Thomas DeVita

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On May 2, 2018, staff from FERC, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (“NERC”), and the NERC Regional Entities (the “Joint Study Team”), issued a joint report titled “FERC-NERC-Regional Entity Joint Review of Restoration and Recovery Plans” (“Joint Report”), which evaluated blackstart resources and planning by a representative sample of nine volunteer utilities registered with NERC (the “Participants”).  According to the Joint Report, the Participants verified that they currently have sufficient blackstart resources in their system restoration plans, as well as comprehensive strategies for mitigating against loss of any additional blackstart resources going forward.  The Joint Report also made a number of recommendations for users, owners, or operators of the bulk-power system (“Registered Entities”) and others responsible for system restoration.
Continue Reading FERC, NERC, and Regional Entity Staff Issue Joint Report on Registered Entity Restoration and Recovery Plans

On April 25, 2018, FERC approved a Stipulation and Consent Agreement (“Settlement”) between the Office of Enforcement (“OE”) and PSEG Resources & Trade, LLC (“PSEG).  The Settlement resolves an investigation into whether PSEG violated certain sections of the PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (“PJM”) Tariff, Operating Agreement, and FERC’s Market Behavior Rule, when PSEG submitted incorrect cost-based offers into the PJM energy market between 2005 and 2014.  FERC determined that the Settlement was a fair and equitable resolution of the matter, and that the penalty imposed upon PSEG reflected the nature and seriousness of the violations. 
Continue Reading FERC Approves Settlement with PSEG Subsidiary over Allegations of Inaccurate Cost-Based Offers in PJM Energy Market

On April 19, 2018, FERC issued a final rule (“Order No. 845”) revising its pro forma Large Generator Interconnection Procedures (“LGIP”) and the pro forma Large Generator Interconnection Agreement (“LGIA”) to address reforms of generator interconnection procedures and agreements for generators of more than 20 megawatts.  FERC adopted a majority of the reforms proposed in FERC’s December 15, 2016 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NOPR”).
Continue Reading FERC Finalizes Generator Interconnection Procedures and Agreements Reforms

On April 10, 2018, FERC approved the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc.’s (“MISO”) proposed revisions to Attachment X of its Open Access Transmission, Energy and Operating Reserve Markets Tariff (“Tariff”).  Specifically, MISO proposed to require interconnection customers seeking to modify their elected level of Network Resource Interconnection Service (“NRIS”), to do so earlier on in the generator interconnection process.
Continue Reading FERC Approves MISO Interconnection Revisions Regarding Modifications to NRIS Designations

On March 30, 2018, FERC rejected PJM Interconnection, L.L.C.’s (“PJM”) October 17, 2017 proposed tariff revisions to improve the performance of the PJM frequency regulation (“Regulation”) market (the “Regulation Proposal”).  According to PJM, the revisions were needed in light of a number of ongoing operational and market issues that had developed in the Regulation market.  FERC rejected the Regulation Proposal because it did not comply with the requirements of Order No. 755 and FERC’s regulations to compensate all Regulation resources based on the actual quantity of Regulation service provided.
Continue Reading FERC Rejects PJM’s Regulation Market Tariff Revision

 On March 29, 2018, FERC issued an order granting a limited tariff waiver request by the California Independent System Operator Corporation (“CAISO”) relating to participation requirements for certain demand response resources in the California Public Utilities Commission’s (“CPUC”) Demand Response Auction Mechanism (“DRAM”) with delivery obligations between April-October in 2018 and 2019.  The waiver, which was necessitated by recent changes in CAISO’s resource adequacy program, will allow CPUC-identified DRAM resources to meet their contractual and regulatory obligations.  In granting the waiver, however, FERC stated that DRAM contracts executed after the date of the order and that do not conform with current CAISO requirements should not be eligible for the waiver.
Continue Reading FERC Grants CAISO Waiver Request for DRAM Resources Impacted by Availability Hours Change

On March 20, 2018, FERC extended the time for entities to submit reply comments to the filings submitted by the Regional Transmission Organizations (“RTOs”) and Independent System Operators (“ISOs”) in the new grid resiliency proceeding.  Several trade associations requested additional time to respond to the “significant” comments that the RTOs/ISOs submitted to FERC, pertaining to the resilience of the bulk power system in their regions.
Continue Reading FERC Extends Deadline for Comments on Resiliency Proceeding

On March 15, 2018, FERC denied the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s (“West Virginia DEP”) and the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources’ (collectively, “West Virginia”) request for rehearing of FERC’s issuance of original licenses for two hydroelectric projects to be constructed, owned, and operated by FFP Missouri 15, LLC and FFP Missouri 16, LLC (collectively, “FFP”).  Specifically, FERC found that West Virginia waived its certification authority under section 401 of the Clean Water Act (“CWA”) by failing to act on the application within one year of receipt.
Continue Reading FERC Finds West Virginia Waived CWA Section 401 Permit Authority for Hydropower Projects

On March 9, 2018, a divided FERC approved the Competitive Auctions with Sponsored Policy Resources (“CASPR”) proposal submitted by the ISO New England Inc. (“ISO-NE”). Developed through an extensive stakeholder process that began in 2016, CASPR was promoted by ISO-NE as a mechanism to integrate out-of-market state resource policies that might otherwise suppress capacity market prices in ISO-NE’s capacity market. A divided FERC approved the proposal as a just and reasonable accommodation of state policies, with Commissioner Powelson dissenting, arguing that the proposal dilutes market signals and “threatens the viability” of ISO-NE’s capacity market. Commissioners LaFleur and Glick concurred with the outcome, but criticized the order’s guidance on adapting markets to state energy policies, and reliance on minimum offer pricing rules (“MOPRs”) as the “standard solution” to achieve that end.
Continue Reading A Divided FERC Approves ISO-NE’s Capacity Market Changes to Accommodate State Subsidized Resources

In a decision issued on March 6, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (“D.C. Circuit” or the court) upheld a series of FERC orders declining to direct Entergy Services Inc. (“Entergy”) to pay refunds for previously misallocated capacity costs.  The D.C. Circuit found that FERC adequately explained its reasoning and clarified that—contrary to previous assertions—the Commission has no general policy of ordering refunds in cases involving flawed rate design, and that it had adequately explained that such a refund order would be inequitable in this instance.
Continue Reading D.C. Circuit Affirms FERC Refund Denial in Louisiana PSC Cost Allocation Challenge