The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a notice on May 20 that it will convene a Commissioner-led technical conference to consider the ongoing, serious impacts that the emergency conditions caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic are having on the energy industry. The conference will be free, open to the public, and held remotely on Wednesday and Thursday, July 8-9, 2020. Attendees may preregister online here.
In mid-March the Commission began issuing guidance to address the immediate needs of FERC-jurisdictional entities, including various waivers and extensions necessary to assist energy companies with managing their regulatory responsibilities while dealing with the pandemic. The conference will be more forward-looking, and is expected to focus on the potential longer-term impacts from the pandemic on energy companies, energy markets, energy system reliability, and consumer protection.
Although an agenda for the conference has not yet been issued, the conference is expected to consist of panels discussing issues including:
- Operational and planning challenges
- Effects on operations, planning and development from electric, oil, and gas demand changes
- Effects on access to capital, credit, liquidity, and return on equity
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