Tag:FERC

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FERC Issues Landmark Order No. 2222 To Facilitate the Participation of Distributed Energy Resources in Wholesale Markets
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Senate ENR Committee Holds Hearing on FERC Commissioner Nominees
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Senate ENR Hearing Slated for FERC Nominees
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Trump nominates Clements, Christie to FERC
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FERC Updates PURPA Rules and Dismisses Petition to Declare Jurisdiction over Net-Metering Sales
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The Energizer – Volume 70
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FERC Commissioner McNamee Will Remain on Commission After Term Ends on June 30th
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FERC Announces Conferences on Carbon Pricing and Offshore Wind in RTOs/ISOs
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FERC Sets Technical Conference to Assess COVID-19 Impacts on Energy Industry
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FERC to Convene Technical Conference on Generation Resources Paired with Energy Storage

FERC Issues Landmark Order No. 2222 To Facilitate the Participation of Distributed Energy Resources in Wholesale Markets

Authors: Buck Endemann, Kimberly Frank, Elias Hinckley, and Patrick Metz

In a landmark order issued on September 17, 2020, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) adopted rules aimed at removing barriers to the participation of distributed energy resources (DERs) in the organized markets for electric energy, capacity, and ancillary services operated by Regional Transmission Organizations and Independent System Operators (RTOs).  Order No. 2222 builds on reforms previously undertaken by FERC and, once fully implemented, should be a major step toward opening up RTO markets to competition, facilitating new entry of resources, and fostering business model innovation.

Order No. 2222 envisions “aggregations,” which are groups of small DERs participating in the RTO markets as a single resource represented by their aggregators.  According to FERC, these aggregations will permit DERs to provide a variety of products and services that will compete with more conventional resources in the RTO markets.  FERC expects that this will, in turn, ensure that rates remain just and reasonable.

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Senate ENR Committee Holds Hearing on FERC Commissioner Nominees

Authors: Kimberly FrankSandra SafroDavid Wochner, and Patrick Metz

On September 16, 2020, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee held a hearing to consider the nominations of Mark Christie and Allison Clements to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).  Chairman Murkowski and Ranking Member Manchin focused their preliminary comments on the importance of ensuring that FERC has a full complement of five Commissioners and expressed interest in acting quickly to move through the confirmation process.  However, there was no indication of the specific timing of the Senate ENR and floor votes that would be required to confirm the nominees.  Several Senators praised both Christie and Clements, and no Senator expressed opposition to the nominees, though Clements received a few pointed questions from Senators Gardner and Lee about her time at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

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Senate ENR Hearing Slated for FERC Nominees

Authors: Kimberly Frank, Sandra Safro, David Wochner, and Patrick Metz

On September 9, 2020, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee announced that it would hold a hearing this Wednesday, September 16, 2020, to consider the nominations by President Trump of Allison Clements and Mark C. Christie to serve as FERC Commissioners.

The Senate ENR Committee hearing is an important first step toward the confirmation of Clements and Christie.  After holding its hearing, the Committee will hold a vote on whether to forward the nominees to the full Senate.  At that point, the Senate would need to consider their nominations and vote to confirm their appointments.  Each would then would need to be sworn in as Commissioners. 

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Trump nominates Clements, Christie to FERC

By Sandra E. Safro, David L. Wochner, Kimberly B. Frank, and Patrick T. Metz

Late yesterday, the White House announced that President Trump intended to nominate Mark C. Christie and Allison Clements to be FERC Commissioners. Christie would assume the seat currently occupied by Commissioner Bernard McNamee, whose term expired June 30, 2020, but who is continuing as commissioner until the earlier of when his replacement is confirmed and sworn in or the end of the current congressional session, as permitted by law. Clements would fill a seat left vacant in August 2019 with the departure of former Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur. If the Senate confirms Christie and Clements, FERC would have five Commissioners for the first time since LaFleur left the Commission in August 2019.

