On January 21, 2010, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or the “Commission”) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NOPR”) to allow for credit reforms in the organized wholesale electric markets.  Previously, most wholesale electric markets developed credit practices on a case-by-case basis, depending on individual needs.  Due to the current financial situation, some groups have become concerned that these varying credit practices would not be sufficient to protect the markets, and subsequently the consumers, from the high costs associated with credit risks and credit defaults. [Read more →]

On January 21, 2010, FERC issued a Notice of Inquiry (“NOI”) to look at whether or not to expand its Electric Quarterly Report (“EQR”) filing requirements to those entities excluded from FERC jurisdiction under section 205 of the Federal Power Act (“FPA”).  The NOI will aid FERC in deciding if changes should be made to section 220 of the FPA, as adopted in the Energy Policy Act of 2005(“EPAct 2005”). [Read more →]

On January 18, 2010, the Supreme Court of the United States (“Supreme Court”) denied a request for certiorari by Edison Electric Institute (“EEI”) of a United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (“Court of Appeals”) decision which limited the backstop authority of FERC to instances where a state commission withheld approval of certain interstate electric transmission projects for more than 1 year after the filing of an application for a permit (see the February 20, 2009 edition of the WER). [Read more →]

On January 13, 2010, T. Boone Pickens announced that his company, Mesa Power LP, will not build the planned 4,000 MW Pampa Wind Farm in the Texas Panhandle.  Pickens said he will cut his $2 billion order for wind turbines from General Electric Company (“GE”) in half, and plans to use these remaining turbines in Canada and Minnesota wind farms. [Read more →]

On January 6, 2010, the FERC approved a request from American Electric Power Services Corporation (“AEP Services”), the wholly owned subsidiary of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (“AEP”), to transfer transmission assets to Electric Transmission Texas, LLC (“Electric Transmission Texas”) under section 203 of the Federal Power Act (“FPA”).  [Read more →]