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Power & Pipes

FERC, CFTC, and State Energy Law Developments

FERC Takes Final Action on Backstop Transmission Siting Rule

By Stephen M. Spina , J. Daniel Skees , and Robert P. Goldfin
// October 23, 2024
Earlier this year, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the Commission) issued Order 1977 to address its limited backstop siting authority for electric transmission lines. On October 17, 2024, FERC issued Order 1977-A, adding a new requirement mandating that siting applicants seeking rights of way on Tribal lands must include their Tribal Engagement Plans within their project proposals.
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Topics: Department of Energy, Electric Transmission, FERC, Government Relations, Rulemaking

US Senate Advances Energy Infrastructure Permitting Bill

By Stephen M. Spina , J. Daniel Skees , and Patrick R. Pennella
// August 06, 2024
The US Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources has advanced the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024, a bipartisan energy bill that would facilitate permitting for energy infrastructure and mining projects.
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Topics: Electric Transmission, Energy, NEPA, NERC

DC Circuit Upholds Cost-Causation Principle

By J. Daniel Skees and Robert P. Goldfin
// January 08, 2024
The DC Circuit has affirmed FERC’s application of the “cost causation” principle to prevent a public utility (the Utility) from allocating costs for facilities to customers that did not benefit from the facilities. The Utility had asked the court to overturn FERC’s order preventing the Utility from recovering transmission costs from customers located near the facilities because those facilities were built and intended to serve solely a separate group of customers located 300 miles away.
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Topics: Electric Generation, Electric Transmission, Federal Courts, FERC, RTOs

FERC Approves Rate Incentives for Cybersecurity Investments

By J. Daniel Skees and Robert P. Goldfin
// May 03, 2023
FERC has issued its final rule paving the way for incentive-based rate treatment for electric utilities that make certain voluntary cybersecurity investments. As we first noted in 2020 when describing the proposed rule, the final rule provides a new mechanism for promoting cybersecurity of the bulk-power system by rewarding utilities for proactively enhancing their cybersecurity programs beyond the mandatory requirements of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) reliability standards.
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Topics: Cybersecurity, Electric Generation, Electric Transmission, Enforcement, FERC, NERC, Ratemaking, Reliability, Rulemaking, Security

Registered Entities: Expect a Significant Increase in NERC’s Focus on Physical Security

By J. Daniel Skees and Robert P. Goldfin
// February 02, 2023
There are no unimportant North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) reliability standards, but from time to time, NERC and the Regional Entities (Regions) place greater emphasis on certain reliability standards in response to events affecting the grid. With headline-grabbing physical attacks on power substations across the country in recent months, one of NERC’s greatest current priorities is evaluating the effectiveness of its physical security standards, most notably CIP-014.
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Topics: Electric Generation, Electric Transmission, Enforcement, FERC, NERC, Reliability, Rulemaking, Security

Transmission NOPR: Proposed Cost Allocation Reforms – Part 3

By J. Daniel Skees and Arjun Prasad Ramadevanahalli
// May 04, 2022

Cost allocation for regional transmission projects has long been one of the more challenging aspects of regional transmission development because it determines who should ultimately bear the costs of the regional transmission projects and in what proportion. Litigation over these issues is not uncommon.

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Topics: Electric Transmission, FERC, Rulemaking

Revisiting the CWIP Incentive for Long-Term Regional Transmission Facilities – Part 2

By J. Daniel Skees and Arjun Prasad Ramadevanahalli
// May 03, 2022
FERC believes that barriers to transmission investment pose significant risks to the energy economy. Inadequate transmission can lead to transmission congestion, which in turn impedes capital investment in energy infrastructure and the facilities necessary to ensure reliable and efficient service. That problem is compounded by changing supply and demand conditions and an increasingly diverse generation mix, which can create ripple effects on competitive wholesale markets.
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Topics: Electric Transmission, FERC, Rulemaking

Transmission NOPR: Long-Term Transmission Planning – Part 1

By J. Daniel Skees and Arjun Prasad Ramadevanahalli
// May 02, 2022
According to FERC, one of the biggest shortcomings of existing regional transmission planning is its focus on short-term needs. Long-term planning, while part of planning processes today, is not sufficient in FERC’s view and has led to “piecemeal” transmission development and an overreliance on meeting transmission needs through generator interconnection processes, which are not designed with larger regional facilities in mind.
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Topics: Electric Transmission, FERC, Rulemaking

FERC Orders RTOs/ISOs to Report on System Needs in Effort to Modernize Market Design

By Levi McAllister and Patrick R. Pennella
// April 27, 2022
To address changing system needs, FERC ordered each Regional Transmission Organization and Independent System Operator (collectively, RTO/ISO) to submit information to the Commission regarding changes to wholesale markets within 180 days.
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Topics: Electric Transmission, FERC, RTOs

FERC Investigates Five Western Utilities’ Formula Rate Protocols

By Pamela T. Wu
// April 26, 2022
FERC initiated show-cause proceedings on April 21, 2022, to investigate the justness and reasonableness of the formula rate protocols of five public utility transmission providers in the West.
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Topics: Electric Transmission, FERC
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