Uncategorized

Subscribe to Uncategorized via RSS

On October 15, 2012, FERC Staff issued a report proposing to collect information to track performance and operation of utilities outside of Independent System Operators (“ISOs”) and Regional Transmission Organizations (“RTOs”) (“October 15 Report”). In its October 15 Report, Staff requests participating utilities submit reports by January 25, 2013 that respond to the final list of performance metrics.

On October 18, 2012, FERC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NOPR”) directing the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (“NERC”) to submit for FERC approval reliability standards that address and mitigate the effects of geomagnetic disturbances (“GMDs”) on the bulk-power system.  This NOPR is the first step in developing reliability standards to mitigate the effects of GMDs.

On October 9, 2012, the Commission denied PPL Electric Utilities Corporation’s (“PPL”) request for an incentive Return on Equity (“ROE”) adder for its Northeast/Pocono Reliability (“NPR”) project, marking the first time since the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that FERC denied a request for an ROE adder for a transmission project it determined to  be “non-routine.”

On October 5, 2012, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) filed a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia requesting en banc rehearing of its ruling on the EPA’s Cross State Air Pollution Rule (“CSAPR”).  The court, in a three judge panel, vacated CSAPR in a 2-1 decision on August 21, 2012 (“August 21 Order”).

On October 9, 2012, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that the Department of the Interior (“DOI”) approved the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project as “suitable for wind energy development.”  The project could generate up to 3,000 megawatts (“MW”) of power in southeastern Wyoming, and helps DOI reach President Barack Obama’s goal of authorizing 10,000 MW of renewable power on public lands by the end of 2012.

In an October 12, 2012, filing with the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, EPA told the Court it needs a year or more to finalize its pending regulations for coal combustion residuals (“coal ash”).  EPA’s filing resisted a lawsuit filed by environmental parties seeking to impose a six-month deadline for finalization of the coal ash regulations.

On October 12, 2012, the EPA responded to petitions for rehearing en banc filed by Industry Petitioners in the Coalition for Responsible Regulation v. EPA case before the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.  The petitions seek review by all eight D.C. Circuit judges of the three-judge panel decision issued last July that upheld EPA’s greenhouse gas (“GHG”) endangerment finding, its first-time ever regulations of GHG emissions from automobiles, and its “Tailoring Rule” and “Timing Rule” under which EPA commenced GHG permitting requirements as of January 2, 2011 and set numerical permitting thresholds.

On October 2, 2012, FERC approved Entergy Services, Inc.’s (“Entergy”) proposal to transfer its Independent Coordinator of Transmission (“ICT”) services from Southwest Power Pool, Inc. (“SPP”) to the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc. (“MISO”).  Additionally, FERC granted an extension of Entergy’s current ICT agreement with SPP, which expires on November 17, 2012, to November 30, 2012.  This will allow transfer of ICT functions to MISO on December 1, 2012.

On September 28, 2012, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia vacated and remanded the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (“CFTC”) Position Limits Rule.  The Court held that the CFTC incorrectly interpreted the Commodity Exchange Act of 1936 (“CEA”), as amended by the Dodd-Frank Act.  Specifically, the Court held that the CFTC failed to make a necessity finding before promulgating its Position Limits Rule.