State Briefs

Regulators Call Halt to Eversource Work Site Closure

The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority has ordered Eversource Energy to delay the proposed closure of a regional district office in Simsbury until it could assess the effect of a previous round of closures of district work centers throughout the state.

Eversource sought the closures as a move to consolidate its state footprint and lower operating costs. Attorney General George Jepsen and Consumer Counsel Elin Swanson Katz argued that the closure of the Simsbury work center could slow Eversource’s response to power outages in the Farmington Valley during major storms.

PURA noted that Simsbury is largely isolated from major highways. Regulators approved the closure of three other centers. Altogether, 400 workers will be moved to other work sites.

More: Hartford Courant (registration required)

ILLINOIS

Regulators OK WEC-Integrys Deal with Conditions

The Commerce Commission voted 4-1 to approve Wisconsin Energy Corp.’s $9.1 billion acquisition of Integrys Energy Group but attached a number of conditions mostly directed at Peoples Gas, an Integrys gas-distribution system in Chicago.

The ICC will require Peoples Gas to file reports by September committing itself to the scope, schedule and cost for a gas-main replacement project that has been the target of much criticism. The project’s cost, initially estimated to be about $2 billion, has more than doubled.

The ICC approval is the final regulatory hurdle required for the merger, which expands WEC’s reach from Wisconsin to Illinois, Minnesota and Michigan.

More: Journal Sentinel

INDIANA

Is the State Headed for a Competitive Energy Market?

A consortium of more than two dozen large-scale energy users is pushing for the state to open up to retail energy competition.

Indiana Industrial Energy Consumers argues that the state’s energy prices have gone from being the nation’s fifth-lowest in 2003 to 26th lowest in 2014. Meanwhile, neighboring states Illinois and Ohio, which once had higher average industrial electricity rates, now have lower rates.

The consortium plans to lobby lawmakers this summer to expand opportunities for co-generation plants at the industrial facilities. The companies also are discussing a broader reform that could increase market competition for industrial and residential customers.

More: The Times of Northwest Indiana

KENTUCKY

Kentucky Power Wins Rate Increase

The Public Service Commission has approved a rate-increase settlement for Kentucky Power.

The agreement allows the utility to increase its annual revenue by $45.4 million, about 57% of the company’s initial rate request. Kentucky Power also agreed to drop its appeal of an earlier PSC decision disallowing certain fuel costs, which represents a savings to customers of about $54 million.

Other provisions include imposition of a 15-cent customer monthly charge to be matched by company shareholders that is expected to generate about $300,000 per year to support economic development in the company’s service area. Kentucky Power, a subsidiary of American Electric Power, has about 173,000 customers.

More: WYMT TV

MAINE

Bill Provides Wind Power Opt-out

The Legislature has passed a bill that would give residents who are not represented by local governments an opportunity to exclude their communities from areas considered for large wind power projects.

The bill would give residents of the Unorganized Territory the right to petition the Land Use Planning Commission to pull out of the expedited wind permitting area, a region designated in the 2007 Wind Energy Act. Under the law, organized municipalities can pass ordinances to control wind power projects, but residents in areas without organized government cannot.

The Unorganized Territory — the part of the state that has no incorporated municipal government — covers slightly more than half the state’s area, including much of the interior and some coastal islands.

More: Portland Press Herald

Legislature Overrides Veto of Energy Efficiency Bill

The Legislature unanimously overrode Gov. Paul LePage’s veto of a bill that corrects a one-word clerical error potentially worth nearly $38 million for an energy efficiency program.

The bill reinserts what has become known as the missing “and” in a law that funds the Efficiency Maine program. It was made necessary in 2013 when the Legislature passed a massive energy bill that authorized a surcharge on electricity ratepayers but left out the critical conjunction. The Public Utilities Commission voted in March to interpret the language literally, meaning program funding would be capped at $22 million rather than the $59 million envisioned by the Legislature.

LePage, who opposes the ratepayer surcharge, vetoed the corrective measure. State law requires a two-thirds majority in both houses of the Legislature to override a veto.

More: Portland Press Herald

MARYLAND

Residents Concede in Pepco Tree Management Dispute

A group of Potomac homeowners who banded together to try to keep Pepco from cutting down trees on private property near its power lines has conceded defeat. Armed off-duty Montgomery County police officers began standing guard last week to keep protesters from interfering with Pepco contractors cutting down trees on residents’ property.

