On July 3, 2023, FERC affirmed its earlier determination that Bluescape Energy Partners, LLC’s (“Bluescape”) appointment of a non-independent director to Evergy Inc.’s (“Evergy”) Board of Directors overcomes the rebuttable presumption of a lack of control under FERC’s regulations that normally applies when a company owns less than 10 percent of another company’s equity (see October 27, 2022 edition of the WER). Additionally, FERC clarified that the appointment of a non-independent director is a per se finding of control and found affiliation between Bluescape and Evergy, and therefore between Bluescape and Evergy’s public utility subsidiaries, pursuant to the definition of “affiliate” under FERC’s rules.Continue Reading FERC Affirms Finding of Affiliation Over Appointment of Director
CeCe Coffey
*CeCe Coffey was a 2023 summer associate with Troutman Pepper and not admitted to practice law in any jurisdiction.
FERC Directs NERC to Develop New Transmission Planning Reliability Standard; Directs Transmission Providers to Submit One-Time Informational Reports on Extreme Weather Risk Assessment
By CeCe Coffey, Ben Duwve & Russell Kooistra on
Posted in Reliability, Rulemakings
On June 15, 2023, FERC issued two final rules aimed at boosting bulk power system resilience by improving how grid operators assess and plan for extreme weather impacts to the transmission system. One rule directs NERC to develop a reliability standard that requires transmission system planners to account for a range of extreme weather conditions, and the other rule directs each FERC-jurisdictional transmission provider to submit an informational report to the Commission that outlines its policies and processes for conducting extreme weather vulnerability assessments.Continue Reading FERC Directs NERC to Develop New Transmission Planning Reliability Standard; Directs Transmission Providers to Submit One-Time Informational Reports on Extreme Weather Risk Assessment