On February 18, 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or the “Commission”) issued two interconnected policy statements (the “Policy Statements”) regarding its review and certification of interstate natural...more
Part One -
As the 2020 election nears, the Democratic campaign has begun to talk policy specifics regarding energy and climate change. Although the Trump administration undertook to dismantle many Obama-era policies and...more
9/29/2020
/ Carbon Pricing ,
Clean Energy ,
Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) ,
Electricity ,
Energy Market ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Sector ,
Energy Storage ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FERC ,
Joe Biden ,
Political Campaigns ,
Political Candidates ,
Power Grid ,
Presidential Elections ,
PURPA ,
Renewable Energy ,
Supply Chain ,
Transmission Grid ,
Trump Administration ,
Wholesale
On July 16, 2020, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the “Commission”) dismissed the petition for declaratory order (“Petition”) filed by the New England Ratepayers Association (NERA) asking FERC to assert...more
On June 30, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (“D.C. Circuit”), sitting en banc, upended decades of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the “Commission”) practice. Allegheny...more
On April 14, 2020, the New England Ratepayers Association (NERA) filed a Petition for Declaratory Order (Petition) asking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the Commission) to reverse its policy on net...more
In a surprisingly terse opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (Seventh Circuit) recently affirmed a district court’s finding that Illinois’ Zero Emissions Credit (ZEC) program is not preempted by federal...more
9/21/2018
/ Appeals ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Dormant Commerce Clause ,
Energy Sector ,
Federal Power Act ,
FERC ,
Nuclear Power ,
Preemption ,
Renewable Energy ,
States Rights ,
Utilities Sector ,
Wholesale ,
Zero Emission Credits
On May 17, 2018, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the “Commission”) granted in part and denied in part a request by Zeeland Farm Services, Inc. (“Zeeland”) for a waiver of FERC’s regulations requiring small...more
Nearly a year after summoning stakeholders to discuss whether—and if so, how—the wholesale power markets should accommodate state policy goals, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the “Commission”) has taken a...more
In an opinion issued January 8, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit found that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) had acted arbitrarily and capriciously when it determined that Pacific...more
In a decision issued last week, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted summary judgment in favor of Winding Creek Solar LLC (“Winding Creek”). Winding Creek had alleged that certain California...more
On November 13, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit held in Allco Renewable Energy Ltd. v. Mass. Elec. Co. that a Qualifying Facility (QF) does not have a private right of action against a utility company...more
On September 19, 2017, the Court of Appeals of North Carolina (“Court”) held that companies that install solar panels on customer rooftops are “public utilities” under state law, at least when they retain ownership of the...more
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 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
On December 15, 2016, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) proposing to revise its regulations to require that each Regional Transmission Organization or Independent...more
At its November 17, 2016 Open Meeting, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or “Commission”) proposed to amend its regulations to address and remove barriers to the participation of electric storage resources and...more
At its November Open Meeting, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the “Commission”) issued a Final Rule (Order No. 831) directing the Regional Transmission Organizations and Independent System Operators...more
On September 7, 2016, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing titled “Federal Power Act: Historical Perspectives,” exploring the development and restructuring of the wholesale energy markets over the past...more
On August 23, 2016, two Maryland electric cooperatives filed a Petition for Declaratory Order asking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to find that the Maryland Public Service Commission’s (MPSC) recently...more
On June 24, 2016, two complaints were filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“Commission or FERC”) that highlight the continued tension between state policy initiatives and the mandatory centralized capacity...more
6/30/2016
/ Capacity Market ,
Energy Market ,
Energy Sector ,
Federal Power Act ,
FERC ,
ISO-NE ,
ISOs ,
NYISO ,
PJM ,
Preemption ,
RTO ,
Utilities Sector
On March 22, 2016, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the “Commission”) Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Steven L. Sterner issued an Initial Decision in the second round of Complaint cases (“Complaints II and III”)...more
On January 21, 2016, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the “Commission”) issued Order No. 822, approving revisions to certain Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) standards developed (and primarily...more
On January 21, 2016, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the “Commission”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) proposing to raise the price cap on incremental offers into the energy market. The NOPR is...more
On July 22, 2015, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power unanimously passed a diverse energy bill designed to expedite Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) natural gas pipeline reviews,...more