On March 12, 2020, the U.S. Senate confirmed James Danly to fill a Republican seat on the Commission by a 52-40 vote. Mr. Danly, who currently serves as FERC’s General Counsel, will serve the remainder of a term that expires June 30, 2023.
Continue Reading Senate Confirms James Danly as New FERC Commissioner

At FERC’s monthly meeting held on January 23, 2020, Commissioner Bernard L. McNamee announced he will not seek reappointment as commissioner after his current term ends on June 30, 2020. Commissioner McNamee indicated that he will serve through the end of his term or later, if needed to help maintain a quorum at FERC in 2020.
Continue Reading Commissioner McNamee Announces He Will Not Seek Reappointment

On December 2, 2019, FERC staff (“Staff”) issued its annual report (“Report”) on demand response and advanced metering, a high-level review of demand response potential in the retail and wholesale markets. In the Report, Staff highlights that: (i) advanced meters account for more than half of all meters in operation in the United States, (ii) multiple states have received approval for, or proposed, advanced meter deployment programs, (iii) many state regulators appear to support advanced meter investments, and (iv) from 2017 to 2018, there was an almost 8% increase in the overall demand response participation in wholesale markets.
Continue Reading FERC Staff Issues 2019 Assessment of Demand Response and Advanced Metering

On November 14, 2019, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (“Committee”) held a hearing to consider the nomination of Dan Brouillette as Secretary of Energy. Mr. Brouillette is currently DOE’s Deputy Secretary, and has been nominated by President Trump to replace outgoing Secretary Rick Perry.
Continue Reading Nominee for DOE Secretary Dan Brouillette Testifies Before Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

On August 29, 2019, FERC issued a final rule revising 18 C.F.R. § 385.2001(a) and requiring that all physical filings and submissions to be delivered to FERC, other than those sent via the U.S. Postal Service (“USPS”) are to be sent to FERC’s off-site security screening facility in Rockville, Maryland (see September 17 edition of the WER).  The rule was scheduled to go into effect on November 4, 2019, 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register.
Continue Reading FERC Postpones Effective Date of Filing Regulation

On November 5, 2019, the Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources (“Committee”) held a hearing to consider the nomination of James Danly as a FERC Commissioner. Mr. Danly, currently FERC’s general counsel, was nominated to fill the vacancy on the Commission left by the passing of FERC Chairman Kevin McIntyre in January of this year.
Continue Reading FERC Nominee James Danly Testifies Before Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources

The U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” report has named Troutman Sanders LLP as the 2020 “Law Firm of the Year” in Energy Law. Only one law firm is awarded “Law Firm of the Year” in each nationally eligible practice area. Rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes the …

On October 28, 2019, the Attorneys General of California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island (collectively “State AGs”) wrote to FERC to discuss opportunities for the State AGs and FERC to work cooperatively to promote state-level clean energy policies that benefit consumers and enhance grid reliability. The State AGs expressed an “urgent need” for further action to address climate change’s “massive” environmental, health, and economic harms in their states, and noted that the Commission’s actions related to market design, natural gas siting, and grid reliability significantly impact each state’s ability to achieve their clean energy goals.
Continue Reading State Attorneys General Urge FERC Action on Clean Energy Priorities