On October 30, 2020, FERC announced that the FERC Chairman will convene a roundtable discussion on December 3, 2020 regarding the increased deployment of electric vehicles (“EVs”) and EV charging infrastructure nationwide and their impact on the FERC-jurisdictional transmission system and wholesale electric markets.  Separately, on November 4, 2020, FERC announced that FERC staff will convene a technical conference on February 25 and 26, 2021 to discuss principles and best practices for credit risk management in organized wholesale electric markets.

On December 3, 2020, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. (EST), FERC’s Chairman will host a virtual roundtable discussion, via WebEx and FERC’s website, about the increased deployment of EVs and EV charging infrastructure nationwide. The technical conference will also evaluate EVs’ impact on the FERC-jurisdictional transmission system and wholesale electricity markets.  According to the notice of the roundtable, the purpose of the discussion is to start a dialogue about the state of EV Deployment and identify questions both FERC and the energy industry will need to address as EV deployment increases.  The event is free and open to the public.  Before December 3, 2020, FERC will issue a supplemental notice providing additional information about the event.  The roundtable will not be transcribed.

FERC is also hosting a technical conference on February 25 and 26, 2021, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (EST) to discuss the principles and best practices for credit risk management in organized wholesale electric markets.  This conference comes on the heels of several regional transmission organizations and independent system operators amending their credit policies (see, for example, June 11, 2020 edition of the WER). Potential discussion topics include the best practices and principles underlying capitalization requirements, financial security requirements, and unsecured credit allowances; and the relationship between credit policy and wholesale electric market design.  Commissioners may participate in the technical conference, and the event is free and open to the public.  The technical conference will either occur at FERC’s headquarters or exclusively via teleconference and broadcast on the website.  FERC will issue a supplemental notice, prior to the event, and will post additional announcements on FERC’s website regarding the agenda and conference structure. Anyone interested in serving as a panelist for the technical conference should self-nominate through FERC’s Webex registration form by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, December 11, 2020.

Click here to read about the Technical Conference on EVs.

Click here to read about the Technical Conference on Credit Risk Management in Wholesale Markets.