Category Archives: FERC

CPES Policy Committee Update: November 1, 2016

This update features policy, regulatory, legislative, and regional developments in Connecticut and New England. The policy updates are compiled by a team recently formed with support from CPES, known as the New Energy Professionals. If you are interested in learning more about the New Energy Professionals, the Policy Committee, or if you have ideas for future policy updates, we would welcome your input and feedback. Please send comments to Paul Brady, CPES Executive Director, via email: pbrady@ctpower.org.

This week’s features:

  • New PURA Commissioner Named
  • DEEP Suspends Gas RFP
  • PURA Re-Opens Billing Docket for Business Customers
  • DEEP Selects Winning Bid for 2-20 MW Renewable Energy RFP
  • NE Clean Energy RFP Selects Proposals
  • ISO NE Discusses Winter Preparedness with FERC

 

REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS

Malloy Nominates Katie Dykes as PURA Commissioner

On October 27, 2016, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy nominated Katie Dykes, deputy commissioner of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, to serve as a commissioner of the state’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority. The press release is available by clicking here.

 

DEEP Suspends Gas RFP

On October 25, 2016, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (“DEEP”) issued a Notice of Cancellation for its Natural Gas Capacity, Liquefied Natural Gas, and Natural Gas Storage procurement issued pursuant to Public Act 15-107 Section (1)(D). The notice indicates that DEEP may conduct similar solicitations in the future. The Notice is available by clicking here.

 

DEEP Notifies 2-20MW Bidders

DEEP has provided notice that it has selected winning bidders for its 2-20 MW Renewable Energy RFP issued pursuant to Public Act 15-107.  Winning bidders have not been publicly announced, however, all bidders have been contacted regarding their proposals. The RFP selection team has selected projects that represent approximately 375 megawatts (MWs) of clean energy for the state. The notice of selection is available by clicking here.

 

PUBLIC UTILITIES REGULATORY AUTHORITY NEW DOCKETS:

On October 26, 2016, the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority reopened the following proceeding, which may be of interest to you: 

 

REGIONAL DEVELOPMENTS

New England Clean Energy RFP Selects Proposals

The Soliciting Parties from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island have completed their evaluation of proposed projects received in response to the three-state Clean Energy RFP. The three states collectively selected projects that represent approximately 460 megawatts (MWs) of clean energy for the New England market. Information regarding the winning bidders is available by clicking here.

 

ISO New England Discusses Winter Preparedness Efforts with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

On October 20, 2016, Peter Brandien, Vice President of Operations for ISO New England, participated in a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) panel discussion on winter preparedness in advance of the 2016-2017 winter season. Brandien discussed the ISO’s outlook on operations and market performance for the upcoming winter, highlighting the steps the ISO has taken to increase market efficiency and improve gas-electric coordination to address the challenges posed by the region’s constrained natural gas pipeline system. Brandien also discussed the winter reliability program in place to mitigate the reliability risks associated with inadequate fuel supplies during severe cold weather conditions.

A copy of the ISO’s remarks, filed with FERC, is available here.

 

LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS

CONNECTICUT LEGISLATION:

The 2016 Connecticut regular session ended on May 4, 2016.  The 2017 Connecticut regular session begins January 4, 2017.

Information about the Energy and Technology Committee, including committee meetings and public hearings, is available at: https://www.cga.ct.gov/et/.

 

MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATION:

The 2015-2016 Massachusetts formal session ended on July 31, 2016.  The 2017-2018 Massachusetts session begins January 4, 2017.

Information about the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy, including hearings and bills in committee, is available at: https://malegislature.gov/Committees/Joint/J37.

CPES Policy Committee Update: October 11, 2016

This update features policy, regulatory, legislative, and regional developments in Connecticut and New England. The policy updates are compiled by a team recently formed with support from CPES, known as the New Energy Professionals. If you are interested in learning more about the New Energy Professionals, the Policy Committee, or if you have ideas for future policy updates, we would welcome your input and feedback. Please send comments to Paul Brady, CPES Executive Director, via email: pbrady@ctpower.org.