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FERC Updates PURPA Rules and Dismisses Petition to Declare Jurisdiction over Net-Metering Sales

By Kimberly Frank, Buck Endemann, Abraham Johns

On July 16, 2020, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or “the Commission”) issued two noteworthy electric power orders: the first is a final rule (“Order No. 872”) that updates regulations implementing the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (“PURPA”);[1] the second dismisses the New England Ratepayer Association’s (“NERA”) petition for a declaratory order on FERC’s jurisdiction over net energy metering sales.[2] 

Final Rule on PURPA Update

In September 2019, FERC issued of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NOPR”) to significantly change how it implements PURPA, a law that applies to small power producers.[3]  In Order No. 872, FERC largely adopted the NOPR’s proposed revisions to the Commission’s regulations implementing PURPA sections 201 and 210.  Notable changes to the PURPA regulations include: (1)  providing additional flexibility to set “avoided cost” rates for qualifying facilities (“QFs”) sales; (2) modifying the “one-mile rule” to allow for consideration that affiliated QFs more than one mile but less than ten miles apart may be at the same site ; (3) revising procedures to  challenge  initial QF certification and re-certification; (4) revising the threshold from 20 megawatts (“MW”) to 5 MW at which a utility may petition to terminate its obligation to purchase from certain QFs; and (5) requiring states to develop criteria that must be met for a QF to be entitled to a contract or legally enforceable obligation (“LEO”).   

Changes included in Order No. 872 will be effective 120 days from publication in the Federal Register.  When effective, Order No. 872 will not affect existing contracts, LEOs, or existing certifications for facilities, but will be prospective, applying to new contracts or LEOs, and certifications or recertifications for facilities filed after the order’s effective date.

Dismissal of NERA Petition for Declaratory Order

On April 14, 2020, NERA filed a petition for declaratory order, seeking FERC’s declaration that FERC holds exclusive jurisdiction over wholesale energy sales from behind-the-meter generation[4] and requiring that the rates for such sales be priced pursuant to the Federal Power Act (“FPA”) or PURPA, when applicable.  Specifically, NERA asked FERC to declare jurisdiction over energy sales of rooftop solar and other distributed energy resources on the customer side whenever the output exceeds the customer’s demand, or the energy is meant to bypass customer load.  NERA characterized “full net metering,” as “a practice through which an electricity consumer produces electric energy from a generation source (most often solar panels) that is located on the same side of the retail meter as the customer’s load.”[5]  Historically, the Commission sees such transactions as retail in nature and regulated by the states.  NERA argued, however, that the energy exceeding customer demand or bypassing customer load is sold to a utility for resale to customers, making them wholesale sales, and therefore, subject to FERC’s jurisdiction.[6] 

The Commission began its analysis with a reminder: “Declaratory orders to terminate a controversy or remove uncertainty are discretionary.”[7]  The Commission then used its discretion not to address the issues presented, as they did not “warrant a generic statement” from FERC.[8]  The Commission found that NERA never identified “a specific controversy or harm” to be addressed.[9]  Further, the Commission found that to the extent NERA is concerned that certain New England state regulatory authorities are not pricing QF sales in accordance with PURPA, the petition did not meet PURPA’s requirements for enforcement. 


[1] Qualifying Facility Rates and Requirements Implementation Issues Under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, 172 FERC ¶ 61,041 (2020).

[2] New England Ratepayers Ass’n, 172 FERC ¶ 61,042 (2020) (“NERA Order”).

[3] Qualifying Facility Rates and Requirements Implementation Issues Under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, 168 FERC ¶ 61,184 (2019) (“NOPR”).

[4] Behind-the-meter generation refers to energy generated from the customer side of the retail meter.

[5] NERA Order at P 3.

[6] NERA Order at P 4.

[7] NERA Order at P 35.

[8] NERA Order at P 35.

[9] NERA Order at P 36-37.

The Energizer – Volume 70

By: Buck B. EndemannDaniel S. CohenMolly K. BarkerOlivia B. MoraAbraham F. JohnsNatalie J. ReidMatthew P. Clark

A biweekly update on clean technology applications, distributed energy resources, and other innovative technologies in the renewable energy and clean transport sector.

There is a lot of buzz around cleantech, distributed energy resources (“DERs”), microgrids, and other technological innovations in the renewable energy and clean transport industries. As these innovations develop, energy markets will undergo substantial changes to which consumer and industry participants alike will need to adapt and leverage. Every other week, K&L Gates’ The Energizer will highlight emerging issues or stories relating to the use of DERs, energy storage, emerging technologies, hydrogen, and other innovations driving the energy and clean transportation industries forward.

