Early next year, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a pair of cases, which could overrule the Chevron doctrine and thereby end nearly forty years of judicial deference to federal administrative agencies’...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Sept. 5, 2023, issued a critical ruling upholding certain reforms the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued in 2020 to its regulations implementing the federal...more
On February 14, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) method for calculating the size of a small power production qualifying facility (QF) under PURPA as...more
On February 14, 2023, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld FERC’s broad definition of qualifying facilities (“QF”) under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (“PURPA”). In Broadview Solar, LLC, 174 FERC ¶...more
On February 14, 2023, a divided D.C. Circuit panel affirmed FERC’s March 2021 ruling that the power output capacity of a generating facility – not the nameplate capacity of its component parts – determines its eligibility as...more
In a unanimous decision issued this week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit sided with rooftop solar owners in a dispute over the jurisdictional scheme established by the Public Utility Regulatory Act (PURPA)....more
On March 18, 2021, in Order 2222-A, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) largely reaffirmed its seminal Order 2222, which dramatically relaxed barriers to aggregated distributed energy resource (DER) participation...more
On March 19, 2021, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) issued an order returning to its longtime standard used to determine a generating facility’s “power production capacity” for purposes of certification as a...more
Comments for FERC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Fuel Cell Energy Output (“NOPR”) are due tomorrow, November 25, 2020. In the NOPR, FERC proposes to modify its regulations for qualifying facility (“QF”) status under the...more
On November 19, 2020, FERC issued Order No. 872-A, an order denying rehearing and clarifying portions of Order No. 872, which revised the regulations implementing the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (“PURPA”)....more
On September 1, 2020, a sharply divided Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the “Commission”) abandoned its long-standing approach for determining the “power production capacity” of a generation facility seeking...more
On July 27, 2020, President Trump nominated Allison Clements and Mark Christie for seats on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). If approved by the Senate, the nominations would return the Commission, which...more
FERC finalizes PURPA rule reforms - Bullet Power Magazine – July 16 - The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has finalized a long-awaited rule revising regulations that govern qualifying small power producers...more
For the first time in 15 years, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) significantly revamped key aspects of its regulations implementing the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA). The 490-page final...more
A petition filed in April by the New England Ratepayers Association (NERA) has requested that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) reassess its authority over retail solar sales, stating that the federal...more
Responding to the Ninth Circuit’s rejection of its program to implement the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) in Winding Creek Solar LLC v. Peterman, the California Public Utilities Commission on May 7...more
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) seeking comments on proposed revisions to regulations that implement the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA)....more
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) proposed on September 19th what it describes as a modernization of its regulations governing small power producers and co-generators under the Public Utility Regulatory...more
On September 19, 2019, a divided Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) in which it proposed significant changes to its regulations implementing sections 201 and 210 of the...more
Modernization of regulations implementing the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) has long been a high priority for FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee. ...more
Below are brief summaries of the agenda items for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's September 19, 2019 meeting, pursuant to the agenda as issued on September 13, 2019. Agenda items E-12, E-19, and E-24 have not been...more
Significant Changes to FERC’s Rules for Market-Based Rate Sellers - On July 18, 2019, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) issued two orders modifying its rules for sellers to obtain or retain authorization...more
On July 30, 2019, a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal panel unanimously held that the federal Public Utility Regulatory Policy Act (PURPA) preempts two components of California's Renewable Market Adjusting Tariff (Re-MAT)...more
On July 29, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (“Ninth Circuit”) issued a decision in Winding Creek Solar LLC v. Peterman affirming a district court’s finding that the California Public Utilities...more
On July 29, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an opinion in Winding Creek Solar LLC v. Peterman et al. (Nos. 17-17531 & 32) strongly upholding core principles of the Public Utility Regulatory...more