This week’s features:

  • PURA Opens Docket on CT Gas Forecasting for 2017-2021
  • ISO Begins Winter Reliability Program
  • FERC Issues Notice of Inquiry (NOI) on Utility Transactions
  • Important Dates for CT and MA 2017 Legislative Sessions

 

REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS

PUBLIC UTILITIES REGULATORY AUTHORITY NEW DOCKETS:

On September 30, 2016, Connecticut Natural Gas and Southern Connecticut Gas Company each submitted a Biennial Forecast of Natural Gas Demand and Supply and, on October 3, 2016, Yankee Gas Services Company submitted a Biennial Forecast of Natural Gas Demand and Supply, which may be of interest to you:

  • Docket No. 16-10-06:  PURA Review of the Connecticut Gas Utilities Forecasts of Demand and Supply 2017-2021

 

REGIONAL DEVELOPMENTS

ISO New England Begins Preparations for the 2016/2017 Winter Season

This winter, ISO New England will administer another winter reliability program to mitigate the reliability risks associated with inadequate fuel supplies during cold weather conditions. The program will run from December 1, 2016 to February 28, 2017 and include an oil inventory component, an LNG component, and a demand response component. Requests to participate in the program were due to ISO New England by October 1, 2016. For more information, visit ISO New England’s Winter Reliability Solutions for 2015/2016 to 2017/2018 key project page: https://www.iso-ne.com/committees/key-projects/winter-reliability-solutions.

 

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION (“FERC”)

On September 22, 2016 FERC issued a Notice of Inquiry (“NOI”) on the issue of whether FERC should change its approach/involvement in public utility mergers, acquisitions and dispositions under the Federal Power Act (“FPA”).  The full text of the NOI can be found here: http://elibrary-backup.ferc.gov/IDMWS/common/OpenNat.asp?fileID=14360320

 

LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS

CONNECTICUT LEGISLATION:

The 2016 Connecticut regular session ended on May 4, 2016.  The 2017 Connecticut regular session begins January 4, 2017.

Information about the Energy and Technology Committee, including committee meetings and public hearings, is available at: https://www.cga.ct.gov/et/.

 

MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATION:

The 2015-2016 Massachusetts formal session ended on July 31, 2016.  The 2017-2018 Massachusetts session begins January 4, 2017.

Information about the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy, including hearings and bills in committee, is available at: https://malegislature.gov/Committees/Joint/J37.

CPES Policy Committee Update: September 6, 2016

This update features policy, regulatory, legislative, and regional developments in Connecticut and New England. The policy updates are compiled by a team recently formed with support from CPES, known as the New Energy Professionals. If you are interested in learning more about the New Energy Professionals, the Policy Committee, or if you have ideas for future policy updates, we would welcome your input and feedback. Please send comments to Paul Brady, CPES Executive Director, via email: pbrady@ctpower.org.

This week’s features:

  • New England Governors Discuss Energy Issues with Canadian Leaders at NEG-ECP Conference
  • Looking Ahead to the Next Legislative Session – Schedules and Key Links

 

Regional and Industry Developments

NEG-ECP CONFERENCE

On August 28-29, 2016, the six New England Governors joined with five Eastern Canadian Premiers for their 40th Annual NEG-ECP Conference. The Conference was hosted by Governor Charlie Baker of Massachusetts and a variety of regional issues were discussed, including trade, energy diversification, and combating the opioid crisis. Much of the Governors’ and Premiers’ focus was on energy as the Conference heard from Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chair Norman Bay, a panel on “Emerging and Innovative Technologies,” and a second panel on “The Benefits and Importance of Diverse Energy Generation.”

For more information on the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers Annual Conference, visit: http://www.coneg.org/negecp.

 

Legislative Affairs

CONNECTICUT LEGISLATION:

The 2016 Connecticut regular session ended on May 4, 2016.  The 2017 Connecticut regular session begins January 4, 2017.

Information about the Energy and Technology Committee, including committee meetings and public hearings, is available at: https://www.cga.ct.gov/et/.

 

MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATION:

The 2015-2016 Massachusetts formal session ended on July 31, 2016.  The 2017-2018 Massachusetts session begins January 4, 2017.

Information about the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy, including hearings and bills in committee, is available at: https://malegislature.gov/Committees/Joint/J37.