Pepco stepped up its vegetation management program after the Public Service Commission in 2011 fined the utility for poor performance. A PSC working group developed standards dictating how close a tree’s branches can grow to different types of power lines and said that no jurisdiction in the state could override the standards.

The utility says it’s within its rights to bring its bucket trucks and chainsaws onto people’s property because of a series of easements it purchased in the 1950s, before modern neighborhoods were built in the area. Pepco says it has decreased the number of outages per customer an average of 8.6% and that their duration has been shortened by nearly 24%.

More: Bethesda Magazine

PSC Member Accused of Conflict of Interest in Merger Vote

Opponents of Exelon’s $6.8 billion acquisition of Pepco Holdings Inc. have appealed the Public Service Commission’s approval of the deal, saying a commissioner who cast the deciding vote had a conflict of interest.

Commissioner Kelly Speakes-Backman was in talks to take an executive position with the industry group Alliance to Save Energy when the PSC voted on the merger on May 15. (See How Exelon Won Over Maryland.) Exelon is on the board of directors for the group, which lobbies Congress on energy efficiency issues.

“Speakes-Backman’s failure to recuse herself from voting on the Exelon-Pepco merger while negotiating employment with an organization tied to and financed by Exelon Corp. constitutes a clear conflict of interest,” said Tyson Slocum of advocacy group Public Citizen. Speakes-Backman, who became a senior vice president with the trade group after the vote, denied there was a conflict, saying she ceased communication with the group when she learned of Exelon’s place on the board until after the commission’s decision.

The Maryland Office of People’s Counsel has appealed the commission’s decision in circuit court. The D.C. Public Service Commission is the only remaining regulatory body still to vote on the deal, which has attracted vociferous opposition in the district.

More: WUSA-9; The Baltimore Sun

MICHIGAN

Death of Vet After Utility Shutoff Prompts Discussion on Rules

The death of a veteran from hypothermia last winter has prompted a call to discuss how utilities handle shutoff notices.

John Skelley, 69, was found dead in a Detroit home in February after Consumers Energy shut off natural gas service. Utilities are forbidden from shutting off utilities in the homes of seniors from November to March, but Consumers Energy said it was unaware anybody was living in the house. The service was listed under a different name, and the company said it sent numerous shutoff notices to the service holder with no response.

The Public Service Commission is calling for a full report from Consumers Energy and is asking all utilities in Michigan to form a “collaborative work group” to review current rules and see if any changes need to be made.

More: Detroit Free Press

MINNESOTA

PUC Signs off on Solar Garden Size Agreement

The Public Utilities Commission approved a settlement between Xcel Energy and several community solar garden developers that will allow more of the small-scale solar projects to be built.

Xcel had pushed for a limit to the size of community-owned solar facilities, which they saw as cutting into their business without paying to support grid development and maintenance. Some community solar facilities as large as 50 MW were proposed, “well beyond what was intended,” Xcel Regional Vice President Laura McCarten said.

The agreement limits the size of a community solar facility to 5 MW. The agreement is retroactive, and all facilities will go back for a design review to ensure they don’t exceed that size.

More: Minnesota Public Radio

MISSOURI

Clean Line Taps Kansas City Contractor for Tx Project While Awaiting Regulatory OK

Clean Line Energy announced it will hire PAR Electric Contractors of Kansas City to help build its Grain Belt Express transmission line, buttressing arguments that construction could put 1,300 people to work in the state. The announcement came as the Public Service Commission delayed a vote on the project for a deeper evaluation.

The planned 750-mile HVDC line would carry wind power from Kansas into Missouri and further east.

Indiana and Kansas regulators have already approved the project.

More: KCUR

Empire District Gets 29% Less in Rate Case

The Public Service Commission has approved a $17.1 million rate increase for the Empire District Electric Co., 29% less than the company sought when it filed last August. The ruling will add about $7 to the average residential customer’s electric bill.

Empire sought the increase mainly to cover the costs of installing emission controls at its Asbury Power Plant. Empire also said it needed to pay for a new maintenance contract for its 12-unit Riverton gas-fired plant and faces higher RTO charges.

