FERC Order No. 2023 on Generator Interconnection Reforms Published in Federal Register, Setting Effective Date and Current Compliance Deadline

[co-athour: Angelica Gonzalez]

On September 6, 2023, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC or the “Commission”) Order No. 2023, “Improvements to Generator Interconnection Procedures and Agreements” (the “Final Rule”), was published in the Federal Register. The Final Rule had been issued by FERC on July 28, 2023, and requests for rehearing and clarification have already been filed with the agency by numerous transmission owners, generation developers, trade associations and regional transmission organizations (RTOs) and independent system operators affected by the Final Rule. Akin hosted a webinar on the Final Rule on August 3, 2023, providing analysis on the Final Rule’s requirements to (1) increase how quickly requests in the interconnection queue are processed, (2) replace the previous “first-come, first-served” process with a “first-ready, first-served” cluster study process and (3) incorporate technological advancements in generation and transmission into the interconnection process. The published version of the Final Rule establishes an effective date for Order No. 2023 of November 6, 2023.

Order No. 2023 requires transmission providers to submit compliance filings revising their tariffs to reflect the requirements of the Final Rule within 90 calendar days of publication in the Federal Register. Currently, the deadline for compliance filings is December 5, 2023. However, several RTOs have submitted a motion requesting that FERC extend the compliance deadline to 90 days after the Commission issues an order on rehearing.¹ It remains to be seen whether FERC will be willing to grant an extension. Regardless of the timing of the compliance filings, it is likely that these filings will attract significant protests and comments, so market participants and other electric industry stakeholders will want to keep close tabs on developments in the region(s) in which they operate or plan to do business.

^{1 Improvements to Generator Interconnection Procedures & Agreements, Motion to Extend the Compliance Deadline and Request for Expedited Action of the Joint RTOs, Docket No. RM22-14-000 (filed Aug. 28, 2023).}