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On April 13, 2010, FERC found that PJM Interconnection L.L.C.’s (“PJM”) open access transmission tariff (“OATT”) does not preclude PJM from designating Primary Power to build projects as part of PJM’s regional transmission expansion plan (“RTEP”).  FERC’s decision will allow Primary Power, a merchant transmission company, to build their Grid Plus transmission project (“Grid Plus”) and recover the cost of the project through cost-based rates so long as the project is accepted into the RTEP. 

In an effort to ease the growing uproar regarding the issuance of its March 18, 2010 Policy Statement on Penalty Guidelines (“Policy Statement”), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or the “Commission”) on April 15, 2010, announced that it will suspend the application of its Policy Statement and give interested entities a broader opportunity to comment before issuing a final order and putting the guidelines into effect.

On April 15, 2010, FERC issued an Order on Clarification denying a request that the Commission interpret its market-based rate affiliate restrictions to permit sharing of employees who are neither transmission function employees nor marketing function employees.  FERC also issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NOPR”) proposing a revision to the market-based rate affiliate restrictions to reflect the clarification provided in its Order on Clarification.

On March 26, 2010, the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (“WECC”) Board of Directors approved their strategic plan for 2010-2012.  The plan announced four strategies and seventeen corresponding action priorities WECC will use to achieve their objectives in the upcoming years.

On March 24, 2010, the House Energy and Environment Subcommittee unanimously voted to forward the Grid Reliability and Infrastructure Defense (“GRID”) Act to full committee without any amendments.  The bipartisan bill would amend the Federal Power Act to give the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or the “Commission”) authority to issue emergency orders for utilities to take protective action when the president declares a grid security “threat.”

On March 25, 2010, Central Transmission, LLC (“Central Transmission”) filed a complaint with FERC against PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (“PJM”).  Central Transmission claims that PJM’s tariff is unjust, unreasonable and unduly discriminatory because it does not provide the same regulated, rate-based recovery provisions to new transmission developers as it does to incumbent Transmission Owners.   

On March 18, 2010, FERC found New York State Electric and Gas Corp. (“NYSEG) and Rochester Gas and Electric Corp. (“RG&E”) must continue to buy excess output from a cogeneration facility owned and operated by Cornell University (“Cornell”).  As such, FERC’s ruling marked the first time that FERC has determined that a large qualifying facility (“QF”) does not have nondiscriminatory access to markets, in the wake of legislative changes included in the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

On March 23, 2010, the House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment held a hearing entitled “Oversight of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission” to examine how the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or the “Commission”) is implementing its statutory duties and authorities.  The four current FERC commissioners testified at the hearing and then responded to questions from subcommittee members, including questions about transmission planning and cost allocation.

On March 18, 2010, FERC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NOPR”) proposing to improve competiveness in organized wholesale energy markets by compensating demand response resources (“DRRs”) based upon the Locational Marginal Price (“LMP”) in the appropriate Regional Transmission Organization (“RTO”) or Independent System Operator (“ISO”).