IN THIS ISSUE:

  • British Government Announces New Investments in Small Nuclear Reactor Projects
  • States Pledge to Reduce Emissions from Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles
  • Portland General Electric Company Launches Pilot Virtual Power Plant Program
  • Federal Appeals Court Upholds FERC Order to Open Wholesale Market to Storage
  • Power Ledger Releases RENeW Nexus Report Discussing its Residential Energy Trading Pilot in Western Australia

FERC Commissioner McNamee Will Remain on Commission After Term Ends on June 30th

By: Jennifer B. Abbey and Sandra E. Safro

You may recall that at the beginning of this year, FERC Commissioner McNamee announced that he would not seek another term as a commissioner when his term ended on June 30, 2020.  At today’s FERC Open Meeting, Commissioner McNamee announced that he will continue to serve for the foreseeable future.  This is permitted by statute pursuant to which a Commissioner may stay past the end of his or her term until the appointment, confirmation, and swearing in of his or her successor, but no later than the end of the session of the Congress in which his or her term expires.  As a result, Commissioner McNamee may stay until the current congressional session ends at the end of 2020 or early 2021. 

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FERC Announces Conferences on Carbon Pricing and Offshore Wind in RTOs/ISOs

By: William Keyser, David Hattery, Buck Endemann, and Abraham Johns

On June 18, 2020, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) announced that it will hold two separate technical conferences later this year.  First, FERC will hold a Commissioner-led technical conference on September 30, 2020 to discuss issues related to carbon dioxide emission pricing (i.e., “carbon pricing”) as adopted by states in FERC-jurisdictional wholesale electricity markets (“Carbon Pricing in Organized Wholesale Electricity Markets”).  Second, FERC staff will hold a technical conference on October 27, 2020 to discuss whether existing frameworks for transmission, interconnection, and merchant transmission facilities can incorporate the growing offshore wind generation efficiently and effectively (“Offshore Wind Integration in RTOs/ISOs”).

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FERC Sets Technical Conference to Assess COVID-19 Impacts on Energy Industry

By: William Keyser, Sandra Safro, Patrick Metz and Abraham Johns

On May 20, 2020, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or the “Commission”) announced that it will hold a technical conference to discuss the impact on the energy industry of emergency conditions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.  The conference will take place July 8-9, 2020 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Preregistration for the conference is available at: http://www.ferc.gov/whats-new/registration/07-07-20-form.asp.  FERC will issue a supplemental notice that includes the conference agenda in a proceeding opened in Docket No. AD20-17-000.

The Commission plans to use the conference to assess the ongoing impacts that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on parts of the U.S. energy industry.  While the Commission already enacted short-term regulatory relief actions for regulated entities, the conference will explore long-term options for safeguarding the nation’s energy markets, electric transmission system, natural gas and oil transportation, and future operation of energy infrastructure. 

In addition, FERC intends for the event to serve as a public forum for the Commission and stakeholders to address the recovery of the industry from the COVID-19 pandemic.  The event will afford the public an opportunity to receive high-level information about how COVID-19 may change the energy industry moving forward. 

Among the topics the Commission plans to cover in panels and discussions are: (1) ongoing and future operational and planning challenges due to COVID-19; (2) operations, planning, and infrastructure development impacts anticipated due to the effect of COVID-19 on electric demand; (3) operations, planning, and infrastructure development impacts anticipated due to the effect of COVID-19 on natural gas and oil demand; and (4) anticipated issues related to access to capital, such as credit, liquidity, and return on equity.

Further information about the event will be posted on the Calendar of Events webpage for the event.  K&L Gates will continue to monitor for updates from the Commission about the conference.

FERC to Convene Technical Conference on Generation Resources Paired with Energy Storage

By William H. Holmes, William M. Keyser, Michael L. O’Neill

On April 7, 2020, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) announced that its staff will host a technical conference in July 2020 to discuss so-called “hybrid resources.”  In its notice, FERC explained that it is using the term “hybrid resources” to refer to projects that are comprised of more than one resource type at the same plant location.  For this summer’s technical conversation, FERC states that it will focus on scenarios where a “generation resource and an electric storage resource [are] paired together as a hybrid resource.”

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