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
COVID-19
FERC Issues Notice Shortening Comment Periods for FPA Section 204 Filings
By Adrienne Thompson on
Posted in FERC Enforcement
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…
FERC Issues Guidance on Accounting for Credit and Accounts Receivable Losses
By Adrienne Thompson on
Posted in FERC Enforcement
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.
COVID-19 Projected to Cause a Multi-Billion Dollar Hit to Electric Cooperatives
By Miriam Archibong & Kelsey Bagot on
Posted in Legislation
On April 21, 2020, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (“NRECA”), an organization that represents the interests of over 900 electric cooperatives nationally, issued a fact sheet projecting that COVID-19’s economic impact on electric cooperatives will total an estimated $10 billion through 2022. This fact sheet follows an April 6, 2020 letter from the CEO of NRECA to congressional leaders requesting legislative remedies to help address the challenges currently facing electric cooperatives as a result of COVID-19. Among other things, NRECA explains that, absent federal assistance in the form of federal funding and repricing of the United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) Rural Utilities Services (“RUS”) debt, co-ops may face severe financial distress due to prohibitions against utility disconnections, increasing electric bill nonpayment, and loss of load.