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.

On October 23, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (“D.C. Circuit”) in Maine Council of the Atlantic Salmon Federation v. FERC rejected a challenge brought by several conservation groups (“Petitioners”) in response to a FERC order amending the licenses for three hydroelectric projects on Maine’s Kennebec River.  FERC’s order approved an an interim species protection plan for endangered Atlantic salmon and a handling and protection plan for shortnose and Atlantic sturgeon.  The Petitioners raised issues arising under the Endangered Species Act and claimed that FERC’s order violated the Kennebec Hydro Developers Group Agreement (“Kennebec Agreement”), of which the licensees are parties.

On October 18, 2018, FERC denied several motions to stay an order issued on September 10, 2018, which invoked FERC’s rarely used authority under section 31 of the Federal Power Act to revoke the license for the existing 4.8-Megawatt Edenville Project No. 10808 (“Edenville Project”), located on the Tobacco and Tittabawassee Rivers in Gladwin and Midland Counties, Michigan.  Motions to stay FERC’s revocation order were filed by licensee Boyce Hydro Power, LLC’s (“Boyce Hydro”), Sanford Lake Preservation Association, Wixom Lake Association, and the Gladwin County Board of District Commissioner (together, the “Lake Associations”).  FERC denied the motion to stay because Boyce Hydro and the Lake Associations did not show that they would suffer irreparable non-economic harm if the stay were not in place.  FERC also held that the stay did not violate the public interest.

On October 22, 2018, FERC Commissioner Kevin McIntyre announced in a letter to President Donald Trump that he would step down from his role as Chairman and would continue his work as Commissioner.  In addition, President Trump announced on October 24, 2018 that current FERC Commissioner and former Chairman Neil Chatterjee would replace Commissioner McIntyre as FERC Chairman.

On October 16, 2018, FERC proposed a new method to determine whether a utility’s return on equity (“ROE”) remains just and reasonable under section 206 of the Federal Power Act (“FPA”).  Specifically, FERC discussed three additional methods, along with the well-known and traditionally used Discounted Cash Flow (“DCF”) analysis, and proposed to average the results to come to an equitable ROE.  This new method will apply to successive complaints filed against the New England Transmission Owners (“NETOs”), regarding the justness and reasonableness of their existing ROE.  Briefs related to this proposal are due on December 17, 2018.