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Bridging the Gap Between Planning and Permitting

In recent decades, the U.S. has not been able to construct the volume of high-voltage backbone transmission facilities needed to support the country’s move to a ‘greener’ power system. The inability to build sufficient transmission infrastructure thwarts customer demands for a greener power mix.

In this report, we offer perspectives from a range of transmission experts about where the major roadblocks exist, and the latest regulatory and legal changes that promise to bring greater unity between the divergent federal planning and state siting and permitting processes. These changes provide hope that the U.S. can bridge the gaps that have delayed much-needed upgrades to the transmission system.Continue Reading Unlocking U.S. Transmission Upgrades – Are We on the Cusp of Real Progress?

On November 16, 2023, FERC granted Virginia Electric and Power Company d/b/a Dominion Energy Virginia’s (“Dominion”) petition requesting the Commission declare that Dominion’s planned liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) production, storage, and regasification facility (“Back-up Fuel Project” or “Project”) in Greensville County, Virginia would be exempt from the Commission’s jurisdiction under section 7 of the Natural Gas Act (“NGA”). In so doing, FERC determined the Project satisfied the “Hinshaw Exemption” under NGA section 1(c).Continue Reading FERC Finds Dominion LNG Back-up Fuel Project Satisfies Hinshaw Exemption Under the NGA

On November 16, 2023, FERC staff issued the 2023-2024 Winter Energy Market and Electric Reliability Assessment report, projecting trends and identifying considerations for energy markets and electric reliability for the upcoming winter (December through February). The report focuses on weather outlook, the state of the natural gas and electricity markets, and initiatives implemented in the wake of Winter Storm Elliott.Continue Reading FERC Staff Issues Winter Reliability Assessment Report

On September 29, 2023, FERC accepted part of Arizona Public Service Company’s (“APS”) proposed interconnection queue reforms to transition from a first come, first served cluster study process to a first ready, first served cluster study process. Generally, FERC accepted APS’s proposals that would prevent speculative projects from moving through the queue, while rejecting proposals that were not consistent with or superior to the pro forma Large Generator Interconnection Procedures (“LGIP”). APS’s interconnection queue reform proposal was submitted before FERC issued Order No. 2023; the approved reforms do not constitute APS’s Order No. 2023 compliance filing and are based on FERC’s currently effective pro forma LGIP.Continue Reading FERC Partially Accepts Arizona Public Service Company’s Proposed Interconnection Queue Reforms

On October 30, 2023, FERC accepted the California Independent System Operator Corporation’s (“CAISO”) revisions to its wheeling tariff provisions. The revised provisions allow external load serving entities to obtain, in advance, on a monthly and daily basis, rights to transmit electricity (also known as “wheeling”) through self-schedule priorities equal to the scheduling priority of CAISO demand. The revised provisions also update CAISO’s calculation of Available Transfer Capability (“ATC”).Continue Reading FERC Approves CAISO Revisions to Wheeling Through Priority Tariff Provisions, Amending ATC Calculations to Account for Transmission Capacity Needed to Serve Native Load

On October 13, 2023, PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (“PJM”) submitted two filings with FERC proposing revisions to its Open Access Transmission Tariff (“Tariff”) and its “Reliability Assurance Agreement” (“RAA”) designed to improve resource adequacy and grid reliability. PJM requested the Commission to accept both filings concurrently, with an effective date of December 12, 2023, so that PJM may implement the proposed reforms for the upcoming Base Residual Auction (“BRA”) associated with the 2025/2026 Delivery Year.Continue Reading PJM Files Capacity Market Overhaul for Resource Adequacy and Grid Reliability

On October 19, 2023, FERC issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (“NOPR”) proposing various changes to its Electric Quarterly Report (“EQR”) filing requirements. According to FERC, the proposed changes are designed to update the data collection process, improve data quality, increase market transparency, decrease costs of preparing necessary data for submission, and streamline compliance with future filing requirements. The following is a summary of the primary reforms proposed.Continue Reading FERC Proposes Changes to Filing Requirements and Data Collection for Electric Quarterly Report

On October 19, 2023, FERC accepted ISO New England Inc.’s (“ISO-NE”) proposal to allow electric storage facilities to be planned and operated as transmission-only assets (“SATOAs”) to address system needs identified in the regional system planning process. FERC determined that the ISO-NE’s proposal established a just and reasonable framework for electric storage resources to be considered a transmission asset for regional planning purposes and thus be eligible for cost-based rate recovery. Continue Reading FERC Accepts ISO-NE’s Proposal to Treat Electric Storage Facilities as Transmission-Only Assets

On October 19, 2023, FERC issued a final rule directing the North American Reliability Corporation (“NERC”) to develop or modify reliability standards to address reliability concerns attributable to inverter-based resources (“IBRs”)—i.e., solar photovoltaic, wind, fuel cell, and battery storage resources. FERC explained that the current reliability standards were designed for a grid mostly comprised of synchronous resources, where all generators are operating at the same frequency across the grid. In recent years, there has been a substantial increase in renewable generation, such as wind and solar, which is largely nonsynchronous, meaning generators that do not operate at the same frequency as the synchronized grid. Nonsynchronous resources are often programmed to trip offline during system disturbances, resulting in the potential loss of significant amounts of generation at one time. FERC issued this order in response to the “unprecedented proportion of nonsynchronous resources” expected to connect to the grid in the coming years and the “material impact” of IBRs on the Bulk Power System, including at least 12 documented events where IBRs responded “unexpectedly and adversely” to normally cleared line faults and the largest IBR-related disturbance NERC has ever recorded. The rule directs NERC to submit the updated standards by November 4, 2026.Continue Reading FERC Directs NERC to Develop Reliability Standards for Inverter Based Resources

On September 29, 2023, FERC approved Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, L.L.C.’s (“TGP”) proposal to lease intrastate capacity from Kinder Morgan Texas Pipeline LLC (“Kinder Morgan”) to offer a new hourly transportation “PowerServe” service. According to the parties’ joint application, PowerServe will offer increased flexibility to shippers serving gas-fired power generation facilities that backstop renewable energy sources. Commissioner Danly concurred in part and dissented in part with a separate statement that has not been issued at the time of this article.Continue Reading FERC Accepts Tennessee Gas Pipeline’s New PowerServe Rate Schedule and Authorizes Capacity Lease Agreement with Kinder Morgan