On Friday, March 16, 2018, the DC Circuit issued its long-awaited opinion in ACA International v. FCC, No. 15-2011, a case challenging the Federal Communications Commission's interpretation of the robocalling provisions of...more
On May 25th, the Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources will hold hearings on President Trump's nominations to fill two commissioner vacancies on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). If confirmed, the...more
On February 7 and March 7, 2017, we wrote about how the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is operating without a legal quorum of three members and how the lack of a quorum might affect the validity of FERC staff...more
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) February 3, 2017 "delegation order" that was issued on the last day it had a quorum was the topic of a recent alert. The order, as we noted, aimed to preserve and expand the...more
At the close of business on Friday, February 3, 2017, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) lost its legal quorum of three members when its former Chair, Norman Bay, resigned his post as a FERC Commissioner. Earlier...more
Late last week, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) released a proposed rule that, if adopted, would facilitate greater participation by electric storage resources (including batteries, flywheels, pumped-hydro,...more
On Thursday, Aug. 4, the FCC granted organizations representing schools and utilities significant relief from liability under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act—a law that subjects callers to substantial penalties if they...more
8/15/2016
/ ATDS ,
Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Educational Institutions ,
FCC ,
Mobile Devices ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Robocalling ,
TCPA ,
Telecommunications ,
Text Messages ,
Utilities Sector
Expansion of Eligible Low Income Community Projects to Include Solar Projects -
The Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Energy Incentive Program (CEIP) allows participants to earn tradeable emissions credits for...more
8/4/2016
/ Clean Energy ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Energy Efficiency ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Energy-Efficiency Tax Credits ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Renewable Energy ,
Renewable Energy Incentives ,
Solar Energy ,
Utilities Sector
Two Federal District Court Opinions Highlight Differences Between Natural Gas Act and Federal Power Act Investigations -
Two weeks ago, a federal judge in Texas rejected arguments that targets of FERC investigations...more
May the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) initiate an enforcement investigation against a company for manipulating natural gas markets, order the company to show cause why it shouldn’t be fined and then decide the...more
Several months ago, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) order overriding contracts between the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) and incumbent utilities...more
Last year, responding to a petition for declaratory order by a rural electric distribution cooperative (Delta-Montrose), FERC declared that, notwithstanding provisions in Delta-Montrose's agreement to purchase 95 percent of...more
With its decision on Tuesday, April 20 in Hughes v. Talen Energy Marketing, the Supreme Court issued its second significant holding of the year on the reach of federal authority over interstate wholesale sales markets. The...more
Does FERC have authority to override contracts between a regional transmission organization (RTO) and incumbent utilities giving the latter rights of first refusal (ROFR) to build new regional transmission facilities? It...more
Early this month, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued notice (81 FR 5283) of a proposed rule aimed at streamlining the pre-application process for transmission developers to obtain federal authorization to construct and...more
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) limits the use of automated dialing equipment to make calls or send text messages to wireless phone numbers without the called party's express prior consent. Because utility...more
In a pair of opinions issued late last week, a federal appeals court in Denver affirmed in its entirety a landmark Federal Communications Commission rulemaking that expands the availability of broadband internet access in...more
In a 2-1 decision with potentially broad ramifications for power markets, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has overturned the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s rule requiring ISO and RTOs to pay electricity...more
In a decision that will have broad impact on the electric generation industry, a federal district court has struck down parts of a Minnesota law that sought to regulate what fuels generators could use in their power plants to...more