On June 20, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (“D.C. Circuit” or “the court”) rejected petitions for review challenging FERC’s approval of capacity market rules set by the PJM Interconnection, LLC (“PJM”) in 2014.  The D.C. Circuit held that FERC’s approval of the rules was adequately explained and within its statutory authority under the Federal Power Act.  In particular, the D.C. Circuit rejected assertions from various environmental, clean energy, and public utility petitioners that the new capacity market rules unduly discriminated against variable energy resources like solar and wind power. Continue reading →

On June 8, 2017, the California Independent System Operator (“CAISO”) released the draft final proposal of Phase 2 of its energy storage and distributed energy resources (“ESDER”) initiative.  The aim of the proposal is to lower the barrier to entry and market participation for various transmission grid-connected energy storage and distribution-connected resources. “Integrating these resources,” the proposal states, “will help lower carbon emissions and add operational flexibility.” Continue reading →

On June 5, 2017, Advanced Energy Economy (“Advanced”), a national trade association representing organizations within the energy efficiency, demand response, and other advanced energy industry sectors, filed a petition for a declaratory order with FERC.  Among other things, the petition requests that FERC assert exclusive jurisdiction over how Energy Efficiency Resources (“EERs”) can participate in markets operated by Regional Transmission Organizations and Independent System Operators (“RTOs/ISOs”).  In particular, Advanced highlights a recent proposal from PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (“PJM”) to initiate a stakeholder process to ultimately grant state regulators the authority to bar, restrict, or otherwise condition EER participation in PJM’s capacity market.  The petition, filed while FERC still lacks a quorum to take action, came just days before the Kentucky Public Service Commission (“KYPSC”) issued an order restricting participation of EERs in PJM wholesale markets. Continue reading →

On May 19, 2017, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (“D.C. Circuit”) issued a decision in which it held in part that FERC erred by determining that it lacked authority under the Federal Power Act (“FPA”) to order a non-jurisdictional entity to repay refunds that it should not have received.  The D.C. Circuit made clear that although the FPA prohibits FERC from ordering a non-jurisdictional entity to provide a refund to another entity, FPA Section 309 vests FERC with broad remedial authority, including authority to grant recoupment when it is justified and FERC otherwise has jurisdiction over the disputed funds. Continue reading →