On October 15, 2009, the Commission released an order addressing Texas Eastern Transmission LP’s (“Texas Eastern”) filing of two letter agreements and revised tariff sheets modifying previously filed negotiated rate agreements with New Jersey Natural Gas Company (“New Jersey”) and PSEG Power, LLC (“PSEG”).  The modifications included negotiated fuel rate caps and a provision that the negotiated fuel rate cap would apply to any replacement shipper if New Jersey or PSEG released their capacity. 

On October 9, 2009, FERC conditionally accepted the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc.’s (“Midwest ISO”) filing of an unexecuted amended and restated generator interconnection agreement (“IA”) among Midwest ISO, Community Wind North LLC (“Community Wind”) and Northern States Power Company (“NSP”), subject to Community Wind not having to pay for a new 230-mile transmission line.

On October 5, 2009, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (“NARUC”) and a group of state utility regulators filed a brief requesting that the Supreme Court overturn a June 23, 2009 decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (“D.C. Circuit”) regarding jurisdiction over capacity requirements. 

On October 8, 2009, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or the “Commission”) approved a Stipulation and Consent Agreement (the “Agreement”) between the Office of Enforcement, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (“NERC”), and Florida Power and Light Company (“FPL”).  Under the Agreement, FPL agreed to pay a $25 million civil penalty to resolve an investigation into whether FPL violated Reliability Standards associated with a Florida blackout on February 26, 2008.

            On September 25, the United States Environmental Protection Agency Appeals Board (“Appeals Board”) in granting a request by the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) to voluntarily remand to the agency a permit it issued under the Clean Air Act for a major coal-fired power project southwest of Farmington, New Mexico, determined that the developer must consider Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (“IGCC”) technology as a potential alternative in its analysis of Best Available Control Technology (“BACT”).