On November 15, 2018, FERC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NOPR”) addressing the effect of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“TCJA”), which lowered the federal corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent, on accumulated deferred income tax (“ADIT”) balances. Specifically, FERC proposed to require transmission companies to remove excess ADIT or add deficient ADIT to their rate bases. In addition, FERC issued a policy statement providing accounting and ratemaking guidance related to the treatment of ADIT (“Policy Statement”).

On October 15, 2018, FERC issued two orders involving rate of return on equity (“ROE”): the first was an order directing parties in two proceedings involving the base ROE of the transmission owning members of the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. (“MISO”) to submit briefs concerning a proposed change in FERC’s approach to determining the base ROE of public utilities previously outlined in Martha Coakley v. Bangor Hydro-Elec. Co. (“Coakley Briefing Order”) (see October 25, 2018 edition of the WER); the second was an order providing guidance regarding the effect of the Coakley Briefing Order on pending proceedings involving base ROE issues that have been set for hearing and settlement judge procedures.

On October 31, 2018, FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee submitted comments (“October 31 Comments”) on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) proposed rule, the Affordable Clean Energy rule (“ACE Rule”).  If approved, the ACE Rule would implement new regulations for states to develop plans to reduce Greenhouse Gas (“GHG”) emissions from certain existing Electric Utility Generating Units.  Chairman Chatterjee’s comments generally supported the ACE Rule.

On November 5, 2018, FERC granted in part and denied in part a rehearing request (“Rehearing Order”) filed by Ameren Services Company (“Ameren Services”), on behalf of its affiliate Ameren Transmission Company of Illinois (together with Ameren Services, “Ameren”) of a FERC order (“February 13 Order”) denying Ameren’s request pursuant to Order No. 679 for a 100 basis point incentive rate of return on equity (“ROE Incentive”) for the Illinois Rivers and Mark Twain components (“Components”) of the Grand Rivers Project (“Project”).  In the February 13 Order, FERC denied Ameren’s requested ROE Incentive for the Components, largely because of construction progress made to date on the Illinois Rivers component.  In the Rehearing Order, FERC granted rehearing in part with respect to the Mark Twain component because that component is not substantially complete and, because based on its own merits, the Mark Twain component continues to face risks and challenges that warrant an ROE Incentive.  FERC denied rehearing with respect to the Illinois River component, however, upon finding that given the substantial completion of the Illinois Rivers component and limited remaining risks and challenges Ameren faces with respect to that component, Ameren’s requested ROE Incentive for Illinois River failed to meet the nexus test.

On November 6, 2018, clean energy ballot initiatives failed in several states.  In particular, voters rejected Arizona’s 50 percent renewable energy mandate, Washington’s fee on carbon emissions, Colorado’s limits on oil and gas drilling and Nevada’s retail choice initiative.  However, voters passed Nevada’s 50 percent renewable energy portfolio.

On November 5, 2018, the American Wind Energy Association and the Wind Coalition (together, the “Wind Developers”) filed a complaint against Southwest Power Pool, Inc. (“SPP”) regarding SPP’s Bylaws and Membership Agreement.  Specifically, the Wind Developers object to the sections of the Bylaws and Membership Agreement which impose financial obligations (“exit fees”) on independent power producers (“IPPs”), other comparable non-transmission owners (“non-TOs”), and non-load-serving entities (“non-LSEs”).  The Wind Developers argue that the exit fee violates cost causation principles, may pose a barrier to entry into SPP to vote on critical issues, directly affects jurisdictional rates, and that therefore, the exit fee is unjust, unreasonable, and unduly discriminatory.

On October 31, 2018, FERC accepted revisions to the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc.’s (“MISO”) Open Access Transmission, Energy and Operating Reserve Markets Tariff (“Tariff”) to enhance the locational aspects of its resource adequacy construct (“Filing”).  In March of 2018 (“March 2018 Filing”), MISO had proposed a similar filing, which FERC rejected, without prejudice, on August 2, 2018.  There, FERC found two elements of the March 2018 Filing to be unjust and unreasonable, but FERC provided MISO with guidance with respect to any future filing.  With the exception of those two elements, MISO stated that its Filing contains the same proposal and justification for the proposal as in its March 2018 Filing.

On October 31, 2018, FERC approved three proposed revisions to the Open Access Transmission, Energy, and Operating Reserve Markets Tariff (“Tariff”) of the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. (“MISO”).  These revisions establish categorical time limits to expressly bar settlement disputes submitted after these specified time periods (“Time Bar Revisions”).  The proposed Tariff revisions became effective November 1, 2018.

On October 31, 2018, FERC denied a request from a group of wind generation developers (“Wind Generation Developers”) for rehearing of FERC’s order denying a complaint which alleged that the interconnection process under the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc.’s (“MISO”) Open Access Transmission, Energy, and Operating Reserve Markets Tariff (“Tariff”) is unjust and unreasonable because certain wind generators would not receive a Generator Interconnection Agreement (“GIA”) in time to receive Federal Production Tax Credit (“PTC”) benefits.  Notably, FERC found that interconnection customers are not guaranteed that MISO will meet its projected deadlines and that most interconnection customers in the study cluster that was the subject of the complaint will be eligible for GIAs in time to receive PTC benefits.

On October 29, 2018, FERC approved the California Independent System Operator Corp.’s (“CAISO”) tariff revisions related to its Energy Imbalance Market (“EIM”) bid adders, which reflect EIM participating resources’ costs to comply with the California Air Resources Board’s (“CARB”) greenhouse gas (“GHG”) regulations.  Specifically, FERC accepted CAISO’s proposal to limit the hourly megawatt quantity included in an EIM bid adder to the range between the EIM resource’s base schedule and its effective upper economic bid for that hour.