Read our filings at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
Electricity Law Initiative FERC FILINGS
The Electricity Law Initiative regularly submits comments in FERC proceedings.
Comment on the Federal-State Joint Task Force. Requests that FERC consider discussing regional governance at the next meeting of the FERC-States Joint Task Force on Transmission (Jan. 2024)
Post-Technical Conference Comments on FERC Oversight of Transmission Rates. Urges FERC to expand utility disclosures in planning processes and rate proceedings and develop a new approach to reviewing utility expenditures that enables transmission customers to viably challenge transmission rates. (March 2023)
Brief Supporting Clean Energy in the Southeast. Explains why FERC’s regulation of interstate transmission service is necessary to counteract utilities’ market power, highlights the key principles underlying FERC’s Open Access transmission rules, and outlines how FERC’s approval of the Southeast Energy Exchange Market (SEEM) violates Open Access principles. (Sept. 2022)
Comment on FERC’s Transmission Planning Proposed Rule. Argues that FERC’s proposal to end competitive transmission development processes and replace them with joint ventures between investor-owned utilities (IOU) will not benefit consumers and suggests three alternatives to FERC’s proposal. (Aug. 2022)
Comment on FERC’s inquiry into its Uniform System of Accounts. Argues that the Commission’s approach to utility trade association dues has not kept pace with the industry’s evolution. It should include utility expenditures aimed at influencing public opinion on utility regulation and adopt a broad understanding of utility efforts to influence public officials and the public (Feb. 2022).
Reply Comment on FERC’s Transmission ANOPR. Urges FERC not to abandon competitive transmission development and suggests that competition can help align transmission rates with reliability (Nov. 2021).
Initial Comment on FERC’s Transmission Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANOPR). Details FERC’s extensive authority to remedy utility conduct that is “unduly discriminatory,” shows that FERC’s proposed planning reforms fit within that authority, and outlines how FERC can review the prudency of certain utility transmission investments (Oct. 2021).
Comment on FERC’s Office of Public Participation. Explains that Congress designed an Office of Public Participation that is independent of the Commission, urges FERC to include monitoring of Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) in the Office’s portfolio, and suggests what RTO monitoring might entail (May 2021).
Comment of the Electricity Regulation Scholars. Opposes a petition asking FERC to assert jurisdiction over net metering with four arguments, including that excess energy flows from behind a retail meter are not “in interstate commerce” under the Federal Power Act (Jun. 2020).
Comment to FERC on PJM’s Capacity Market Proposals. Argues that generation procurement is a program of cooperative federalism and that PJM’s proposals to pay lower rates to some resources paid for their environmental benefits would disrupt the balance of state-federal authority (May 2018).
Comment to FERC on its Proposed Rule about DER Aggregation. Affirms that FERC has legal authority to require market operators to facilitate the participation of DER aggregators and suggests that the Commission articulate a jurisdictional line that allows states to regulate sales from individual DERs (Apr. 2017).