CPES Policy Committee Update: June 21, 2016

This update features policy, regulatory, legislative, and regional developments in Connecticut and New England. The policy updates are compiled by a team recently formed with support from CPES, known as the New Energy Professionals. If you are interested in learning more about the New Energy Professionals, the Policy Committee, or if you have ideas for future policy updates, we would welcome your input and feedback. Please send comments to Paul Brady, CPES Executive Director, via email: pbrady@ctpower.org.

This week’s features:

  • ISO New England Prepares for Summer
  • FERC’s Clark comments on hybrid markets
  • Comments on the 2016 Comprehensive Energy Strategy

 

Connecticut Policy/Regulatory Update: Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection

Scoping comments for the 2016 Comprehensive Energy Strategy were due to be filed with the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection on June 14, 2016. The comments filed by various stakeholders are now available for review at the following link.

 

Regional and Industry Developments

Beating the Heat: How ISO New England Prepares for Summer Peak Demand

As the region enters the summer season, ISO New England prepares for conditions unique to the hot, humid summer months. Peak demand brought on by warmer weather and an increased reliance on energy-intensive technologies, such as air conditioning, can create complex challenges for the grid operator. According to the ISO’s summer outlook, New England is expected to have adequate electricity supplies to meet consumer demand this summer under normal weather and power system conditions. However, work on Spectra Energy’s Algonquin Incremental Market (AIM) natural gas pipeline expansion project may limit delivery of natural gas to some power plants in the region.

To maintain a reliable supply of electricity to New England’s residents and businesses, the ISO’s System Operations team must rely on carefully planned procedures to increase power generation and curb consumption during periods when demand for electricity threatens to exceed available capacity and reserves. High consumer demand or unplanned resource outages—when a transmission line or generator suddenly goes offline—are typically the reasons for these procedures to be enacted.

For more information on how ISO New England prepares for summer peak demand, see the ISO Newswire.

 

FERC’s Clark sees ‘really unsustainable future’ in hybrid markets

BISMARCK, N.D. — Disputes playing out in deregulated states like Illinois and Ohio over proposed subsidies for aging power plants highlight a key challenge facing the electricity industry at a critical juncture in its evolution, said Federal Energy Regulatory Commissioner Tony Clark.  “This issue is one that is going to be a huge issue between FERC and the states in those regions of the country that not only have real-time markets, but that have also chosen to restructure their electricity industry,” said Clark, whose term ends at the end of the month.  The former North Dakota utility regulator was back in his home state this week for the Mid-America Regulatory Conference, an association of regulatory commissioners and staff from 14 central states. He was the featured speaker at yesterday morning’s wrap-up session.  Clark said the tension between states and FERC doesn’t affect most central states, where vertically integrated utilities have retail electric rates set by state commissions. But the issue looms large in restructured states where FERC-regulated wholesale markets are relied upon to signal when to invest in or close old power plants or build new ones.

There is an ongoing debate in states including Illinois and Ohio over keeping certain unprofitable coal and nuclear plants running to preserve jobs and taxes and other policy reasons.  Clark said those out-of-market solutions pose a problem: specifically that those states have previously chosen to let the market dictate investment decisions.  “If you have lots and lots of out-of-market constructs that basically negate the price formation that’s happening in the market, you end up with a really, really unsustainable future,” he said.  http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060038896

 

CPES Policy Committee Update: April 26, 2016

This update features policy, regulatory, legislative, and regional developments in Connecticut and New England. The policy updates are compiled by a team recently formed with support from CPES, known as the New Energy Professionals. If you are interested in learning more about the New Energy Professionals, the Policy Committee, or if you have ideas for future policy updates, we would welcome your input and feedback. Please send comments to Paul Brady, CPES Executive Director, via email: pbrady@ctpower.org.

This week’s features:

  • U.S. Supreme Court Weighs In On Wholesale Energy Markets
  • Kinder Morgan Halts Pipeline Expansion into the Region
  • RESA Explains Why Comparing Retail Products to Standard Service Is Improper
  • Long-Awaited NYGATS is Launched
  • Five Energy Related Bills Progressing In the CT Legislature

 

Regional and Industry Developments

FERC has Exclusive Jurisdiction

In a unanimous decision Tuesday morning, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down an 8-0 ruling which found that Maryland’s program to incentivize new in-state generation capacity intruded on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s exclusive jurisdiction over wholesale energy markets under the Federal Power Act. Maryland’s controversial program required Maryland’s utilities to enter into contracts-for-differences (CFDs) with new in-state power generation resources to ensure those resources cleared wholesale market auctions. The Court rejected the Maryland program, finding the contracts “intrude on FERC’s authority over interstate wholesale rates.” While the Court found the Maryland program impermissible, the justices appear to have left the door open for other state generation incentives more squarely aimed at environmental objectives. The Court’s ruling is available at the following link.

