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On June 16, 2011, FERC denied the appeals of Cedar Creek Wind Energy, LLC (“Cedar Creek”) and Milford Wind Corridor Phase I, LLC (“Milford”) because the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (“WECC”) registered both wind facilities as transmission owners and operators, subjecting the facilities to mandatory reliability standards. 

On June 6, 2011, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or the “Commission”) released a Notice of Proposed Communications with the Department of Justice (“DOJ”).  This action was prompted by the potential merger of Duke Energy Corporation and Progress Energy, Inc. (see January 13, 2011 edition of the WER). 

On June 3, 2011, the United States House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Energy and Power, held a hearing on H.R. 909, A Roadmap for America’s Energy Future, sponsored by Representative Devin Nunes (R-CA).  While H.R. 909 includes provisions that address issues like the Outer Continental Shelf, oil shale, nuclear concerns, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (“ANWR”), and Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas regulations, much of the discussion during the hearing focused on the reverse auction proposal contained in the bill. 

On June 3, 2011, FERC issued an order (the “Order”) accepting and suspending PJM Interconnection L.L.C.’s (“PJM”) proposed revisions to its Open Access Transmission Tariff (“OATT”) and Reliability Assurance Agreement Among Load Serving Entities in the PJM Region (“Reliability Assurance Agreement”).  In its Order, the Commission accepted and suspended PJM’s proposed changes for a five month period, to be effective November 7, 2011, subject to refund, and to the outcome of a technical conference and a further order of the Commission.

On May 31, 2011, New York Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman, filed an action in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York seeking declaratory and injunctive relief against several federal agencies and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (“Army Corps”). In the filing the state sought to compel the agencies to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) before authorizing the Delaware River Basin (“basin”) shale natural gas development. 

On Tuesday, May 31, 2011, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or the “Commission”) headquarters in Washington DC experienced an outage after a reported failure of two underground transmission cables.  FERC’s systems, including online services, were shut down, and personnel were placed on administrative leave.