On January 19, 2021, the FERC announced that it is seeking public comment related to potential modifications to its methods for requiring financial assurance measures in hydroelectric licenses. These steps are meant to guarantee that licensees can satisfy license conditions and maintain their projects in a secure condition.
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On December 22, 2020, the FERC released its Assessment of Demand Response and Advanced Metering. Issuance of this annual report, now in its fifteenth year of publication, is required under section 1252(e)(3) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The details presented in the report were drawn from the latest publicly available data (2018 data for retail markets and 2019 data for wholesale markets) that is used to gauge demand response potential. The report also contains FERC staff findings using non-public data to assess demand response activity in California during the summer 2020 when the state experienced four out of its five hottest August days since 1985. Continue reading "FERC Publishes 2020 Assessment of Demand..." »

On December 17, 2020, the FERC established a new index level to calculate annual changes for interstate oil pipeline rate ceilings. This index level adjustment comes after the FERC concluded its fifth five-year review of the index under Order No. 561. In addition, the FERC reviewed comments responding to a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) issued June 18, 2020 and examined the page 700 data from FERC Form No. 6, Annual Report of Oil Pipeline Companies. The FERC has set this new index level of Producer Price Index for Finished Goods plus 0.78 percent (PPI-FG+0.78%) for the five-year period from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2026. Continue reading "FERC Releases New Five-Year Index Level for..." »

On December 17, 2020, the FERC acted on two proposals to revise its policy that guides price indices referenced in natural gas and electric tariffs. Natural gas price indices are weighted average prices derived from sets of fixed-price natural gas transactions within distinct geographical boundaries. Market participants voluntarily report these prices to a price index developer. In both the physical and financial energy markets, natural gas price indices are essential as they help price billions of dollars of natural gas and electricity transactions annually. Continue reading "FERC Proposes Changes to Price Indices Policy" »

The FERC released its 2020 Annual Report on Enforcement, the fourteenth such report, on November 19, 2020. Prepared by FERC’s Office of Enforcement (OE), the report provides information about the office’s activities over the last fiscal year, including activities performed by the office’s Divisions of Investigations (DOI), Audits and Accounting (DAA), and Analytics and Surveillance (DAS). The report also summarizes audits, litigation filings, and settlements which were approved by the FERC and are publicly available. Continue reading "FERC Presents the 2020 Annual Report on..." »

On November 19, 2020, the FERC affirmed Order No. 872, the final rule that amended regulations implementing sections 201 and 210 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA). This affirmation addresses major modifications that have been made to the nation’s energy markets. Continue reading "FERC Affirms and Clarifies PURPA Final Rule" »

XBRL US recently announced that it will host a free 60-minute webinar on Wednesday, October 28, 2020 at 3:00 PM EDT, to discuss whether regulators can build an efficient, cost-effective data standards program that establishes a long-term infrastructure while allowing for rapid responses to changing reporting needs. Continue reading "XBRL US to Present October 28 Webinar:..." »

On October 15th, FERC proposed a policy statement clarifying that it has authority over organized wholesale electric market rules that incorporate a state-determined carbon price in those markets. The proposed policy statement is also meant to encourage regional electric market operators to investigate and consider the benefits of instituting such rules.
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On October 2, FERC published recommendations to help users, owners, and operators of the bulk-power system improve their compliance with the mandatory Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) reliability standards as well as their overall cybersecurity stance. Staff from FERC’s Office of Electric Reliability and Office of Enforcement partnered with staff from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation and its regional entities to perform the audits. Continue reading "FERC Staff Publishes Report on Lessons Learned..." »

On October 1st, FERC released the schedule for its open meetings for calendar year 2021. The open meetings are freely accessible by the public consistent with the Government in the Sunshine Act, and the contents of the meeting are posted on FERC’s website. Continue reading "FERC Releases Commission Open Meeting Schedule..." »

In 2019, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) revised its electronic filing format to incorporate structured data in the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) format. As has been the case with other federal regulators, the move to adopt XBRL is being undertaken to modernize the reporting environment and increase efficiency in submitting and consuming data. Broad support across the industry also helped drive the action.
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On September 15th, FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee announced a new joint venture with Virginia Tech to co-host the next annual EnVision Forum. The two organizations hope the conference will provide an opportunity to explore the technology-driven concerns challenging the energy industry. Continue reading "FERC, Virginia Tech Introduce EnVision 2021..." »

On September 14th, 2020, staff from FERC and the North American Electricity Reliability Corporation (NERC) published a report on cyber planning for response and recovery entitled “Cyber Planning for Response and Recovery Study” (CYPRES), which emphasizes best practices for the electric utility industry. Continue reading "FERC and NERC Outline Cyber Incident Response..." »

On August 28th, FERC announced details for the upcoming Carbon Pricing in Organized Wholesale Electricity Markets Technical Conference, which is scheduled for Wednesday, September 30, 2020 from 9 am to 5:30 pm EDT. Registration is not necessary, and the public is invited to take part in this free event via live webcast. Continue reading "FERC Announces Details of September 30th Carbon..." »

On August 28, FERC extended deadlines for some forms through and including September 30th for entities and investment professionals affected by Hurricane Laura in the Gulf Coast region of the United States. In recognition of these emergency conditions, and following sections 385.101(e) and 385.2008 of FERC’s Rules of Practice and Procedure, 18 C.F.R. §§ 385.101(e) and 385.2008 (2019), FERC has determined that there is good cause to grant this extension of time.
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