On August 23, 2017, the Department of Energy (DOE) released its Staff Report assessing the reliability and resilience of the electric grid. The highly anticipated report was commissioned in April 2017 by Secretary of Energy...more
9/7/2017
/ Coal ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Electricity ,
Energy Market ,
Energy Sector ,
FERC ,
Information Reports ,
Nuclear Power ,
Power Grid ,
Renewable Energy ,
Secretary of Energy ,
Wholesale
On July 14, 2017, and July 25, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, respectively, dismissed challenges to the Illinois and New...more
8/16/2017
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Dismissals ,
Dormant Commerce Clause ,
Energy Policy ,
Equal Protection ,
Federal Power Act ,
FERC ,
Nuclear Power ,
Preemption ,
Private Right of Action ,
Renewable Energy Incentives ,
States Rights ,
Subsidies ,
Zero Emission Credits ,
Zone of Interests
On June 9, 2017, Beaver Creek Wind II, LLC and Beaver Creek Wind III, LLC (together, “Beaver Creek”) responded to a deficiency letter from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the “Commission”) staff seeking...more
On May 1 and 2, 2017, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the “Commission”) held a technical conference to “discuss the interplay between state policy goals and the wholesale markets”1 operated by the three...more
On May 19, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued a decision in TNA Merchant Projects, Inc. v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the “Commission”),1 holding that FERC has the authority to...more
In our February update, we noted that ISO New England (ISO-NE) and New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) stakeholders continue to discuss carbon pricing as one potential solution to better align state and regional...more
On December 9, 2016, a group of investors in renewable energy projects (“Petitioners”) asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to find that certain non-managing (i.e., passive) “tax equity” interests in public...more
On November 15, 2016, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an order dismissing a petition for declaratory filed by two Maryland electric cooperatives requesting a FERC finding that regulations governing...more
11/22/2016
/ Community Shared Solar ,
Declaratory Rulings ,
Dismissals ,
Federal Power Act ,
FERC ,
Grid Energy Storage ,
Public Utility ,
PURPA ,
Renewable Energy ,
Solar Energy ,
State Pilot Programs
On September 22, 2016, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) seeking comment on whether and, if so, how FERC might modify or enhance its methods for identifying and assessing market...more
9/29/2016
/ Acquisitions ,
Competition ,
Energy Market ,
Federal Power Act ,
FERC ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Market Power ,
Mergers ,
Notice of Inquiry ,
Power Purchase Agreements ,
Public Comment ,
Section 203
On July 21, 2016, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or “Commission”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) proposing to (1) collect a wide range of “connected entity” data for market surveillance and...more
On June 16, 2016, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the “Commission”) issued an order that is anticipated to increase the ability of electric cooperatives and municipally owned utilities to purchase power from...more
On May 10, 2016, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) proposed to amend a 2013 order (the “RTO-ISO Order”) to allow for private lawsuits to be brought in connection with conduct in organized wholesale electricity...more
On April 19, 2016, for the second time in three months, the Supreme Court of the United States reaffirmed the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) over the formation of wholesale rates in...more
On April 11, 2016, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) Office of Energy Policy and Innovation (OEPI) sent identical data requests to each of the nation’s six grid operators, requesting information on potential...more
On March 30, 2016, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts (“USAO”) filed an Information charging Power Plant Management Services LLC (“PPMS”) with felonies of conspiring to violate and violating...more
On January 4, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit issued a decision vacating a U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana order indefinitely staying a Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of...more
On December 17, 2015, just two months after significantly refining its market-based rate (MBR) policies and procedures in Order No. 816, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) proposed further revisions to its MBR...more
On December 16, 2015, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the Commission) issued an Order to Show Cause and Notice of Proposed Penalty (OSC) directing ETRACOM LLC and its principal member and trader, Michael...more
On December 1, 2015, the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Energy and Power held a hearing to conduct oversight of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The hearing focused on FERC’s role in ensuring...more
On November 19, 2015, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) reaffirmed and clarified the exemption for certain Qualifying Facilities (QFs) from Section 203 of the Federal Power Act (FPA) set forth in Section...more
Congress passed the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) in 1978. It quickly proved controversial in practice, and remains so today. PURPA introduced competition to the electric industry by creating a market for...more
On November 17, 2015, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the “Commission”) issued an order officially terminating consideration of a three-year-old proposal to require quarterly reporting of every Natural Gas...more
On November 10, 2015, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the Commission) scheduled a technical conference regarding its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) on the collection of “Connected Entity” data from...more
On November 6, 2015, the chairmen of several congressional energy committees and subcommittees sent a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or “Commission”) requesting that FERC convene a technical...more
On October 16, 2015, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued Order No. 816, a Final Rule streamlining its requirements for authorization to make wholesale sales of electric energy, capacity and ancillary...more