On May 1, 2020, FERC accepted two agreements—an unexecuted Network Integration Transmission Service Agreement (“NITSA”) and a Network Operating Agreement (“NOA”) (together, “Agreements”)—filed by Southwest Power Pool Inc. (“SPP”) to be effective February 1, 2020, subject to the outcome of pending rehearing proceedings. Consistent with FERC’s prior notice policies, SPP had requested waiver of the 60-day prior notice requirement to permit the Agreements to become effective February 1, 2020. While Commissioner Danly concurred with the decision to grant an effective date prior to the filing date, he noted that this practice appears to run afoul of the rule against retroactive ratemaking and urged FERC to reexamine its practice.

On April 30, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (“Eighth Circuit”) denied Nebraska Public Power District’s (“NPPD”) petition for review of FERC’s approval of the Southwest Power Pool, Inc.’s (“SPP”) placement of Tri-State Generation & Transmission Association’s (“Tri-State”) transmission facilities in SPP Zone 17. NPPD challenged FERC’s approval on cost causation grounds, arguing that FERC’s ruling was arbitrary and capricious because it failed to find that the benefits accruing to NPPD are roughly commensurate with the costs. The Eighth Circuit denied NPPD’s petition, concluding that FERC provided plausible and articulable reasons for why the costs and benefits of placing Tri-State’s transmission facilities in Zone 17 were comparable, and that FERC’s cost-causation analysis was not arbitrary and capricious.

On April 30, 2020, FERC granted Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, L.L.C.’s (“Tennessee Gas”) petition for declaratory order that requested authorization to charge market-based rates for its proposed firm flexible storage (“FS Flex”) service. In reaching its decision, FERC reviewed whether Tennessee Gas held significant market power in the relevant product and geographic markets where the FS Flex service was to be offered, with the geographic market including east Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama (“Gulf Coast Production Area”). FERC found that Tennessee Gas’s small market share and market concentration in the relevant markets adequately demonstrated that Tennessee Gas lacked market power and that there were no other factors indicating that Tennessee Gas would be able to exercise market power when providing the FS Flex service.

On May 4, 2020, FERC released an interview with its Pandemic Liaison Caroline Wozniak as its second coronavirus podcast. Ms. Wozniak provided insight into her role in FERC’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and explained that the pandemic liaison is intended to serve as a single point of contact for…

On May 5, 2020, FERC issued a Notice shortening the period from 21 days to 5 business days for interventions and protests to filings submitted under Federal Power Act (“FPA”) Section 204.  With some exceptions, FPA Section 204 grants FERC the authority to regulate the issuance of securities and assumption…

On May 7, 2020, FERC’s Division of Audits and Accounting issued a guidance letter on how regulated entities may account for expected credit losses on accounts receivable.  The letter, issued to ease regulatory burdens on the energy industry in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, clarifies that Financial Accounting Standard Board’s Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2016-13 is an acceptable methodology for purposes of financial accounting and reporting obligations on jurisdictional public utilities and licensees, natural gas companies, oil pipeline companies, and centralized service companies.

On April 30, 2020, FERC accepted the New York Independent System Operator, Inc.’s (“NYISO”) proposed revisions to its Open Access Transmission Tariff (“OATT”) and its Market Administration and Control Area Services Tariff intended to enhance the integration of its Generator Deactivation Process with its Reliability Planning Process. NYISO proposed to establish a Short-Term Reliability Process using quarterly Short-Term Assessment of Reliability (“STAR”) studies that simultaneously evaluate the reliability impact of both generator deactivations and other changes that may impact transmission facilities (“Proposal”). FERC found that the Proposal will enhance NYISO’s current Generator Deactivation Process into a more efficient and comprehensive Short-Term Reliability Process.

On April 24, 2020, FERC largely upheld an earlier-issued order imposing additional transparency obligations on Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. (“MISO”), Southwest Power Pool, Inc. (“SPP”), and PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (“PJM”) (collectively, “RTOs”) regarding the RTOs’ Affected Systems study processes. FERC declined to require holistic alignment of the RTOs’ interconnection study processes, but clarified that, in subsequent compliance filings, the Commission will scrutinize whether each RTO applies the Energy Resource Interconnection Service (“ERIS”) or Network Resource Interconnection Service (“NRIS”) modeling standards in a just and reasonable manner.

On April 27, 2020, FERC granted renewable energy company Goldman Sachs Renewable Power Marketing, LLC (“GSRPM”) authority to make wholesale sales of energy, capacity, and ancillary services at market-based rates. However, FERC also found GSRPM to be affiliated with the investment bank Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (“Goldman Sachs”). On the basis of that finding, FERC concluded that GSRPM would be subject to enhanced reporting requirements as a Category 2 Seller in the northwest region of the United States. The order reflects FERC’s increasing interest in the disclosure of corporate structure for purposes of affiliation determinations in market-based rate applications.

On May 1, 2020, President Trump issued Executive Order No. 13920 (“Executive Order”) prohibiting Federal agencies and U.S. persons from engaging in certain “transactions” defined thereunder—specifically, acquiring, importing, transferring, or installing certain items defined in the Executive Order as “bulk-power system electric equipment”—with “foreign adversaries.” Such equipment classifications and types are specified in the order and include “items used in bulk-power substations, control rooms, or power generating stations.” The prohibitions apply to transactions involving such equipment if such items are (i) designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied by a foreign adversary, or by persons under the control, direction, or jurisdiction of such adversaries and where (ii) such equipment pose an unacceptable risk to national security and America’s safety.