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On October 26, 2012, FERC accepted two related tariff amendments that give the California Independent System Operator Corporation’s (“CAISO”) more authority to reduce payments to generators that are subject to non-market “exceptional dispatch.”  The CAISO made the amendments over concerns that certain suppliers could exercise market power by bidding in a way that makes them more likely to be exceptionally dispatched, earning higher revenues than the market would have provided otherwise.

On October 29, 2012, the California Independent System Operator Corporation (“CAISO”) filed tariff changes at FERC to permit generators to include greenhouse gas compliance costs in certain bid cost calculations.  The CAISO currently calculates generating units’ start-up and minimum load costs in order to create default energy bids used for market power mitigation, calculate bid caps for minimum load and start-up costs, and create bids in the event the unit does not submit a required bid.

On September 20, 2012, FERC conditionally accepted Southwest Power Pool, Inc.’s (“SPP”) proposal to incorporate systematic and automated curtailments of new Non-Dispatchable Resources in SPP’s Energy Imbalance Service Market during periods of congestion.  In doing so, the Commission determined that SPP will afford “Non-Dispatchable Resources equal curtailment priority treatment and exposure to Uninstructed Deviation Charges commensurate with other resources that are similarly situated, on the basis of their transmission reservation rights and whether their output is scheduled or unscheduled.”

On October 22, 2012, the New York Energy Highway Task Force (“Task Force”) presented Governor Andrew M. Cuomo with the New York State Energy Highway Blueprint (“Blueprint”).  This Blueprint includes thirteen recommended actions aimed at adding up to 3,200 megawatts (“MW”) in new generation and transmission to New York, as well as developing clean energy.

On October 23, 2012, the Department of Interior (“DOI”) announced that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM”) will lease 96,430 acres of federal waters off the coast of Delaware to NRG Bluewater Wind Delaware LLC (“NRG”).   The lease is the first under DOI’s “Smart from the Start” initiative, which aims to streamline the process for developing wind in the Outer Continental Shelf (“OCS”) by identifying areas for wind development through a “coordinated environmental analysis, public review and large-scale planning.”

On October 18, 2012, FERC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NOPR”) proposing to approve the revised reliability standard FAC-003-002 regarding vegetation management submitted by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (“NERC”).  Generally, the NOPR states that the revised reliability standard FAC-003-002 would, among other things: (1) expand the applicability of the current standard; (2) add a new minimum annual vegetation inspection requirement; and (3) include a minimum vegetation clearance distance (“MVCD”) into the standard.

On October 18, 2012, FERC conditionally approved Southwest Power Pool, Inc.’s (“SPP”) revised tariff to implement its “Integrated Marketplace,” making SPP the last RTO/ISO to adopt a day-ahead market. The Integrated Marketplace will include a market-based congestion management program and energy markets. The energy markets will consist of day-ahead and real-time energy and operating reserves that utilize locational marginal pricing.