JONES DAY TALKS®: CFTC and DOJ Target Derivatives Trading Across Industries
FERC: A Discussion on its Mission, Market Manipulation Investigations, and Common Violations
On 16 November 2023, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC or Commission) Office of Enforcement (Enforcement) released its 2023 Annual Report on Enforcement (FY2023 Report). The FY2023 Report is the 8th annual...more
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) Office of Enforcement (OE) recently issued its Fiscal Year 2023 Annual Report on Enforcement. As in previous years, the Enforcement Report discusses the activities performed...more
On November 17, 2022, the Office of Enforcement (OE) of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the Commission) released its annual report on enforcement activities (Report). The Report details the FY 2022 efforts...more
On January 5, 2022, FERC denied a motion of the Andrew Kittell Estate (“Kittell Estate”) to drop FERC’s enforcement action against GreenHat Energy, LLC (“GreenHat”) because of an October 1, 2021 revelation that FERC’s...more
A recent district court order highlights the importance of maintaining a strong compliance program with effective compliance controls and practices, while highlighting the risk of employee misconduct for the enterprise...more
On 18 November 2021, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC or Commission) Office of Enforcement (Enforcement) released its 2021 Annual Report on Enforcement (FY2021 Report). The FY2021 Report provides an overview...more
FERC's recent "order to show cause" against an energy trading firm and its owners for an alleged manipulative energy trading scheme in the nation's largest power market follows Chairman Glick's call for renewed enforcement. ...more
On May 20, 2021, FERC issued a Show Cause Order directing GreenHat Energy, LLC (“GreenHat”) and its owners to show why they did not violate the Federal Power Act, FERC’s regulations, the PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (“PJM”)...more
Since January, FERC-regulated market participants and practitioners alike have anticipated how FERC may approach its enforcement mission under the stewardship of Chairman Richard Glick following his appointment as chair by...more
In the wake of the deep freeze that recently swept the nation, natural gas has taken the forefront among a slew of price gouging allegations. Last week’s winter storms caused natural gas spot market prices to spike, with some...more
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) announced on February 22 that its Office of Enforcement would examine wholesale natural gas and electricity market activity during last week’s extreme cold weather ...more
Last week the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an Order Approving Stipulation and Consent Agreement involving High Desert Power Project, LLC (High Desert) and Middle River Power LLC. (Middle River) to...more
Wiley partner Erik Baptist and Jeremy Medovoy, Deputy Director of FERC’s Division of Investigations, Office of Enforcement, break down the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) mission and its anti-market manipulation...more
Several developments may raise the profile of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the Commission) in 2020. First, the growing importance of renewable energy generation will raise new issues for FERC. On...more
Last fall, FERC assessed civil penalties against an electric marketer and trader for alleged market manipulation, and when the bill went unpaid asked a Federal court in California to enforce the penalties. At issue is (1)...more
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued an Order Assessing Civil Penalties, imposing approximately $1.5 million in civil penalties on Vitol Inc. and one million dollars in penalties on a Vitol trader. In a departure...more
Uneconomic trading in regulated markets is a key focus of market regulators such as the DOJ, SEC, CFTC and FERC. Traders at times, for example, take different positions in select markets which can result in losses in one...more
Complaints alleging that Dynegy, Inc. (Dynegy) engaged in market manipulation by withholding capacity from the 2015/16 Planning Auction (the 2015/16 Auction) for Local Resource Zone 4 of the Midcontinent Independent System...more
Recently, FERC issued an Order to Show Cause why Vitol Inc. and its co-director of financial transmission rights trading should not be found to have engaged in market manipulation by selling physical power in CAISO at a loss...more
An important legal doctrine for companies that buy and sell in regulated markets is the “filed rate” doctrine, which limits legal challenges to rates determined by regulators such as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission...more
FERC issued an order on May 16 rescinding its 2009 policy of issuing Notices of Alleged Violations (NAVs) after the subject of an investigation is given an opportunity to respond to FERC Enforcement Staff’s preliminary...more
This is the eighth issue of WilmerHale’s 10-in-10 Hot Topics in Energy Series. Over the course of 10 weeks, our attorneys will share insights on current and emerging issues affecting the US energy sector. ...more
On January 4, 2019, the United States District Court for the District of Maine handed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or “the Commission”) a victory in FERC v. Silkman, a long-running market manipulation...more
• The CFTC has filed a new “insider trading” enforcement action involving the energy markets—the agency’s third energy market insider trading case since 2015. • The CFTC also created an Insider Trading and Information...more
On September 24, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia denied defendants’ motion to dismiss the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC or “the Commission”) complaint in FERC v. Powhatan...more