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The “polar vortex” storm of January 2014 blew in big changes to PJM Interconnection’s operations. But these changes are now the subject of a lawsuit filed by environmental groups, alleging they discriminate against clean energy sources. The sub-zero temperatures froze coal piles and gearboxes. Natural gas plants, lacking firm contracts for fuel delivery, were unable […]

It’s axiomatic that state governments believe they can manage their own affairs better than the federal government. But our system reserves certain bailiwicks for federal oversight, and one of those is the

Throwing yet another twist into a long-running saga, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on April 27 blocked a pair of power purchase agreements (PPAs) that would have supported continued operation of FirstEnergy’s Davis-Besse nuclear plant and several aging coal-fired plants belonging to FirstEnergy and AEP. The Pubic Utilities Commission of Ohio approved the PPAs […]

In a unanimous ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision that a program Maryland initiated in 2012 to subsidize power plant construction impermissibly invaded the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC’s) authority over interstate power markets. The case, Hughes v. Talen Energy Marketing, grew out of a decision by the Maryland Public Service […]

On August 8, 2005, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) was signed into law. It remains, arguably, the last significant piece of energy legislation to be enacted in the U.S. The changes wrought by EPAct are far-reaching and controversial, and for the gas and electric industry, perhaps no change has been more significant than […]

Philip Moeller, a Bush-nominated commissioner at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and outspoken critic of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Clean Power Plan for its cost and reliability implications, will step down at the end of this month.  Moeller, a Republican, joined FERC in 2006, nominated by President George W. Bush. Obama re-nominated him […]

NextEra Energy’s $4.3 billion bid to buy Hawaiian Electric Industries faces big, perhaps insurmountable, obstacles before the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission, which opened the record on the deal last week. The commission published the public filings in the case, which were overwhelmingly negative. Hawaii’s governor, David Ige, panned the deal in a press conference on […]

When a large electromagnetic pulse (EMP) or geomagnetic disturbance (GMD) event occurs—which, according to Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), there is “100% certainty” will happen at some time in the future—as many as 9 out of 10 people in the U.S. could die. Johnson, chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, […]

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved a final rule to improve coordination of wholesale natural gas and electricity market scheduling in light of the nation’s increased reliance on natural gas generation.  FERC’s March 2014 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Order No. 809 proposed changes to nationwide gas scheduling practices, but it gave the […]

Cheryl A. LaFleur One of the most controversial issues facing the energy world today is how our electric sector will respond to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposed Clean Power Plan