On August 6, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon granted the Motion for Preliminary Injunction filed by Plaintiffs, including energy trade organizations, environmental organizations, and several wind developers, requiring the Department of Defense to continue reviewing wind energy projects to determine if each project will have an adverse impact on military operations and readiness. Before August 2025, the Department of Defense evaluated wind energy projects in acc ...
ENERGY, UTILITY, AND REGULATORY ARTICLES
Utah Commission Approves Settlement Resolving Rocky Mountain Power Rate Case Appeal
On July 31, 2026, the Utah Public Service Commission (UPSC) approved a settlement resolving Rocky Mountain Power’s appeal of the Commission’s 2025 general rate case and Energy Balancing Account (EBA) decisions. The settlement follows Rocky Mountain Power’s appeal of the UPSC’s April 2025 general rate case (and consolidated dockets) order to the Utah Supreme Court. In June 2026, Rocky Mountain Power, the Division of Public Utilities, Office of Consumer Services, Utah Association of Ener ...
Oregon Commission Finds PacifiCorp’s Actions ‘Unreasonable’ in Interconnection Cost Dispute
On June 24, 2026, the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC) issued an order in UM 2305 partially granting a complaint by Green Solar, LLC (Green Solar) against PacifiCorp regarding the cost to interconnect the small community solar project. Specifically, in Order No. 26-217, the OPUC directed PacifiCorp to revise its final billing after finding several of the utility’s interconnection costs unreasonable. Prior to the complaint, PacifiCorp attempted to charge Green Solar nearly double the in ...
Oregon Commission Adopts Rules on Alternative Dispute Resolution and Mediation
On June 23, 2026, the Oregon Public Utility Commission (Oregon Commission or OPUC) adopted rules related to alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and mediation. Many stakeholders, including the Renewable Energy Coalition, Community Renewable Energy Association, Oregon Solar + Storage Industries Association, NW Natural, Portland General Electric Company, and NewSun Energy, advocated for changes to the ADR and mediation rules throughout the rulemaking. The Commission issued Order No. 2 ...
Montana PSC Adopts Rules Implementing HB 55, Requiring an IE for Resource Procurements
On June 19, 2026, the Montana Public Service Commission (MPSC) adopted rules related to the procurement of resources by regulated electric utilities in Montana. The rulemaking in Docket No. 2025.08.058 implemented House Bill 55 (HB 55) from the 2025 legislative session and amended the Administrative Rules of Montana (ARM) 38.5.2020 through 38.5.2025 pertaining to utility least cost planning and competitive solicitations, and implemented three new rules (ARM 38.5.2026 through 38.5.2028) pe ...
Oregon Commission Adopts Rules on Small-Scale Renewable Resources
On May 26, 2026, the Oregon Public Utility Commission (Oregon Commission or OPUC) adopted rules related to the small-scale renewable (SSR) requirement at OAR 860-091. This rulemaking originated with a petition for declaratory ruling by PacifiCorp on various SSR issues in Docket No. 58. The Commission denied the petition but opened a rulemaking instead. Many stakeholders, including the Renewable Energy Coalition, Community Renewable Energy Association, Oregon Solar + Storage In ...
OPUC Updates Oregon’s Direct Access Program
On May 7, 2026, the Oregon Public Utility Commission (the Oregon Commission or OPUC) issued Order No. 26-153 in Docket No. UM 2024 updating Oregon’s direct access program and ordered compliance filings. In the Order, the Oregon Commission addressed numerous components of direct access including transition adjustments, non-bypassable costs, election windows, program caps, eligibility, aggregation limits, resource adequacy, preferential curtailment, return to cost-of-service, default supply, a ...
WPSC Updates Avoided Costs in Wyoming
On April 30, 2026, the Wyoming Public Service Commission (WPSC) approved Rocky Mountain Power's application to update its avoided cost methodology for qualifying facilities (QF) under Schedules 37 and 38. The WPSC adopted most of the Company’s proposal after the utility made significant changes based on testimony presented by the Renewable Energy Coalition (REC). The order in Docket No. 20000-687-ET-25 updates both the company’s standard and non-standard avoided cost tariffs. Ro ...
Idaho PUC Approves Idaho Power 2032 Request for Proposals
On April 27, 2026, the Idaho Public Utilities Commission (Idaho PUC or the Commission) issued an order in Case No. IPC-E-26-03 approving Idaho Power Company’s (Idaho Power) 2032 Request for Proposals (RFP) for capacity and energy resources. This is the first RFP before the Idaho PUC since the Commission adopted new procurement rules in Order No. 36898. Several parties submitted comments on Idaho Power’s draft RFP, including Idaho Irrigation Pumpers Association, Inc., Northwest & In ...
Oregon Commission Approves PacifiCorp’s Tier 5 Interconnection Process for Small Generators
On March 31, 2026, the Oregon Public Utility Commission (Commission) approved PacifiCorp’s Tier 5 interconnection proposal for qualifying facility small generators with modifications. Many stakeholders, including Commission Staff, Community Renewable Energy Association, Oregon Solar + Storage Industries Association, Renewable Energy Coalition, and WynneWorks LLC advocated for changes to PacifiCorp’s Tier 5 proposal. The Commission issued Order No. 26-109 on April 1, 2026 adopting Staff’s recomme ...