Speaking Energy
As the energy industry continues to grow and change with new technologies, markets and resources, the Speaking Energy blog provides readers with key updates and insights.
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*Thank you to JaKell Larson, 2024 Akin Summer Associate, for her valuable collaboration on this article.
Speaking Energy
Interstate oil, liquid and refined products pipelines regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will soon be able to raise their transportation rates (provided they were set using FERC’s popular Index rate methodology) in the wake of a significant new decision by the District of Columbia Circuit (the D.C. Circuit) in Liquid Energy Pipeline Association v. FERC (LEPA).
Speaking Energy
On Wednesday, July 24, 2024, the U.S. House of Representative Committee on Energy and Commerce held a Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security hearing to review the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request. Members of the Subcommittee had the opportunity to hear testimony from all five Commissioners, including FERC Chairman Willie Phillips and Commissioner Mark Christie, as well as the three recently confirmed commissioners, David Rosner, Lindsay See and Judy Chang. In addition to their prepared remarks, the five commissioners answered questions on FERC’s mandate to provide affordable and reliable electricity and natural gas services nationwide, while also ensuring it fulfills its primary mission of maintaining just and reasonable rates.
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On July 9, 2024, the U.S. Court of the Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the Commission) erred in ordering refunds for certain bilateral spot market transactions in the Western Energy Coordinating Council (WECC) region that exceeded the $1,000/megawatt-hour (MWh) “soft” price cap for such sales.1 Finding FERC failed to conduct a “Mobile-Sierra public-interest analysis” before “altering” those contracts by ordering refunds, the court vacated FERC’s orders and remanded the case to FERC for further proceedings.2
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We are pleased to share a recording of Akin and ICF’s recently presented “Powering Progress: Decoding FERC Order No. 1920” webinar, along with the program materials.
Speaking Energy
Join projects & energy transition partner Ben Reiter at Infocast's Transmission & Interconnection Summit, where he will moderate the “Dealing with the Impacts of Increased Interconnection Request Requirements and Costs” panel.
Speaking Energy
We are pleased to share a recording of Akin’s recently presented “FERC Order No. 2023-A: What’s New and What’s Next?” webinar, along with the program materials.
Speaking Energy
On March 21, 2024, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the Commission) issued its Compensation for Reactive Power Within the Standard Power Factor Range Notice of Proposed Rulemaking,1 which proposes to prohibit generators from receiving compensation from transmission providers for providing reactive power within the standard power factor range or “deadband.” The NOPR, if adopted, would represent a departure from the Commission’s current policy that requires transmission providers to compensate generators for providing reactive power within the deadband if the transmission provider pays its own or affiliated generation for reactive power.2 The Commission’s proposal to eliminate reactive power compensation comes at a time when numerous markets are facing imminent resource adequacy shortfalls as a result of the retirement of existing generation resources.3