On August 5, 2020, members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee questioned witnesses from the power industry and the federal government about the readiness of the United States bulk-power system (BPS) for a...more
8/18/2020
/ Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Electricity ,
Energy Sector ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Adversaries ,
National Security ,
Natural Resources ,
Popular ,
Power Grid ,
Supply Chain ,
Trump Administration ,
Utilities Sector
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
On September 27, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (Second Circuit) affirmed a district court’s finding that New York’s Zero Emissions Credit (ZEC) program is not preempted by federal law. The Second...more
10/23/2018
/ Appeals ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Dormant Commerce Clause ,
Electricity ,
Energy Market ,
Energy Sector ,
Federal Power Act ,
Interstate Commerce ,
Nuclear Power ,
Out-of-State Companies ,
Power Plants ,
Preemption ,
Standing ,
States Rights ,
Subsidies ,
Utilities Sector ,
Wholesale ,
Zero Emission Credits
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
In September 2017, we reported on a Court of Appeals of North Carolina decision holding that entities installing solar panels on customer rooftops are “public utilities” under state law, at least if they retain ownership of...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 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 March 13, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) introduced the Ratepayer Fairness Act (RFA). The RFA would amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) to require that state public utility regulatory authorities and...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 August 18, 2016, PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (“PJM”) presented aproposal to its stakeholders outlining a possible mechanism for mitigating the potential impact on capacity prices in the PJM market of generation units...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 May 23, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit vacated in its entirety FERC’s controversial rule governing demand response resources in wholesale energy markets, known as “Order 745.”1 The majority...more
The security of the electric grid, both cyber- and physical, recently has received much public attention due to publicity surrounding a sniper attack on a California substation (see our blog post on grid security here). But...more
On February 11, 2014, Acting Chairman Cheryl A. LaFleur of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) responded to a letter from four members of the Senate, which asked if further regulatory measures were needed to...more
On February 6, 2014, the New York Association of Public Power (NYAPP) filed a second complaint (Second Complaint) against Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation d/b/a National Grid (NMPC) asking the Federal Energy Regulatory...more
On January 24, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld an order issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in 2012 denying rehearing (Rehearing Order) of a 2008 order granting Virginia Electric...more
On January 22, 2014, the staff (Staff) of the Office of Enforcement of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC of the Commission) issued a Staff Notice of Alleged Violations (Preliminary Notice) relating to a September...more
On October 1, 2013, we reported here that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued orders on August 29, 2013, assessing civil penalties against, and requiring disgorgement of profits by, Lincoln Paper and...more