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Federal energy regulators July 18 approved a final rule requiring interstate pipeline companies to pass along to customers their savings under the 2017 Tax Cuts & Jobs Act. Companies will have to file a form outlining their savings with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. It acted this week on the matter. While FERC will have the power to investigate if savings are not passed along, Commissioner Cheryl La Fleur noted that the commission will have only limited power to order refunds due to restrictions on its authority under the Natural Gas Act. Also, pipeline companies that declare they do not owe taxes might still be able to pocket some benefits because accumulated deferred income tax no longer will be considered as a cost of service. SoCal Gas is not allowing California Public Utilities Commission investigators to interview utility contractors who may have some knowledge of the utility's Aliso Canyon facility. The CPUC is attempting to probe potential safety violations related to the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility leak in 2015. The commission's Safety & Enforcement Division put the company on notice in a July 11 letter , largely redacted, that it must make the contractors available to agency investigators. Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) plans to introduce carbon tax legislation next week, according to media reports this week. It would replace the federal gasoline tax. Curbelo, who represents the Everglades and Florida Keys—a district vulnerable to sea level rise—was called by Yale Environment 360 “one of the Republican Party’s most vocal advocates for climate action.” He was recently honored by the Solar Energy Industries Association and was one of the first Republicans to call for former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt to resign. SoCal Gas will fund climate adaptation planning for two cities in its service territory under a competitive grant program. The gas utility announced the $100,000 competition July 13. With the help of an independent panel of climate change and urban planning experts, the company will select two cities, each of which will get $50,000 for developing a climate adaptation plan. Applications are due Aug. 15. The Electric Power Research Institute will work to improve solar power forecasting tools with the help of a $1.8 million grant from the Department of Energy. The effort is aimed at improving solar power forecasts for both utility-scale and distributed solar. As part of the project, EPRI plans to use actual data from three utilities, including Duke Energy, Southern Co., and Hawaiian Electric. Hawaiian Electric has high levels of distributed solar in its system. Better solar energy production forecasts should help eliminate, or at least minimize, today’s uncertainty regarding solar power production. SoCalGas is offering $75 rebates to residential customers who buy eligible Energy Star thermostats . The rebates for the so-called smart thermostats aim to improve the management of heating and cooling. “Energy-saving technologies, like smart thermostats, have become increasingly popular because they're a great way to help residents manage their energy costs," said Darren Hanway, SoCalGas energy efficiency program operations manager. The rebates, upped from $50, apply to models from Nest, ecobee and Honeywell, and others, until the end of this year. The utility also launched a new web-based application form at socalgas.com/rebate-app .

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