Legal & Regulatory

A final rule establishing national technology-based effluent limitations guidelines and standards to reduce discharges of pollutants from nuclear and fossil fuel power plants to U.S. waters won’t be issued until at least September 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has confirmed.  This April, the agency and environmental groups Defenders of Wildlife and the Sierra Club […]

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia last week upheld the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) primary National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for fine particulate matter (PM2.5), dispensing to the agency its third major legal victory on air pollution in a month. The EPA in December 2012 issued […]

On Friday, April 25, approximately two dozen intervenors filed comments regarding PacifiCorp’s proposed amendments to its Open Access Transmission Tariff (“OATT”) to permit its participation in the California Independent System Operator Corp.’s proposed Energy Imbalance Market (“EIM”). The CAISO EIM is the first proposed organized market structure across a multi-state footprint in the West, which […]

On May 1, President Obama announced his intention to nominate Cheryl A. LaFleur for a second term as commissioner at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). LaFleur was first nominated to serve as a member of FERC in 2010. She became the acting chairman in November 2013 following Jon Wellinghoff’s resignation. Her term is slated […]

Gas, wind, and solar are it for any new generation in North America for the next five to 10 years (with a few one-offs), speakers at this year’s Platts Global Power Markets conference agreed. The annual event for those involved in power project development, financing, and litigation was held in Las Vegas Apr. 7 to […]

Netherlands to Ban Financing of Coal Plants Abroad. The Netherlands on Mar. 24 joined an initiative of the U.S., the UK, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden to reach a global climate change agreement

Exelon Corp. and Pepco Holdings Inc. announced on April 30 that they have reached an agreement to combine the two companies. Assuming all approvals are received, Exelon will acquire Pepco in an all-cash deal valued at $6.83 billion, which represents a 24.7% premium to the volume-weighted average share price over the last 20 trading days […]

In a major ruling on Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) authority to regulate power plant emissions across state lines under the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR). The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit had struck down the CSAPR in 2012, finding that the EPA had exceeded its […]

Energy Future Holdings Corp. (EFH)—the Dallas-based holding company whose portfolio includes Luminant and TXU Energy—filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today. With support of key financial stakeholders, the company reached an agreement on a restructuring plan that it says will reduce debt, lower annual interest costs, allow access to additional capital, and create a sustainable […]

A federal court on April 15 upheld the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) February 2012-finalized Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), ruling in a 2–1 decision that the agency is not required to take costs into account when it promulgates rules that are “appropriate and necessary” to address hazards to public health. In the U.S. Court […]