Empire serves 149,300 electric customers in 16 Missouri counties.

More: Missouri Public Service Commission

NEW HAMPSHIRE

PUC Approves Temporary Eversource Rate Hike

State regulators approved a temporary increase of 0.07 cents/kWh for customers of Eversource Energy to pay for reliability projects. The commission first approved the reliability enhancement program in 2006 to reduce the frequency and duration of power outages. The current funding was set to expire at the end of June.

On June 10, Eversource asked the Public Utilities Commission to approve the temporary rate increase to recoup money spent on reliability projects since 2013. According to the company, since the start of the reliability program, there has been a steady decline in the duration and frequency of outages affecting customers.

More: New Hampshire Union Leader

NEW JERSEY

Fishermen’s Energy Takes Case to State Supreme Court

Fishermen’s Energy, a consortium of commercial fishermen developing wind farms off the state’s coast, is appealing the Board of Public Utilities’ denial of a proposed 25-MW pilot project off Atlantic City.

The company asked the state Supreme Court to direct the BPU to approve the project, which received a $46.7 million grant from the Obama administration. The BPU rejected the project because it said it was too costly, even with federal subsidies.

More: The Sandpaper; NJ Spotlight

NEW YORK

Half of State’s Power to Come from Renewable Sources by 2030

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority has approved a new state energy plan that aims to reduce carbon emissions by 40% from 1990 levels in the next 15 years and calls for the state to get half of its power from renewable sources by 2030.

The long-awaited plan, released Thursday, aligns with the Cuomo administration’s Reforming Energy Vision initiative to remake the energy grid and provide more renewables and energy efficiency.

“The eyes of the country really are on New York, and where we are going and how we are going to get there,” NYSERDA Director John Williams said.

More: Capital New York

National Grid Submitting Smart Grid Plans

National Grid will submit its plans for a smart grid demonstration project for the Clifton Park area on July 1.

The project will be based on one currently operating around Worcester, Mass., where customers can choose different pricing models for their electrical usage and can access advanced smart grid technologies to help them control their usage.

National Grid also introduced a new team that will lead the company’s various smart grid demonstration projects. The team will be led by Ed White, vice president of new energy solutions.

More: Times Union

NORTH CAROLINA

Lower Fuel Prices Lead to Savings for Duke Energy Progress Customers

Duke Energy Progress has proposed a rate reduction that would cut the monthly energy bill for a typical residential customer by 2.5%.

The new rate, if approved by the Utilities Commission, would reduce the average residential monthly bill from $111.38 to $108.69. The decrease is a result of the falling prices of coal and natural gas as well as in the cost to ship coal to the state by train and barge.

More: The News & Observer

NORTH DAKOTA

PSC Approves 2 Pipelines to Run Beneath Lake Sakakawea

The Public Service Commission has approved two pipelines to run beneath Lake Sakakawea — one carrying crude oil, the other natural gas. Both projects were proposed by Hess North Dakota Pipelines.

The first is a 25-mile oil pipeline to run from a Hess facility near Keene in McKenzie County to the Ramberg Truck Facility near Tioga. It would carry about 76,000 barrels of oil per day. The second, called the Hawkeye NGL Pipeline, would run along a similar route for about 19.2 miles, using an existing oil pipeline that would be converted to carry natural gas liquids. It would carry about 30,000 barrels of NGLs a day.

Hess is one of the largest oil producers in North Dakota.

More: Bismarck Tribune

SOUTH DAKOTA

PUC to Hold Public Hearing Before Crucial Keystone Decision

The Public Utilities Commission will hold a final public hearing on July 6 at the state Capitol to get input on the Keystone XL Pipeline. Although the project received initial approval back in 2010, the PUC must rule on whether or not conditions have changed substantially before construction can be approved.

More: KDLT

June 26, 2015

PJM Delays Vote on Capacity Performance Rules

By Rich Heidorn Jr.

WILMINGTON, Del. — PJM officials Thursday delayed a vote on manual changes for the Capacity Performance plan, sidestepping a potential confrontation with anxious stakeholders.

The agenda for Thursday’s Markets and Reliability Committee said PJM would seek endorsement of the Manual 18 changes, which run for more than 200 pages. But PJM officials delayed the vote — apparently chastened by a stormy stakeholder meeting the week before, which left some stakeholders complaining that the RTO had not thought through all the details before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the proposal June 9.

