On November 15, 2013, FERC issued Order No. 787, authorizing interstate natural gas pipelines and electric transmission operators to voluntarily share non-public, operational information with each other to promote grid reliability and operational planning.  In doing so, FERC stated that “[w]ith the increasing reliance on natural gas as a fuel for electric generation, ensuring robust communications between transmission operators in the electric and natural gas industries will help both systems operate reliably and effectively.”

On Tuesday, November 19, 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (“D.C. Circuit”) held that the Secretary of Energy (“Secretary”) again failed to perform a valid evaluation of annual fees collected from generators for disposal of nuclear waste under the 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act (the “Act”).  The D.C. Circuit ordered the Secretary to suspend collection of the fees until such time as it resumes its work with regards to the creation of the Yucca Mountain storage project, as set out in the Act, or until Congress chooses to enact an alternative waste management plan.

On November 21, 2013, FERC Chairman Jon Wellinghoff announced that he will leave the Commission on November 24, 2013.  It was also announced that President Obama will appoint Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur to serve as acting chair upon Chairman Wellinghoff’s departure.

On October 21, 2013, FERC and the California Air Resources Board (“CARB”) jointly executed a Memorandum of Understanding (the “Memorandum”), setting out a process for inter-agency cooperation in the dissemination of certain information.  The Memorandum is non-binding and executed for the purpose of formalizing the agencies’ shared intent.  FERC and CARB anticipate sharing information on general energy issues of mutual interest as they relate to the California and Western energy markets.

On Friday, November 1, FERC approved changes to ISO New England, Inc.’s (“ISO-NE”) Transmission, Markets and Services Tariff expanding the instances in which ISO-NE can penalize resources that have capacity supply obligations and are completely or partially unavailable during periods of high demand in the ISO-NE’s Forward Capacity Market (“FCM”).  ISO-NE’s tariff changes became effective on November 3, 2013, as requested.

On October 29, 2013, FERC approved revisions to the California Independent System Operator Corporation’s (“CAISO”) tariff to modify its generator bid cost recovery rules.  The revisions will allow for the inclusion of additional categories of costs in the bid cost recovery and related calculations.

Jeffrey Jakubiak, a partner in Troutman’s New York office, has authored an article in Fortnightly Spark regarding FERC enforcement risk.  The article, titled “Don’t Fear The FERC” includes four steps for companies engaging in energy trading to follow and discuss with counsel in order to help minimize the likelihood of an investigation and lower the risk of any adverse outcome in the event of an investigation.