Grid Technology

During the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) open meeting today, the commissioners unanimously approved, with no substantive discussion, a proposed order finding that the sale of Oncor Electric to NextEra Energy is not in the public interest.

On October 31, 2016, NextEra and Oncor had filed a Joint Report and Application with the PUCT seeking the regulatory approvals required for NextEra to acquire Oncor.  NextEra was hoping to acquire both the approximately 80% interest in Oncor indirectly held by Energy Future Holdings Corp. (EFH), which is currently in bankruptcy, and the 19.75% interest indirectly held by Texas Transmission Holdings Corporation.  In addition,

In a four-part series recently published in Law360, Husch Blackwell’s energy regulatory group analyzed the significant aspects of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) most recent installment of the Quadrennial Energy Review (QER). The first article focused on the QER’s discussion of the critical role that the nation’s electricity industry plays in supporting the country’s economy and national security.  The second installment examined the QER’s emphasis on grid security. The third focused on

On December 15, 2016,the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) proposed broad regulatory changes to enhance the interconnection processes first developed in 2003, prior to the proliferation of new generation resources and transmission investments. FERC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) that proposes to modify many aspects of the large generator interconnection process.  The full…

Husch Blackwell and the Texas Renewable Energies Industries Alliance have teamed up to produce a webinar series titled, On the Horizon, focused on the Texas solar industry.  The latest installment focused on solar leases and mineral right issues and is now available on-demand. The panelists discussed recommended provisions for solar leases including steps solar project developers can take to anticipate mineral estate operations and lessen the potential impact of right of access under the Texas’ Accommodation Doctrine.

Register here for the final two webinars of the year:

As discussed in our client alert, the Supreme Court of Texas issued an opinion on May 27, 2016, extending the accommodation doctrine to groundwater owners. The City of Lubbock (the City) filed a Motion for Rehearing on August 2, 2016 requesting clarification of certain language in the opinion. Specifically, the City argues that as written, the opinion would allow the limitations of the accommodation doctrine to govern a groundwater lessee’s rights to the surface to extract groundwater, in spite of the express rights granted by the deed between the parties, on the grounds that:

Missouri Public Service Commission (Commission) Rule 4 CSR 240-4.020(2) provides that any “regulated entity” that intends to file a case likely to be a contested case must file a notice with the Commission a minimum of sixty days prior to filing such case. Until the Commission’s rejection of Grain Belt Express’ application for a certificate of convenience and public necessity (CCN) for its proposed Clean Line project, it was arguably unclear which applicants were “regulated entities” subject to the notice requirement.