On March 10, 2011, FERC Chairman Jon Wellinghoff sent letters to Senators Joe Lieberman (I–CT) and Susan Collins (R–ME), the chair and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and to Representatives Darrell Issa (R–CA) and Elijah Cummings (D–MD), the chairman and ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, detailing the actions taken by FERC in response to cybersecurity concerns and challenges to the smart grid system. 

On March 17, 2011, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or the “Commission”) denied rehearing of a November 2010 order and affirmed that the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (“NERC”) is directed to revise the Bulk Electric System (“BES”) definition (see March 19, 2010 edition of the WER). 

On March 15, 2011, the Commission issued Order No. 745, “Demand Response Compensation in Organized Wholesale Energy Markets” (“Order No. 745” or the “Final Rule”).  Order No. 745 required that organized wholesale energy markets administered by a Regional Transmission Organization (“RTO”) or Independent System Operator (“ISO”) compensate demand response resources at the market price for energy, or locational marginal price (“LMP”), if the demand resource is able to displace a generation resource in an RTO/ISO effort to balance supply and demand and when proscribed by a new “net benefits test.”

On March 14, 2010, Chairman Wellinghoff responded to a February 2011 letter from senators Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Richard Burr (R-N.C.) (collectively the “senators”) who expressed concern that the forthcoming Final Rule stemming from the rulemaking on Transmission Planning and Cost Allocation (see June 18, 2010 edition of the WER) will make customers who receive little or no benefit from a transmission project pay for a majority of the project. 

On February 28, 2011, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or the “Commission”) conditionally accepted in part updates to the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc.’s (“Midwest ISO”) Open Access Transmission, Energy, and Operating Reserve Markets Tariff (“tariff”) that created a new category of resources named Dispatchable Intermittent Resources.  This new category will allow wind to be treated like other power resources and participate in the region’s real-time energy market.

On March 4, 2011, FERC rejected two new Service Schedules proposed by the Western System Power Pool (“WSPP”) for incorporation into the WSPP Agreement.

On March 2, 2011, PPL EnergyPlus, LLC (“PPL EnergyPlus”) filed a complaint at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or the “Commission”) alleging that PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (“PJM”) failed to conduct its annual financial transmission rights (“FTR”) auctions and auction revenue rights (“ARR”) allocations according to the PJM Open Access Transmission Tariff (“OATT”).