 

Kinder Morgan Suspends Further Work and Expenditures on Northeast Energy Direct Project

On April 20, 2016, Kinder Morgan issued the following statement on the Northeast Energy Direct project: “As a result of inadequate capacity commitments from prospective customers, Kinder Morgan, Inc., (NYSE: KMI) and its subsidiary, Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company (TGP), have suspended further work and expenditures on the Northeast Energy Direct (NED) project.” The NED project was a proposed natural gas pipeline expansion project aimed at upgrading natural gas infrastructure in Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Connecticut to help meet increased demand for natural gas in the northeast. Kinder Morgan filed its certificate application for the NED project with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on November 20, 2015. The project had a planned in-service date of 2018. For more information on the proposed project, see Kinder Morgan’s NED website.

 

Retail Energy Supply Association Is Critical of Report by CT Consumer Counsel

On April 20, 2016, the Retail Energy Supply Association (RESA) explained why Consumer Counsel’s comparison of utility Standard Service electric rates and the complex product offerings of competitive retail suppliers is an unfair comparison.  RESA explains that there are various value-added products offered by suppliers that a consumer cannot obtain from the distribution electric utility company.  http://resausa.org/news-events/resa-responds-connecticut-consumer-counsel%E2%80%99s-press-release.  (Links: CT Office of Consumer Counsel Fact Sheet: Electric Supplier Market and OCC Press Release)

 

NYSERDA Launches NYGATS

The New York Generation Attribute Tracking System (NYGATS), a web-based tracking system that will record electricity generation attribute information within New York State, and process generation attribute information from energy imported and consumed within the state, as a basis for creating tradable generation attribute certificates. NYGATS is being launched in two phases; Phase 1 for Account Holder and Project Registration and Phase 2 for Certificate Creation. During Phase 1, all users of NYGATS are required to register their projects or accounts. During Phase 2, certificates will be created and available for generation back to January 1, 2016.  Please refer to the NYGATS informational web site http://www.nyserda.ny.gov/NYGATS for access to the NYGATS registry, trainings and documents including the final NYGATS Operating Rules. Users may also register for a free NYGATS Account Registration and User Training Webinar on April 26 or May 2.

 

Connecticut Legislation

CONNECTICUT LEGISLATION:

Information about the Energy and Technology Committee, including committee meetings and public hearings, is available at: https://www.cga.ct.gov/et/.  The deadline to report bills out of the Energy and Technology Committee has passed.

On April 19, 2016, the Senate passed the following bill that may be of interest to you:

·         S.B. No. 334:  Senate passed.  (AN ACT CONCERNING REVISIONS TO CERTAIN ENERGY PURCHASING POOL AND LIFE-CYCLE COST ANALYSES STATUTES).

On April 20, 2016, the Senate passed the following bill that may be of interest to you:

  • S.B. No. 103:  Senate passed as amended by Senate Amendment Schedule A.  (AN ACT CONCERNING MINOR REVISIONS TO ENERGY-RELATED STATUTES).

On April 20, 2016, the House of Representatives passed the following bill that may be of interest to you:

  • H.B. No. 5309:  House passed as amended by House Amendment Schedule A.  (AN ACT CONCERNING FACILITATION OF THE MUNICIPAL RESIDENTIAL SOLAR APPLICATION PROCESS).

On April 21, 2016, the House of Representatives passed the following bill that may be of interest to you:

  • H.B. No. 5496:  House passed as amended by House Amendment Schedule A.  (AN ACT CONCERNING BIOMASS FACILITIES AND CERTAIN VIRTUAL NET METERING FACILITIES).

On April 22, 2016, the House of Representatives passed the following bill that may be of interest to you:

  • H.B. No. 5427: House passed as amended by House Amendment Schedule A.  (AN ACT CONCERNING THE SHARED CLEAN ENERGY FACILITY PILOT PROGRAM).