On February 18, 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or the “Commission”) issued two interconnected policy statements (the “Policy Statements”) regarding its review and certification of interstate natural...more
With 2022 underway, the Biden-Harris administration is continuing to implement its “whole-of-government” response to climate change. In 2021, the administration focused on building public-private partnerships on clean energy,...more
2/8/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
NHTSA ,
Oil & Gas ,
Proxy Season ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Beginning on February 13, 2021, something unprecedented happened in the state of Texas—a winter storm caused temperatures to dip well-below freezing. This event, dubbed the “Black Swan Winter Event,” caused Texas to...more
Part One -
As the 2020 election nears, the Democratic campaign has begun to talk policy specifics regarding energy and climate change. Although the Trump administration undertook to dismantle many Obama-era policies and...more
9/29/2020
/ Carbon Pricing ,
Clean Energy ,
Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) ,
Electricity ,
Energy Market ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Sector ,
Energy Storage ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FERC ,
Joe Biden ,
Political Campaigns ,
Political Candidates ,
Power Grid ,
Presidential Elections ,
PURPA ,
Renewable Energy ,
Supply Chain ,
Transmission Grid ,
Trump Administration ,
Wholesale
On August 5, 2020, members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee questioned witnesses from the power industry and the federal government about the readiness of the United States bulk-power system (BPS) for a...more
8/18/2020
/ Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Electricity ,
Energy Sector ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Adversaries ,
National Security ,
Natural Resources ,
Popular ,
Power Grid ,
Supply Chain ,
Trump Administration ,
Utilities Sector
On July 16, 2020, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the “Commission”) dismissed the petition for declaratory order (“Petition”) filed by the New England Ratepayers Association (NERA) asking FERC to assert...more
- On July 8, 2020, the Department of Energy (DOE) published a Request for Information (RFI) concerning Executive Order 13920, “Securing the United States Bulk-Power System” (the “E.O.”). The E.O. authorizes the DOE to block...more
7/13/2020
/ Comment Period ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Electricity ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Adversaries ,
Request For Information ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Supply Chain
On June 30, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (“D.C. Circuit”), sitting en banc, upended decades of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the “Commission”) practice. Allegheny...more
On April 14, 2020, the New England Ratepayers Association (NERA) filed a Petition for Declaratory Order (Petition) asking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the Commission) to reverse its policy on net...more
On September 27, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (Second Circuit) affirmed a district court’s finding that New York’s Zero Emissions Credit (ZEC) program is not preempted by federal law. The Second...more
10/23/2018
/ Appeals ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Dormant Commerce Clause ,
Electricity ,
Energy Market ,
Energy Sector ,
Federal Power Act ,
Interstate Commerce ,
Nuclear Power ,
Out-of-State Companies ,
Power Plants ,
Preemption ,
Standing ,
States Rights ,
Subsidies ,
Utilities Sector ,
Wholesale ,
Zero Emission Credits
In a surprisingly terse opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (Seventh Circuit) recently affirmed a district court’s finding that Illinois’ Zero Emissions Credit (ZEC) program is not preempted by federal...more
9/21/2018
/ Appeals ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Dormant Commerce Clause ,
Energy Sector ,
Federal Power Act ,
FERC ,
Nuclear Power ,
Preemption ,
Renewable Energy ,
States Rights ,
Utilities Sector ,
Wholesale ,
Zero Emission Credits
On May 17, 2018, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the “Commission”) granted in part and denied in part a request by Zeeland Farm Services, Inc. (“Zeeland”) for a waiver of FERC’s regulations requiring small...more
In September 2017, we reported on a Court of Appeals of North Carolina decision holding that entities installing solar panels on customer rooftops are “public utilities” under state law, at least if they retain ownership of...more
Nearly a year after summoning stakeholders to discuss whether—and if so, how—the wholesale power markets should accommodate state policy goals, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the “Commission”) has taken a...more
In an opinion issued January 8, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit found that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) had acted arbitrarily and capriciously when it determined that Pacific...more
In a decision issued last week, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted summary judgment in favor of Winding Creek Solar LLC (“Winding Creek”). Winding Creek had alleged that certain California...more
On November 13, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit held in Allco Renewable Energy Ltd. v. Mass. Elec. Co. that a Qualifying Facility (QF) does not have a private right of action against a utility company...more
On September 19, 2017, the Court of Appeals of North Carolina (“Court”) held that companies that install solar panels on customer rooftops are “public utilities” under state law, at least when they retain ownership of the...more
On August 23, 2017, the Department of Energy (DOE) released its Staff Report assessing the reliability and resilience of the electric grid. The highly anticipated report was commissioned in April 2017 by Secretary of Energy...more
9/7/2017
/ Coal ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Electricity ,
Energy Market ,
Energy Sector ,
FERC ,
Information Reports ,
Nuclear Power ,
Power Grid ,
Renewable Energy ,
Secretary of Energy ,
Wholesale
On May 1 and 2, 2017, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the “Commission”) held a technical conference to “discuss the interplay between state policy goals and the wholesale markets”1 operated by the three...more
On May 19, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued a decision in TNA Merchant Projects, Inc. v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the “Commission”),1 holding that FERC has the authority to...more
On March 13, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) introduced the Ratepayer Fairness Act (RFA). The RFA would amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) to require that state public utility regulatory authorities and...more
On December 15, 2016, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) proposing to revise its regulations to require that each Regional Transmission Organization or Independent...more
At its November 17, 2016 Open Meeting, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or “Commission”) proposed to amend its regulations to address and remove barriers to the participation of electric storage resources and...more
At its November Open Meeting, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the “Commission”) issued a Final Rule (Order No. 831) directing the Regional Transmission Organizations and Independent System Operators...more