FERC

“I’ve been warning that we’re heading for a reliability crisis. It’s a simple Econ 101 equation. Supply is going down with premature retirements of generation and not building enough. Then, we’re seeing exponential increase in demand.”

“Order 1920 in some ways may sound drastic in terms of the magnitude of change. But it provides an opportunity to evaluate transmission more creatively, more holistically.”

“FERC wants to have a better understanding of how those capacities will change based on more accurate ambient weather conditions. FERC increased the reporting requirement from two seasonal ratings to four seasonal ratings and added a ten-day ambient adjusted rating requirement based on forecasted hourly temperatures.”

“Perhaps the most critical issue on review will be whether the FCC properly reclassified Broadband Internet Access Service (BIAS) as a telecommunications service, because the FCC has much more limited authority to regulate information services.”

“Market-driven innovation must happen at the edge of the grid. A feat achieved by FERC Order No. 1920, which was unveiled in early May. The first objective of FERC Order No. 1920 is to improve the planning process by adding long-term term planning to existing processes.”

“There will be a huge amount of litigation from this by all participants in all ideologies, so there will be a lot of turbulence. Another reason this will impact most energy and utilities people, is the question, ‘Will this impact regulatory certainty for investors?‘ It’s a legitimate, unknown question.”

“What I’m focused on is making sure we bring everybody to the table, and we work together in a bipartisan manner. I believe that FERC is a bipartisan Commission for a reason. FERC is an independent agency for a reason. As a regulator, I guard that independence.”

A conversation with the FERC Commissioner about why putting state regulators front and center in transmission planning is so important.

“Pre-Order 1000, there was a fair amount of regional transmission development, and the most prominent examples are MISO MVPs, CapX2020, Balanced Portfolio in SPP. Those continue to provide massive benefits to customers. It makes a strong case for policymakers to say, ‘it’s time to go back to the federal right of first refusal.’”