On January 31, 2013, FERC addressed PJM Interconnection L.L.C.’s (“PJM”) proposed cost allocation methods for transmission system expansion and enhancements approved during development of Regional Transmission Expansion Plan. FERC deferred a decision on PJM’s proposed cost allocation methods until the Commission conducts a “comprehensive evaluation” of PJM’s related Order No. 1000 compliance proposal. Accordingly, FERC will address the merits of the cost allocation filing in the future order on PJM’s Order No. 1000 compliance.

On Thursday, January 31, 2013, FERC approved a contested settlement agreement regarding PJM Interconnection, L.L.C.’s (“PJM”) Cost of New Entry (“CONE”) values that are used in PJM’s Reliability Price Model (“RPM”).  Despite being contested by the Independent Market Monitor (“IMM”) and the Maryland Public Service Commission (“Maryland PSC”), FERC approved the settlement agreement, finding that “as a package, it presents an overall just and reasonable outcome for this proceeding.”

On January 29, 2013, FERC approved Southwest Power Pool, Inc.’s (“SPP”) proposal to modify the SPP through-and-out rate zonal rate to a region-wide rate equal to the average rate of all SPP zones.  Under its current methodology, SPP’s rate for point-to-point through-and-out transmission service is calculated using a combination of its Schedule 7 point-to-point rates and Schedule 11 zonal and regional rates.  The new methodology will remove the zonal component when calculating through-and-out transmission service within SPP and implement a single regional average rate for through-and-out service.

On Friday, February 1, 2013, FERC denied a complaint brought by Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc. (“Tri-State”) against the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (“WECC”) and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (“NERC”), alleging a conflict between the curtailment provisions of the pro forma Open Access Transmission Tariff (“OATT”) and the terms of a WECC Regional Reliability Standard (“IRO-006-WECC-1”).  FERC found that Tri-State had not demonstrated such a conflict, but denied the complaint without prejudice to Tri-State submitting a new or revised complaint alleging that an entity with a Commission-approved OATT has violated that OATT.

On January 29, 2013, FERC approved the California Independent System Operator Corporation’s (“CAISO”) tariff revisions that permit the CAISO to share confidential or commercially sensitive information with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) without notifying the affected market participant.   The change was intended to satisfy a requirement for exempting independent system operators (“ISOs”) and regional transmission operators (“RTOs”) from reporting “swap” transactions to the CFTC.

On January 17, 2013, FERC modified its policy regarding what a generation developer as owner of a transmission line must show before reserving capacity on that line for an affiliated generation developer.  Specifically, FERC will no longer require that a generation-developing affiliate of the line owner take an ownership interest in the line as a condition of obtaining priority access rights to the line’s capacity.   

On January 22, 2013, the Commission issued an Order Approving a Stipulation and Consent Agreement between the Office of Enforcement (“Enforcement”) and DB Energy Trading LLC (“Deutsche Bank”).  Enforcement concluded that Deutsche Bank violated the Commission’s Anti-Manipulation Rule at 18 CFR § 1c.2 and violated the Commission’s accuracy requirements at 18 CFR § 35.41 by: (1) trading in physical exports with the intent to benefit a second product, a Congestion Revenue Right (“CRR”) position; and (2) falsely designating physical trading as Wheeling-Through transactions, when these transactions did not meet the required criteria.

On Wednesday, January 23, 2013, FERC conditionally accepted ISO New England Inc.’s (“ISO-NE”) proposed revisions to its Information Policy, which allows ISO-NE to share confidential, generator-specific data with certain interstate natural gas pipeline operators.  Notably, FERC ordered that the Information Policy is only effective from January 24, 2013 through April 30, 2013.