FERC

Don't Fear the FERC

Market-manipulation violations can bring civil penalties and disgorgement losses. Energy traders can mitigate FERC enforcement risks with four straightforward (yet effective) steps.
Market-manipulation violations can bring civil penalties and disgorgement losses. Energy traders can mitigate FERC enforcement risks with four straightforward (yet effective) steps.

Sound and Fury

How NIPSCO feels leaned on.

Northern Indiana Public Service, the MISO member sandwiched between PJM’s Ohio territory and its noncontiguous Chicago outpost, feels particularly aggrieved by the failure of the MISO-PJM Joint Operating Agreement, approved by FERC in 2004, to facilitate cross-border grid projects to relieve constraints along the ragged and interlaced seam that separates the two regions.

Cross-Border Bargaining

Interregional grid planning under FERC Order 1000.

Territorial fights emerge in the interregional transmission plans proposed for compliance with FERC Order 1000.

Digest

ComEd selects GE for 4 million smart meters; Duquesne contracts Itron for 625,000 smart meters; Consumers Energy plans 700-MW combined-cycle plant; Phoenix Solar contracts for 39-MW PV plant; NRG starts operation at two 20-MW PV plants in California; Edison files suit against Mitsubishi for SONGS defects; FirstEnergy plans 2 GW of coal-plant shutdowns; FERC approves PacifiCorp tie-in with Cal ISO; PSEG commissions EV-charging facilities; plus announcements and contracts involving Toshiba, Direct Energy, Alstom, and others.

Walking the Fuzzy Bright Line

The legality of state ROFR laws under FERC Order 1000.

States have passed laws to bypass FERC Order 1000 and its reforms favoring private grid developers. Could those laws themselves fall under attack?

Reliability by the Barrel

New England turns to fuel oil for the coming winter.

Burning oil when gas supplies are tight increases costs for customers. Is it also discriminatory?

Digest

Williams completes Transco pipeline expansion and plans a new one; Hudson Transmission electrifies underwater line between New Jersey and Manhattan; Northern Power wind turbines installed at Hawaii microgrid project; GE boosts efficiency of diesels powering remote Alaskan cooperative; Siemens installs supercapacitor on Oregon rail line; plus contracts and announcements from Bonneville Power Administration, Primus Power, Ameren, ComEd, Silver Spring Networks, Toshiba, Babcock & Wilcox, and others.

Bargain or Bonanza

Is discounted cash flow (DCF) still a reliable tool for determining equity cost?

The time-honored discounted cash flow method for determining appropriate utility returns falls short when interest rates are low. Inadequate ROEs ultimately increase cost of capital and wipe away any temporary savings.

Toward a Self-healing Smart Grid

Advanced distribution management technology promises to revolutionize operations.

Building blocks of the self-healing grid are taking shape. End-to-end integration will enable the grid to achieve 21st-century resilience.