On June 17, 2020, FERC issued two notices of upcoming technical conferences. First, a Commissioner-led technical conference is scheduled for Wednesday, September 30, 2020 to discuss considerations related to state adoption of mechanisms to price carbon dioxide emissions, commonly referred to as “carbon pricing,” in regions with FERC-jurisdictional organized wholesale electricity markets. Second, a staff-led technical conference will be held on October 27, 2020 to: (i) discuss whether existing transmission, interconnection, and merchant transmission facility frameworks in Regional Transmission Organizations/Independent System Operators (“RTOs/ISOs”) can accommodate anticipated growth in offshore wind generation in a manner that safeguards open access transmission principles; and (ii) consider possible changes or improvements to the current framework should they be needed to accommodate such growth.

Supplemental notices will be issued prior to the conferences with further details regarding the agendas, and whether the conferences will be held in-person or electronically. Information on registration and participation for the carbon pricing conference will also be issued in a supplemental notice.

Individuals interested in participating in the offshore wind integration conference as panelists should submit a self-nomination form by 5:00 PM on Friday August 14, 2020. Individuals interested in registering for the offshore wind integration conference can do so on FERC’s website.

A copy of FERC’s notice on Carbon Pricing in Organized Wholesale Electricity Markets is available here; FERC’s notice on Offshore Wind Integration in RTOs/ISOs is available here.