Exelon last week filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission seeking approval of its acquisition of Pepco Holdings Inc. FERC approval is expected to come fairly swiftly, as PHI has no generation, and market power issues shouldn’t come into play.
The two companies announced the proposed acquisition late last month. If approved, it will bring together Exelon’s three electric and gas utilities – BGE, PECO and ComEd – with PHI’s three utilities – Delmarva Power, Pepco and Atlantic City Electric. The combined companies would become the largest electric and gas utility in the Mid-Atlantic.
Because no generation plants are involved, the companies are asking for approval within 90 days. The acquisition still requires approval from state regulatory agencies in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia, as well as from the D.C. Public Service Commission. Those approvals are expected to take longer to obtain. The companies have said they anticipate full approvals by the second or third quarter of 2015.
More: Marketwatch
FERC, CFTC Working Together to ID Gaming
FERC has gained a valuable new tool in the fight against energy market manipulation as a result of an agreement giving the commission access to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Large Trader Report. “Until recently, we didn’t have a lot of visibility into large trading data, [but] the CFTC has given us a lot more transparency in terms of positions,” Sean Collins, FERC’s deputy director of surveillance, told a conference in Texas last month.
Collins said the memorandum of understanding between the two organizations has given FERC investigators a clearer view of what is going on in the derivatives market, which often plays a crucial role in manipulative schemes that involve both physical and financial products. “The ability to see across those two markets and to be able to see what market participants are doing is essential, so we’re very thankful for that data,” he said.
More: Risk.Net (subscription required)
NRC: Leave Spent Fuel Where It is for Now
Citing previous safety studies, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission rejected calls from lawmakers to speed up the transfer of spent fuel bundles from pools to dry cask storage.
The commission, relying on its staff’s recommendations, has said it believes it makes more sense to leave the spent rods in on-site cooling ponds than engage in hurry-up transfers to dry cask storage.
An NRC Northeast Regional administrator said both pools and dry casks were “adequate storage processes for spent fuel, and there is not a significant safety benefit to requiring transfer to dry cask storage.”
Some lawmakers, however, citing security concerns and dwindling space in cooling pools, are pushing for the transfers.
Several senators wrote to NRC Chair Allison Macfarlane earlier to complain about a lack of security around the pools and closed plants. “We are one natural disaster, mechanical failure or terrorist attack away from a disaster,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont). “The sooner we get the spent [fuel] out of the pools and into dry casks, the better, and if the NRC will not change the rules, I will continue to work with my colleagues to change the rules through legislation.”
More: ABC News
EPA Wins Acid Rain Rules Battle
The EPA successfully fended off efforts by environmental groups to hasten implementation of rules combatting acid rain. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit last week accepted the EPA’s arguments that rules covering acid rain must take into account “large complexities” and shouldn’t be hurried. The EPA announced two years ago that it needed more time to determine new standards of certain pollutants, primarily those emitted by fossil-fuel fired power plants. Environmental groups, including the Center for Biological Diversity, sued and accused the EPA of delaying the implementation of new regulations.
“In light of the deference due EPA’s scientific judgment, it is clear its judgment must be sustained here,” U.S. Circuit Judge A. Raymond Randolph wrote for a three-judge panel.
More: Bloomberg