On March 21, 2024, FERC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) to revise its reactive power compensation rules to limit compensation to interconnection customers to times when the transmission provider asks the interconnection customer to operate its facility outside the standard power factor range established in the interconnection agreement.
On March 21, 2024, FERC issued a follow up rehearing order to its landmark Order No. 2023 generator interconnection reform rule, providing several clarifications and tweaks in response to industry comments.
The future of the green hydrogen industry in the United States will become a bit clearer in the coming weeks. Comments on the proposed hydrogen tax credits in 26 USC 45V were due by February 26, 2024, and will be discussed at a public hearing scheduled for March 25, 2024. This hearing will provide the public a clearer prediction of 45V’s final form.
On December 22, 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (DOT) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) meant to address several issues associated with the Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit (PTC) established via Section 45V of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA). This article provides a brief overview of the proposed rules.
On Dec. 19, 2023, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) seeking comments on whether it should revise its policy on providing blanket authorizations under Section 203(a)(2) of the Federal Power Act (FPA) for holding companies and investment companies that seek to invest in public utilities. Blanket authorizations allow certain investment companies to buy and sell public utility securities without first obtaining FERC approvals. In the NOI proceeding, FERC is re-examining what factors it should consider when evaluating what it means to lack control over public utilities for companies who seek to invest in public utilities. While the NOI is directly aimed at “investment companies,” as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, FERC’s policy re-examination could have broader ramifications for other types of control analyses for FPA purposes.
The Texas Legislature, primarily responding to the unprecedented ERCOT system load shed event during 2021’s Winter Storm Uri, enacted far-reaching system and wholesale market reforms during its 2021 and 2023 legislative sessions. These reforms broadly seek to bolster electric system resilience and reliability while incentivizing, through wholesale market reforms and other out of market actions
As discussed previously in this blog, physical attacks against substations have been on the rise. However, the U.S. power grid[1] is also vulnerable to cyberattacks from U.S. adversaries, which includes hostile foreign governments, as well as individual bad actors such as insiders and criminals. Although there have been more physical attacks than cyberattacks
Earlier this summer, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) introduced a groundbreaking order—Order No. 2023—aimed at reforming the generator interconnection process in response to the evolving landscape of energy resources, market dynamics, and emerging technologies across the nation.
Industry reaction to the substance of the new rules has been mixed, but it is
In a forty-page opinion issued by Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht, the Texas Supreme Court held that the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (“ERCOT”) has sovereign immunity regarding allegations of overpricing during Winter Storm Uri and related fraud claims, even though ERCOT is a private corporation. The Court was split 5-4 in its decision with Justices Boyd and Devine writing in dissent, joined by Justices Lehrmann and Busby.
On February 16, 2023, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) issued an order approving two extreme cold weather reliability standards: EOP-011-3 (Emergency Operations) and EOP-012-1 (Extreme Cold Weather Preparedness and Operations) proposed by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (“NERC”), subject to modification.[1] The approved Reliability Standards help to maintain reliable operation of the Bulk Power System by ensuring that enough generating units will be available during a cold weather event. According to FERC, the proposed Reliability Standards EOP-011-3 and EOP-012-1 are improvements to the existing Reliability Standards, but NERC must address additional concerns such as ambiguity, applicability, and compliance timelines. NERC is directed to submit modifications within twelve months.