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On March 31, 2015, the Commission denied a proposal from PJM Interconnection, LLC (“PJM”) to modify the manner in which demand response resources participate in capacity auctions within the RTO.  PJM’s proposal was intended as a means of maintaining the participation of demand response resources in PJM’s capacity market in the event that the U.S. Supreme Court upholds the D.C. Circuit’s May 2014 ruling vacating Order No. 745 (see May 27, 2014 edition of the WER).

On March 27, 2015, FERC issued two separate orders approving Dynegy Inc. and Dynegy Resource I, LLC’s (collectively, “Dynegy”) $6.25 billion acquisition of merchant generators from Duke Energy Corporation (“Duke”) and Energy Capital Partners LLC (“ECP”).  Upon consummation of the acquisitions, Dynegy will own 100 percent equity interest in several ECP subsidiaries, a 49.5 percent equity interest in Elwood Energy (an ECP subsidiary), and 100 percent equity interest in Duke Energy Commercial Asset Management, LLC and Duke Energy Retail Sales, LLC.

On March 19, 2015, the White House issued an executive order directing federal agencies to reduce their direct greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions by at least 40 percent from 2008 levels by 2025 (“Executive Order”).  The Executive Order also directs federal agencies to increase the use of renewable energy by its buildings by at least 30 percent by 2025.  According to the Executive Order, agencies must begin complying with the various reductions and mandates in fiscal year 2016.

On March 24, 2015, the Commission denied Wisconsin Power and Light Company’s (“WPL”) request for waiver of certain provisions of the Midcontinent Independent System Operator’s (“MISO”) Open Access Transmission, Energy and Operating Reserve Markets Tariff (the “MISO Tariff”) dealing with annual capacity obligations.  Despite denying WPL’s request, the Commission noted that it was concurrently issuing a separate order to modify the MISO Tariff which would, according to the Commission, provide WPL with the relief it sought.

The Idaho Public Utilities Commission (“Idaho PUC”) is moving to take a closer look at the contract terms for power purchase agreements (“PPAs”) entered into between utilities and Qualifying Facilities (“QFs”) under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (“PURPA”) framework.  The Idaho PUC has temporarily reduced the maximum contract term for QF PPAs from twenty years to five years for each of the regulated utilities operating within the state and is also considering whether to permanently reduce the term even further. 

On March 19, 2015, FERC issued Order No. 807, which eliminated Open Access Transmission Tariff (“OATT”) requirements, Open Access Same-Time Information System requirements, and the Standards of Conduct requirements, under certain conditions, for the ownership, operation, and control of an Interconnection Customer’s Interconnection Facilities (“ICIF”).  FERC stated that the waiver is designed to relieve the burden on ICIF owners while still maintaining the rights of third parties to seek access to available ICIF excess capacity.

On March 19, 2015, FERC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NOPR”) that would eliminate the current requirement that participants in a FERC trial-type evidentiary hearing must provide paper copies of all evidentiary exhibits.  Instead, FERC proposes to remove this requirement under the NOPR, stating that it will create a more efficient exhibit filing process through direct electronic submission of all exhibits.

On March 9, 2015, the United States Supreme Court (the “Court”) issued its ruling in Nikols v. Mortgage Bankers Association, holding that federal agencies do not need to issue notice-and-comment procedures when amending or repealing an “interpretive” rule.  The impact of this ruling means that federal agencies, including FERC, may modify or repeal their interpretative orders and policy statements without providing notice or a public comment period.