Following the increased spread of COVID-19 within the United States, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) issued a Level 2 Alert on March 10 to all users, owners, and operators of the bulk-power system,...more
3/13/2020
/ Business Continuity Plans ,
Business Travel ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Electricity ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Emergency Response ,
Infectious Diseases ,
NERC ,
Operation & Maintenance ,
Public Health ,
Reliability Standards ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Stress Tests ,
Supply Chain ,
Telecommuting ,
Workplace Safety
In November 2019, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy issued Executive Order 92 increasing the state’s offshore wind generation goal from 3,500 MW by 2030 to 7,500 MW by 2035....more
1/29/2020
/ Clean Energy ,
Electric Generation Suppliers ,
Electricity ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Storage ,
Executive Orders ,
FERC ,
Infrastructure ,
Offshore Wind ,
Public Utility ,
Renewable Energy ,
State and Local Government ,
Transmission Grid ,
Wind Power
Wholesale electricity sellers that are not government owned are subject to regulation by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Obtaining FERC approval to sell wholesale electricity at “market-based rates” (which is nearly...more
FERC Staff issued a report on March 29 on Commission-led critical infrastructure protection (CIP) reliability audits completed for fiscal years 2016 through 2018. The report provides lessons learned from those audits, as well...more
The final rule reflects regulator concerns that the cyber threats facing electric utilities are largely underreported....more
The proposal would adopt NERC standards on accelerated deadlines and expand the scope of covered assets subject to supply chain risk management. If adopted, these standards could significantly alter the electric utility...more
The proposal follows a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission finding that existing cyber threats to electric utilities are underreported....more
The proposed Reliability Standards focus on vulnerabilities in vendor products and services and would regulate the utility procurement process....more
The decision will likely affect the strategies of enforcement targets in electric market manipulation cases.
For the first time, a federal district judge has held that a review of a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s...more
7/29/2016
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Agency Deference ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
De Novo Standard of Review ,
Discovery ,
Due Process ,
Electricity ,
Energy Market ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Power Act ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
FERC ,
Market Manipulation ,
Order to Show Cause
FERC guidance clarifies the scope of the hold-harmless commitments offered in electric utility mergers and acquisitions, but discards its initial proposal to make those commitments open-ended.
On May 19, the Federal...more
The policy would impose greater scrutiny and controls on “transaction-related” costs that utilities commit not to pass through to ratepayers and would open the door to cost recovery for acquisitions driven by utility need....more
The D.C. Circuit concluded that sovereign immunity prevents FERC and NERC from imposing monetary penalties on federal agencies that violate Reliability Standards....more
In proposing to approve NERC’s new Physical Security Reliability Standard, FERC also seeks the ability to identify facilities that must be protected....more
Filing reminds generators with significant high-voltage tie lines that they can be subject to Reliability Standards typically applied to transmission owners and transmission operators.
...more
Major revisions to the existing cybersecurity requirements for electric utilities will focus on greater protections for the most critical assets but will also ensure that all assets receive some level of protection....more