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On August 28, 2020, FERC issued a supplemental Notice of a Commission-led Technical Conference on state pricing for carbon dioxide emissions, commonly referred to as carbon pricing, in FERC-jurisdictional wholesale electric markets (“Conference”). The Conference is free and will take place online on Wednesday, September 30, 2020 from 9:00 a.m.…

On July 22, 2020, FERC approved a mitigation proposal that Sun Jupiter Holdings, LLC (“Sun Jupiter”) and El Paso Electric Company (“El Paso”) (together, “Applicants”) submitted in response to FERC’s March 30, 2020 order (“March 2020 Order”) conditioning approval of Sun Jupiter’s merger with and into El Paso and requiring the Applicants to address the transaction’s adverse impact on competition in certain circumstances. FERC also dismissed, on procedural grounds, United States Senators Jeffrey A. Merkley (D-OR), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), and Bernard Sanders (D-VT) (collectively, “Senators”) request for rehearing, and denied Public Citizen, Inc.’s  (“Public Citizen”) request for rehearing of FERC’s March 2020 Order.

On July 7, 2020, the PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (“PJM”) Planning Committee held an informational session on its State Agreement Approach, a transmission planning process that allows one or more states to request the studying and funding of new transmission projects within the PJM footprint to address identified public policy needs. The State Agreement Approach could help accommodate the anticipated growth in offshore wind generation by allowing states to submit transmission expansion or extension projects in the Regional Transmission Expansion Plan (“RTEP”) so long as the states agree to assume responsibility for project costs.

On June 18, 2020, FERC denied rehearing, but granted partial clarification, of a 2019 order addressing certain market power mitigation reforms proposed by the California Independent System Operator Corporation (“CAISO”). In particular, FERC again rejected CAISO’s “Net Export Limit” proposal to enhance local market power mitigation in the western energy imbalance market (“EIM”). As FERC reiterated in its order, the Net Export Limit proposal could allow EIM resource owners to limit dispatch during periods of market power mitigation, resulting in unjust and unreasonable market outcomes.

On June 18, 2020, FERC denied a complaint by Anbaric Development Partners, L.L.C. (“Anbaric”) against PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (“PJM”) alleging that PJM’s transmission interconnection procedures denied meaningful open access interconnection service to Anbaric’s proposed offshore transmission projects (see December 11, 2019 edition of the WER). FERC’s June 18 order concluded that Anbaric failed to demonstrate that PJM’s transmission interconnection procedures are unjust and unreasonable, or that the requirements for merchant transmission projects are either inconsistent with open access transmission service or unreasonably limit transmission expansion. FERC also highlighted its upcoming technical conference to discuss offshore wind integration in organized markets (see June 24, 2020 edition of the WER). Commissioner Bernard McNamee issued a separate concurring statement in which he highlighted his support for the technical conference.

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.

On May 29, 2020, Shell Energy North America (US), L.P. (“Shell”) filed a petition asking FERC to interpret PJM Interconnection, L.L.C.’s (“PJM’s”) Tariff provisions regarding bilateral transfers of Financial Transmission Rights (“FTRs”). Shell’s petition stems from a pending breach of contract claim brought by GreenHat Energy, LLC (“GreenHat”) against Shell in Texas. Shell’s petition asks FERC to assert primary jurisdiction over GreenHat’s contract claim to allow Shell to seek dismissal of GreenHat’s suit.

In an order issued June 9, 2020, FERC accepted a proposal from the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. (“MISO”) to require certain solar generating facilities to respond to real-time dispatch signals by registering as Dispatchable Intermittent Resources (“DIRs”). Through MISO’s proposal, all solar resources entering commercial operation on or after March 15, 2020 must register as DIRs and become dispatchable by March 15, 2022, whereas solar resources in operation before March 15, 2020 have the option, but are not required, to obtain DIR registration. In accepting the proposal, FERC rejected arguments from one protestor that the proposal unduly burdened solar projects in late-stage development, finding that MISO’s proposed two-year transition period for such resources was reasonable.

On May 29, 2020, FERC accepted PJM Interconnection, L.L.C.’s (“PJM”) and PJM Settlement, Inc.’s (“PJM Settlement”) proposed revisions to its Open Access Transmission Tariff (“Tariff”) and the Amended and Restated Operating Agreement establishing updated credit risk evaluation criteria and processes for market participants in PJM. These revisions, which enhance PJM’s rules for evaluating and managing the posed credit risk of current and potential PJM market participants, were developed in response to GreenHat Energy LLC’s (“GreenHat”) 2018 default on a large portfolio of Financial Transmission Rights (“FTRs”). The proposed revisions went into effect on June 1, 2020, as requested. Commissioners James Danly and Richard Glick issued concurring opinions.