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On July 17, 2015, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (“NERC”) submitted a compliance filing with the Commission regarding NERC’s Risk-Based Registration (“RBR”) initiative, including renewed requests for the elimination of the Load-Serving Entity (“LSE”) registration function.  The Commission previously rejected, without prejudice, NERC’s proposal to eliminate the LSE registration function in its March 19, 2015 order (the “March 19 Order”) on NERC’s RBR initiative.

On July 16, 2015, the California Independent System Operator Corporation’s (“CAISO”) Board of Governors approved a new proposal (the “Proposal”) that will allow aggregated distributed energy resources to participate in the California wholesale energy market.  Under the approved framework, distributed energy resources, such as rooftop solar, energy storage, and plug-in electric vehicles, will be allowed to aggregate together to meet CAISO’s 500 kW minimum participation requirement.  CAISO stated that it will continue to develop supporting tariff language for the framework; it intends to submit such language to FERC for approval later this year.

On July 13, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (“Tenth Circuit”) upheld the State of Colorado’s renewable portfolio standard (“RPS”) as valid under the dormant commerce clause.  In doing so, the Tenth Circuit held that the RPS (1) was not a price control statute, (2) did not link prices in Colorado with those paid out of state, and (3) did not discriminate against out-of-state electric generators.  As a result, Colorado may continue to require that 20 percent of all electricity sold to Colorado consumers, regardless of where it is produced, comes from renewable sources.

On July 16, 2015, the Commission issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NOPR”) in which it proposed, among other things, to direct the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (“NERC”) to develop a new or modified Reliability Standard to provide security controls for supply chain management of industrial control system hardware, software, and computing and networking services associated with bulk electric system operations.  Comments are due 60 days after publication of the NOPR in the Federal Register.

On July 16, 2015, the Commission issued a final rule in which it eliminated the obligation to file Form 566 (Annual Report of a Utility’s 20 Largest Customers) for regional transmission organizations (“RTOs”), independent system operators (“ISOs”), and exempt wholesale generators (“EWGs”).  The final rule also eliminates the requirement to submit a Form 566 for public utilities that have not made any Form 566-reportable sales (i.e., sales to customers who purchase the energy for purposes other than for resale) in any of the three preceding years.  Lastly, the final rule eliminates the requirement for public utilities submitting Form 566 to identify individual residential customers by name and address, and eliminates the requirement to notify customers listed on the Form 566 of their designation.

On July 7, 2015, the Commission issued a notice calling for comments on a Petition for Rulemaking filed by the American Wind Energy Association (“AWEA”) on June 19, 2015 in Docket No. RM15-21-000.  In its petition, AWEA requested that the Commission initiate a rulemaking to significantly amend the pro forma Large Generator Interconnection Procedures (“GIP”) and Large Generation Interconnection Agreement (“GIA”), in order to alleviate what it described as “unduly discriminatory and unreasonable barriers to generator market access.”  Comments on the petition are due August 6, 2015.

On June 30, 2015, FERC approved most of the proposed tariff revisions in a joint proposal from the ISO New England, Inc. (“ISO-NE”) and the New England Power Pool (“NEPOOL”) Participants Committee addressing the ISO-NE’s market monitor rules.  Specifically, the proposed revisions are designed to mitigate the potential to exercise market power in the ISO-NE Forward Capacity Auction (“FCA”), which is used to secure capacity in ISO-NE three years in advance of the relevant delivery year.  Going forward, the new rules approved by FERC will be implemented in ISO-NE’s next FCA in February 2016.

On June 16, 2015, the Commission denied a complaint filed by Public Service Electric and Gas Company (“PSEG”) against PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (“PJM”) in which PSEG contended that PJM did not comply with certain rules of its Open Access Transmission Tariff (“OATT”) in conducting a competitive solicitation for transmission solutions to the “Artificial Island”— a term that refers to the transmission and generation infrastructure associated with a nuclear complex that includes the Salem 1, Salem 2, and Hope Creek nuclear generating units.  In denying PSEG’s complaint, the Commission found that: (i) PJM was not required to follow its Order No. 1000 procedures in its Artificial Island solicitation; and (ii) PJM complied with its pre-Order No. 1000 OATT rules in conducting the solicitation.

On June 18, 2015, FERC issued an order granting in part and denying in part a complaint, and instituting a 206 proceeding to examine the justness and reasonableness of MISO’s Facilities Construction Agreement (“FCA”), Generator Interconnection Agreement (“GIA”), and Multi-Party Facilities Construction Agreement (“MPFCA”).  FERC determined that MISO’s pro forma FCA and GIA may be unjust, unreasonable, or unduly discriminatory or preferential because they treat customers of an affected system operator and those of a directly-connected transmission owner differently without providing any increased level of service.  The case deals with the means by which transmission owners are compensated for network upgrades associated with generator interconnection requests. 

On June 18, 2015, FERC staff (“Staff”) provided an update on its implementation of the Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act of 2013 (the “Act”).  Staff stated that since the Act was signed into law, FERC has approved 43 qualifying conduit facilities – small hydropower projects that are exempt from FERC licensing requirements – out of 58 proposed facilities, while also granting 15 out of 30 requested permit extensions.  During FERC’s open meeting Commissioner Philip Moeller stated that he requested the update to bring more attention to the “enormous potential of small hydropower projects throughout the country.”