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On January 17, 2013, FERC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NOPR”) that would revise the pro forma Small Generator Interconnection Procedures (“SGIP”) and Small Generator Interconnection Agreement (“SGIA”). The proposed revisions aim to reduce the time and cost of interconnection requests from small generators, promote more efficient interconnection, and eliminate barriers for the development of renewable energy. FERC also added in the NOPR that the proposed revisions help address various market changes, including “the growth of small generator interconnection requests and the growth in solar photovoltaic (PV) installations, driven in part by state renewable energy goals and policies.”

On December 31, 2012, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (“NERC”) filed with FERC a new reliability standard, EOP-004-2, that would require certain entities to report any event that impacts or could impact the reliability of the power grid.  Among other requirements, the proposed standard would require responsible entities to establish both an operating plan and a timeframe for reporting the events.

On December 18, 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (“DC Circuit”) again addressed the question of whether, and to what degree, FERC has the authority to regulate charges to electric generators for the use of station power.  Denying a petition for review by a group of generators from California led by Calpine Corporation (“Calpine”), the DC Circuit held that FERC properly recognized that its lack of jurisdiction over retail sales prevented it from regulating the netting periods used by utilities to assess station power charges.

On December 20, 2012, FERC issued two orders related to the Bonneville Power Administration’s (“Bonneville”) transmission service curtailment practices under a protocol originally called the Environmental Redispatch and Negative Pricing Policies (“Environmental Redispatch Policies”).  FERC both: (1) reaffirmed its authority under Federal Power Act (“FPA”) Section 211A and its exercise of that authority in this case in order to remedy Bonneville’s unduly discriminatory practices against wind generation; and (2) directed Bonneville to significantly revise its proposed oversupply curtailment policies and cost allocation mechanisms in order to ensure comparability and eliminate undue discrimination.

On December 20, 2012, FERC issued Order No. 764-A, denying rehearing and affirming its Integration of Variable Energy Resources (“VER”) rule established in Order No. 764.  However, FERC did clarify various parts of its original VER rule and agreed to extend the rule’s compliance deadline from September 11, 2013, to November 12, 2013.  By extending the compliance deadline, FERC will allow transmission providers to implement their reforms outside of the summer peak season.

On December 10, 2012, FERC granted a complaint that alleged that the New York Independent System Operator, Inc. (“NYISO”) violated the Federal Power Act (“FPA”) and its Market Administration and Central Area Services Tariff (“Services Tariff”) by issuing a technical bulletin that excluded certain behind-the-meter generators from participating in the NYISO’s Special Case Resources (“SCR”) program.  FERC held that the technical bulletin, NYISO’s Service Tariff, and its Installed Capacity (“ICAP”) manual were ambiguous as to which generators are able to participate in the NYISO SCR program.

On December 10, 2012, FERC approved amendments to the California Independent System Operator Corporation (“CAISO”) tariff that are designed to improve overall market efficiency by allowing for the dissemination of certain market data to market participants  This release of information by CAISO is intended to enhance participation in CAISO’s energy, ancillary services, and congestion rights markets.

On December 7, 2012, FERC announced the details for its upcoming technical conference on information sharing and communications issues between natural gas and electricity industry entities.  The technical conference follows FERC’s November 15, 2012 order directing further conferences and reports to address common issues raised in regional conferences held on gas-electric coordination in August 2012 (see November 16, 2012 edition of the WER).

On November 29, 2012, U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson issued a memorandum order denying FERC’s request to compel production of certain portions of 25 email documents by J.P. Morgan Ventures Energy Corporation (“JP Morgan”).  In its petition before the court, FERC argued that JP Morgan was “overbroad” in claiming attorney-client privilege for this information.  Upon in camera review of the JP Morgan emails at issue, Magistrate Judge Robinson found that the redacted information was in fact “shielded” by attorney-client privilege.

On December 5, 2012, the Department of Energy (“DOE”) released the results of a long-awaited study that it commissioned regarding the macroeconomic impacts of liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) exports from the U.S.  Notably, the study, conducted by NERA Economic Consulting (“NERA”), concluded that “LNG exports have net economic benefits in spite of higher domestic natural gas prices.”  The study also determined that LNG exports from the U.S. would have a relatively small impact on domestic prices, and that LNG exports from the U.S. are “not likely to affect the overall level of employment in the U.S.”