If the proposed rules are adopted, they could provide significant economic support to coal and nuclear generation in organized markets....more
Inverter disconnect events increasingly pose a reliability risk with the growth of solar generation.
On June 8, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) released its report on the loss of 1,200 MW of solar...more
The new plan builds on efforts to improve the response to attacks and disasters but recognizes that the needed investments may require regulatory changes to ensure cost recovery by utilities....more
The report shows a continued focus on manipulative conduct in energy markets as well as serious mandatory reliability standards violations, but also shows FERC’s increasing caseload in federal court....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
Court rules that FERC policy permitting a tax allowance for pass-through entities may unjustifiably permit “double-recovery” of tax expense.
On July 1, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued...more
7/21/2016
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Appeals ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Business Entities ,
Federal Power Act ,
FERC ,
Interstate Commerce ,
Natural Gas Act ,
Pass-Through Entities ,
Pipelines ,
REIT ,
Tax Allocation Agreements ,
Tax Allowances ,
Tax Liability ,
United Airlines
Implementing new statutory authority, FERC proposes revised regulations to secure and share Critical Electric Infrastructure Information and penalize its unauthorized disclosure....more
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
FERC rejected a transmission developer’s request that binding revenue requirement transmission project bids should be deemed just and reasonable and subject to Mobile-Sierra protections, but announced a technical conference...more
Amendments to Federal Power Act grant the DOE authority to order emergency protective actions by utilities, provide greater protections for Critical Energy Infrastructure Information, and exempt utilities from environmental...more
FERC proposes to grant itself access to NERC’s Transmission Availability Data System, Generating Availability Data System, and Protection System Misoperations Database.
On September 17, the Federal Energy Regulatory...more
9/22/2015
/ Bulk Electric System ,
Comment Period ,
Confidential Information ,
Energy Sector ,
FERC ,
NERC ,
NPRM ,
Power Outages ,
Power Plants ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Reliability Standards ,
Transmission Grid
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
The court turned back all challenges to FERC’s order, which imposed major regional transmission planning requirements, concluding that FERC has adequately justified the order and acted within its statutory authority....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
In a trio of orders, FERC softened its approach to considering the effects of state law rights of first refusal in Order No. 1000 regional transmission planning, suggesting a move toward deference to state legal limitations...more
New Reliability Standards will require physical protections for critical electric system facilities, including substations and control centers.
Following well-publicized threats to the physical security of electric...more
3/12/2014
The Commission rejects NERC’s proposal to reform the existing “zero tolerance” to CIP compliance, describing the proposal as too ambiguous and unworkable.
On November 22, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC...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
Order will create a voluntary Cybersecurity Framework for designated critical infrastructure within a year.
On February 12, President Barack Obama signed an executive order directing the Department of Homeland Security...more
2/15/2013
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Framework ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Executive Orders ,
Information Sharing ,
Infrastructure ,
NIST ,
Nuclear Power ,
Presidential Directives ,
Voluntary Standards