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On February 6, 2015, FERC ruled, in its Order on Rehearing regarding certain reporting requirements of Order No. 768, that Electronic Quarterly Reports (“EQR”) filers will no longer need to submit an electronic tag (“e-Tag”) ID for each transaction reported in their EQRs if an e-Tag was used to schedule the transaction.

On January 30, 2015, the Commission denied a complaint filed by the New England Power Generators Association, Inc. (“NEPGA”) in which NEPGA sought either modification or elimination of the Peak Energy Rent (“PER”) Adjustment mechanism in ISO New England Inc.’s (“ISO-NE”) Forward Capacity Market (“FCM”).

On February 4, 2015, the Department of Energy’s (“DOE”) Office of the Inspector General released a report on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (“Commission”) treatment of nonpublic information within the Commission (“Inspection Report”).  The “Inspection Report: Review of Controls for Protecting Nonpublic Information at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission” concluded that the “Commission’s controls, processes and procedures for protecting nonpublic information were severely lacking.”

On February 2, 2015, FERC submitted its Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2016 Budget Request for $319,800,000.  This amount is approximately five percent above the FY 2015 Budget Request.  In requesting its budget, FERC sets out its three primary goals: (1) supporting just and reasonable rates, terms, and conditions (“Goal 1”); (2) promoting safe, reliable, secure and efficient infrastructure (“Goal 2”); and (3) mission support through organizational excellence (“Goal 3”). 

On January 22, 2015, the Commission conditionally approved Southwest Power Pool’s (“SPP”) proposed “Market-to-Market” coordination protocols with the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (“MISO”), and, among other things, made determinations on several key issues relating to the protocols that were examined during a technical conference held in September.

On January 16, 2015, FERC issued a notice inviting parties to submit post-technical workshop comments regarding price formation in both the energy and ancillary services markets that are operated by Regional Transmission Organizations (“RTOs”) and Independent System Operators (“ISOs”).  Previously, FERC Staff conducted a series of technical workshops on September 8, October 28, and December 9, 2014, exploring these same price formation issues (see Sept. 15, 2014 edition of the WER).  FERC’s January notice invites parties to respond to specific questions that will further explore the topics that had been covered in the 2014 workshop series.

On January 29, 2015, the Department of Energy (“DOE”) announced more than $59 million in funding for solar energy technologies and projects.  DOE further clarified that the funding will be divided into two project categories – $45 million for solar manufacturing technologies that can be brought to market, and $14 million for community-based, multi-year deployment plans.  DOE also noted that the funding will help support the White House’s effort to double renewable energy generation by year 2020.

On January 22, 2015, FERC issued a proposed policy statement to clarify FERC’s policy regarding the use of hold harmless commitments in Federal Power Act section 203 applications.  Under the proposed policy statement, applicants will still be required to demonstrate that the proposed transaction does not have an adverse effect on rates, but FERC will define with greater specificity what costs will be considered transaction-related costs and how hold harmless commitments will apply.

On January 16, 2015, FERC approved PJM Interconnection LLC’s (“PJM”) request to raise its cap on cost-based energy offers from $1,000/MWh to $1,800/MWh for the winter season.  According to PJM, the increase is designed to ensure that generators can recover all their costs in the event of severe cold during the 2014/2015 winter.  PJM’s requested increase was based on last winter’s highest cost-based offer of $1,725/MWh.