The NRC’s Office of Investigations (OI) recently published its Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2024, summarizing its activities from October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2024. According to the annual report, OI opened 82 new...more
On January 20, US President Trump issued an executive order, “Putting America First in International Environmental Agreements,” withdrawing the United States from the Paris Agreement and other climate-related financial...more
The US Department of Energy’s failure to transport and store spent nuclear fuel (SNF) pursuant to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act has required the government to reimburse the industry for substantial storage costs, and future...more
Earlier this year, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the Commission) issued Order 1977 to address its limited backstop siting authority for electric transmission lines. On October 17, 2024, FERC issued Order...more
The demand for energy is anticipated to rise significantly due to the increased deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, which are highly energy intensive. As we discussed in a recent thought leadership piece,...more
Morgan Lewis routinely assists licensees in connection with NRC allegations, investigations, and enforcement. The following are summaries of trends and findings in the NRC’s 2023 Allegation Program Annual Trends Report and...more
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued a proposed rule to amend the licensing, inspection, special project, and annual fees charged to applicants and licensees. The proposed amendments are necessary under the...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit dismissed a class action lawsuit claiming a California utility was liable for blackouts that were allegedly caused by inadequate electric system maintenance....more
The DC Circuit has affirmed FERC’s application of the “cost causation” principle to prevent a public utility (the Utility) from allocating costs for facilities to customers that did not benefit from the facilities. The...more
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recently published its annual vendor newsletter, The Vendor Times, documenting findings of NRC vendor inspection staff and lessons learned related to the vendor inspection program....more
FERC recently issued an order approving revisions to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Rules of Procedures to modify the rules for developing mandatory reliability standards. These changes, reflected...more
In 2022, FERC began issuing directives aimed at ensuring that the reliability of the bulk-power system is protected from potential risks posed by the growing number of inverter-based resources (IBRs) connected to the electric...more
Over the course of 2023, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has started to develop a regulatory framework for fusion energy systems. Significantly, and as we previously reported, NRC decided to modify the existing...more
As we have previously reported, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing revised guidance for cybersecurity programs for nuclear power reactors for the first time in over a decade. Earlier this year, the NRC updated...more
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has set a course to create a regulatory framework for fusion energy systems that builds on NRC’s existing nuclear materials licensing process. As we have previously reported, NRC had...more
FERC has issued its final rule paving the way for incentive-based rate treatment for electric utilities that make certain voluntary cybersecurity investments. As we first noted in 2020 when describing the proposed rule, the...more
After 13 years, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued revised guidance for cybersecurity programs for nuclear power reactors. All nuclear power reactor owners must review the NRC’s latest guidance and confirm their...more
There are no unimportant North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) reliability standards, but from time to time, NERC and the Regional Entities (Regions) place greater emphasis on certain reliability standards in...more
FERC issued three orders focused on increasing regulations for inverter-based resources (IBRs) in fulfillment of one of its primary goals to protect the reliability of the bulk-power system. FERC ensures this reliability...more
FERC recently held a Staff-led technical conference to discuss whether, and if so, how, the Commission should require additional financial assurance mechanisms in the licenses and other authorizations it issues for...more
As an example of its renewed focus on dam safety, FERC recently issued an order assessing a $600,000 civil penalty to Ampersand Cranberry Lake Hydro LLC for a violation of Ampersand’s hydro license for the 500 kW Cranberry...more
On March 24, FERC granted a public utility’s petition for declaratory order regarding the treatment of a master license agreement for communications equipment under the public utility’s previously approved revenue sharing...more
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) filed its 2022 NERC Standards Report, Status and Timetable for Addressing Regulatory Directives summarizing the progress made and plans for addressing the reliability...more
As renewable energy grows in popularity, offshore power generation has been bolstered by recent federal and state initiatives that support the development and integration of offshore renewables to achieve emission reduction...more
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recently issued a final rule, Order No. 880, revising its hydropower project inspection and safety regulations. The updates revise part 12 of FERC’s regulations and conclude an...more