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On October 22, 2009, the Public Utility Commission of Texas (“PUCT” or “Texas Commission”) asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or the “Commission”) to dismiss an enforcement petition from six wind power developers, stating that the developers mischaracterized the PUCT’s decision not to allow the developers to sell output from their qualifying facilities (“QF”) at avoided cost rates. 

On October 15, 2009, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (the “Court”) dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Kivalina Alaska Native Village and others against a large number of energy companies, continuing the saga of whether energy companies can be sued under tort law for emitting greenhouse gases (“GHGs”). 

On September 9, 2009, the Maryland Public Service Commission (“PSC”) rejected an application by American Electric Power Co., Inc. (“AEP”) and Potomac Edison Co. d/b/a Allegheny Energy Inc. to build 20 miles of high-voltage transmission line in Frederick County, Maryland.

On July 6, 2009, CPV Maryland, LLC (“CPV”) filed a motion with the Maryland Public Service Commission (“Maryland PSC”) to order one or more utilities to negotiate long-term contracts for all the capacity and energy from CPV’s St. Charles Project. CPV has requested that the Maryland PSC issue an order within 60 days. The motion is likely to be challenged by several parties in Maryland’s competitive wholesale and retail market.

On April 21, 2009, Georgia Governor Sonny Purdue signed the Georgia Nuclear Energy Financing Act (“Act”). The Act provides that a Georgia utility shall recover its costs of financing associated with the construction of a nuclear generating facility during the construction period after the proposed plant’s certification by the Georgia Public Service Commission (“GPSC”).

On March 9, 2009, Texas Representative Jim Keffer (R) and Senator Wendy Davis (D) filed several bills that would drastically alter the electricity market in Texas. Both lawmakers say the bills aim to cut wholesale electricity prices, but the bills met instantaneous opposition from state power companies, specifically NRG Energy Inc. (“NRG”) and Energy Future Holding’s Luminant (“Luminant”).

On January 14, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (“TCEQ”) approved an order granting Waste Control Specialists, LLC (“WCS”) licenses to operate a new low-level radioactive waste (“LLRW”) disposal facility in West Texas. The Commissioners voted 2-0 to allow WCS to build the facility in Andrews County, near the New Mexico state line. A third commissioner abstained from the vote.

The Southwest Power Pool Inc. (“SPP”) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas Inc. (“ERCOT”) have each filed reports with the Public Utility Commission of Texas (“PUCT”) detailing the estimated costs and production cost savings of transferring Entergy Texas Inc. (“Entergy TX”) into each reliability region.