On May 9, 2013, FERC issued a notice that it will hold a special Commission meeting on May 16, 2013 to hear presentations from representatives of Regional Transmission Organizations (“RTOs”) and Independent System Operators (“ISOs”) on natural gas and electric coordination.  The meeting follows a November 15, 2012 order requiring RTOs and ISOs to brief FERC on their experiences during the winter and spring seasons, share any advances made in increased coordination between the two industries, and voice any concerns that have emerged.

On May 7, 2013, FERC announced that it will hold a Commissioner-led Technical Conference on reliability on Tuesday, July 9, 2013 from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.  While the conference will discuss policy issues related to reliability of the Bulk-Power System, the Commission will issue a more formal agenda for the conference at a later date.

On April 29, 2013, FERC accepted PJM Interconnection, L.L.C.’s (“PJM”) proposed Open Access Transmission Tariff revisions aimed at incentivizing the participation of an efficient mix of demand resource (“DR”) products in the PJM capacity auction.  PJM’s tariff revisions set up an additional test to establish the Limited DR Reliability Target for certain types of DR capacity products.

On April 29, 2013, three U.S. Senators sent a letter to FERC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) urging greater cooperation between the two agencies.  Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) penned the open-letter requesting that FERC and the CFTC “execute more robust Memorandums of Understandings” (“MOUs”) to prevent market manipulation.

On April 23, 2013, FERC approved a Stipulation and Consent Agreement (“Settlement”) with Seneca Falls Power Corporation (“Seneca Falls”) for violations of its hydropower license.  In the Settlement, Seneca Falls agreed to pay a $150,000 civil penalty and invest $300,000 in project enhancements.

On April 19, 2013, FERC granted a complaint by Comverge, Inc., Viridity Energy, and Energy Curtailment Specialists (the “Demand Response Coalition”) alleging that PJM Interconnection L.L.C.’s (“PJM”) revisions to its Manual 18, PJM Capacity Market are unenforceable and violate section 205 of the Federal Power Act (“FPA”).

On April 23, 2013, FERC’s Director of Office of Energy Projects, Jeff C. Wright, testified before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources concerning draft legislation aimed at increasing hydropower production in the United States.  The draft legislation at issue included S. 545, “Hydropower Improvement Act of 2013” and H.R. 267, “Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act of 2013.”  In his testimony, Wright discussed FERC’s authority under the Federal Power Act (“FPA”) to issue licenses or exemptions for hydropower projects under its jurisdiction.  Wright further detailed FERC’s recent efforts to support small and “innovative” projects, including marine and hydrokinetic projects, and pumped storage projects.

On April 18, 2013, FERC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NOPR”) to approve the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, Inc.’s (“NERC”) Version 5 Critical Infrastructure Protection (“CIP”) Reliability Standards.  The proposed CIP standards include 10 new or modified standards that implement various cyber security measures and will expand the type of facilities that must adhere to the CIP requirements.  If approved, the new CIP standards will replace the Version 4 standards, which are scheduled to take effect in April 2014.