConnSSA urged clearer rate design, gradual transitions, stronger low-income provisions, and retention of behind-the-meter netting. The national solar group SEIA supported simplifying compensation by removing nonbypassable charges and slightly lowering export rates but warns that shifting to instantaneous netting is a major policy change; it also supports first-ready project selection and administratively set rates for the NRES successor program.
In DC PSC’s biennial review of default service, parties filed comments earlier this month. Notably, the Office of People’s Counsel argued that affordability concerns may justify changes to Standard Offer Service (SOS) and recommends that the DCPSC direct electric utility Pepco to provide detailed, rate-class-level analyses of SOS cost drivers, volatility, and the impacts of potential procurement changes. The Retail Energy Supply Association, on the other hand, urged the DCPSC to maintain long-term full-requirements SOS contracts, leverage the competitive retail market to reduce consumption and peak demand, shorten SOS contract durations for residential and small commercial customers, avoid combining procurement with other PJM states, and clarify which consumer-protection rules apply to small commercial customer marketing.
In his state of the state address on February 3, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro announced a partnership with the state’s main electric utilities – PECO, Duquesne Light, First Energy, and PPL – to address energy affordability concerns through four specific actions: (1) ending so-called “black box settlements” as part of rate cases; (2) assisting the Shapiro administration and the state legislature with enacting “commonsense reforms that will ban deceptive contracts by retail providers which could save Pennsylvanians hundreds of millions of dollars”; (3) eliminating utility reconnection fees; and (4) working to extend and expand state protections for low-income ratepayers. Shapiro also called for a PAPUC examination of all utility bill charges, the appointment of a new Special Counsel for Energy Affordability, and an investigation into “excessive” utility profits. In response, the Energy Association of Pennsylvania (EAP), which represents the commonwealth’s electric and natural gas utilities, said: “EAP supports a comprehensive effort to address energy affordability for Pennsylvania customers and to protect the economic development role EDCs play in Pennsylvania. Our plan includes: protecting residential customers from retail shopping abuses that cost them more than $400 million in 2025; creating pathways for new in-state generation to meet growing demand; reinstating critical consumer protections for residential customers who pay their bills on time; establishing a state LIHEAP supplement to help vulnerable customers; reforming net-metering policies to stop cost-shifting to other ratepayers; and reviewing decades-old policy mandates to ensure cost-effectiveness.” RESA said, “Pennsylvania is widely regarded as a national leader in retail energy choice because it has struck the right balance between consumer protection and competition, but more can be done. RESA has long advocated for market improvements that would increase transparency, accountability, and consumer protection. Allowing utilities – the monopoly entities against which retail suppliers compete for retail customer business – to dictate policies on retail markets is in stark contrast to what the Commonwealth has done for over 26 years. It shifts the focus away from utility junk fees and excessive profits, which come from the pocketbooks of all Pennsylvania ratepayers.”
The Michigan PSC issued its annual Status of Electric Competition report for 2025, on February 2. According to the MIPSC, electric demand in the electric choice program came in at 2,172 MW, down 15 MW from 2024. The number of participating customers grew slightly to 5,517 from 5,514 in 2024. The number of licensed suppliers in the state was at 20 in December 2025, while about 5,101 customers remained in the queue of those interested in participating in the program if space becomes available under the 10% shopping cap by utility territory.
On February 3, the Maine PUC issued an order amending its rules on net energy billing (net metering) in light of new state laws. Of note, the amended regulations include: (1) requiring “the utility to cease providing credits from all but the first shared financial interest NEB arrangement from which a residential customer received credits” and clarifying “that residential customers retain any banked credits from shared financial interest arrangements terminated” as a result; (2) modifies the section on waivers or exemptions to align the rule with the statutory intent that “any project currently receiving the alternative tariff rate will continue to be credited the alternative tariff rate”; (3) “the final rule provides flexibility for issuing the assessment” of non-payment of the NEB Project Charge, resulting in non-application of bill credits, “to align with existing monthly billing cycles and billing due dates,” and also “a 15-day cure period before which a transmission and distribution utility must discontinue providing credits to customers”; (4) clarifying that “adjustments to subscription sizes shall account for changes in annual usage to avoid the need for constant resizing by project sponsors”; and (5) adding “language to ensure that customer information obtained by a project sponsor be used only to administer the customer’s NEB arrangement so that potentially sensitive customer data is used in a manner consistent with Chapter 815 of the Commission’s rules.”
In a California PUC proceeding to investigate natural gas prices during winter 2022-2023 and the resulting impacts to energy markets, an ALJ issued a proposed decision at the end of January which identified the following contributing factors: unusually cold weather, “high precipitation levels,” interstate pipeline bottlenecks, reduced natural gas flows from the major Western gas fields, limited gas supplies in storage, and outside policy events. Notably, the ALJ’s proposed decision does not blame gas utilities or gas storage providers for the spike. A final decision remains pending. PRQ Note: by blaming exogenous factors, rather than regulated entities, the CPUC could provide support for the general trend in California to move away from “volatile” gas to 100% electrification.
PURA in Connecticut reopened the docket in which it approved cost recovery for the utilities’ deployment of smart meters, stating as its rationale that “circumstances have arisen that provide cause for the Authority to examine whether to rescind, reverse, or alter the AMI Cost Recovery Decision.” PURA held an initial hearing on the re-opened docket on February 18, at which Eversource made a presentation… On February 13, the New York PSC issued an order approving NYSERDA’s proposed offshore wind implementation plan. Under the approved framework, each load-serving entity will be required to serve its retail customers by procuring new offshore wind resources, demonstrated through the purchase of Offshore Renewable Energy Credits from NYSERDA. The billing and payment structure will mirror the existing Tier 1 construct…the Illinois Solar for All program announced on February 9 that a new rolling submission window for small and large residential solar projects will open on March 2 The new window will distribute the approximately $23 million remaining from the Residential Solar (Large) sub-program budget. Roughly $7.75 million will be reserved for Environmental Justic Community projects, and currently waitlisted small residential projects will automatically be selected when the window opens…the Maine PUC submitted its Flexible Interconnection Evaluation initial report to the Maine legislature’s Joint Standing Energy, Utilities, and Technology Committee on February 15. The report analyzed a number of case studies as part of its legislature-directed inquiry into options to “use distributed energy resources [DERs], increase grid capacity, decrease grid instability and reduce costs in achieving state goals related to clean energy.” MEPUC’s final report with recommendations is due next year…On February 12, the New Jersey BPU approved the electric utilities’ basic generation service (BGS) auction results. The residential and small commercial BGS auction resulted in 53 tranches sold at an average closing price of $0.111412 per kWh, and the C&I BGS auction resulted in 36 tranches sold at an average closing price of $675/85 per Mw-day.