Stu Bresler, vice president of market operations, said PJM’s “current thinking” is to seek endorsement at the July 23 MRC meeting. There will be an additional meeting on the changes from 1 to 4 p.m. on July 15, following a training session from 1-4 p.m. on July 8.

“Technically speaking, we can put manual changes in place without a stakeholder vote,” Bresler said. But he said the RTO had traditionally sought stakeholder endorsement of the manuals, which spell out Tariff and Operating Agreement rules and procedures in detail.

In the meantime, PJM must make a compliance filing by July 9, said Dave Anders, director of stakeholder affairs and market services.

Rules Still Being Developed

Officials said they delayed the vote in part because they saw the need for additional changes beyond what they outlined during a testy, six-hour meeting June 18. (See PJM Stakeholders Rush to Figure out What’s Changing for the BRA.) “We will have some additional tweaks,” said Bresler.

PJM also agreed with Exelon’s proposal that a seller’s requested risk premium level can be “reasonably supported” rather than “documented and quantifiable” as it originally proposed.

“We do intend to add a little more language consistent with something Exelon offered [regarding] what we consider to be acceptable as far as risk,” said PJM attorney Jen Tribulski.

Ed Tatum of Old Dominion Electric Cooperative said after the June 18 session that RTO officials “seem to be making [the rules] up as they go along.” It was an observation that several other stakeholders told RTO Insider they agreed with — while conceding some uncertainty was unsurprising given the breadth of the changes.

Tatum on Thursday expressed gratitude for the additional time. “Our interest is that we have as few surprises as we possibly can,” he said.

American Electric Power’s Brock Ondayko also expressed frustration during Thursday’s meeting. “In response to many questions, PJM says, ‘We’ll have to go back to look at that.’”

Officials said they hoped the additional month would give them time to resolve all outstanding questions about the rules that will apply for the Base Residual Auction beginning Aug. 10.

Aggregation Rules

Bruce Campbell, of demand response provider EnergyConnect, said a discussion at a training session Wednesday on how resource providers can aggregate resources “left a lot of people confused, if not unhappy, with what PJM is proposing.”

“The language seems to say you can offer aggregation, but performance will be assessed based on individual resources,” Campbell said. “It seems inconsistent.”

“It seems to me we should be going back to some sort of stakeholder process to consider” alternative rules on issues such as aggregation, said consultant Tom Rutigliano of Achieving Equilibrium.

Fixed Resource Requirements

Marji Philips of Direct Energy questioned whether PJM had included a transition for fixed revenue requirement entities, asking whether the RTO was “concerned that FRR won’t be prepared.”

“It’s really not appropriate to debate the FERC order,” responded CEO-in-waiting Andy Ott. “… The scope of this meeting is compliance.”

Ott said he disagreed that FRRs won’t be prepared, saying their plans were already submitted for the transition years of 2018/19 and 2019/20.

Philips persisted: “We have the competitive market that’s meeting the reliability standard and the regulated part of PJM that’s not.”

FERC Order

The new rules, a response to the poor generator performance during the January 2014 polar vortex, increases reliability expectations of capacity resources with a new Capacity Performance product. It is intended to result in larger capacity payments for the most reliable resources and higher penalties for non-performers.

Although FERC rejected some of PJM’s related proposals for changes to the energy market, it otherwise approved the RTO’s changes with only limited modifications. (See FERC OKs PJM Capacity Performance: What You Need to Know.)

June 23, 2015

Louisiana Commission Loses Challenge on Ouachita Transmission Upgrade

By Tom Kleckner

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission denied the Louisiana Public Service Commission’s request to reconsider Entergy’s allocation of transmission upgrade costs at its Ouachita Power Facility in northeast Louisiana, saying regulators should make their case in proceedings addressing changes to the company’s system agreement.

The Louisiana regulators had requested rehearing of a 2012 order in the matter (EL11-63-001).

At issue is the allocation of $70 million in transmission upgrades necessary to qualify the Ouachita plant as a network resource for Entergy’s operating companies.

Entergy Arkansas purchased the three-unit, 789-MW natural-gas fired facility from Cogentrix Energy in 2008, selling one unit to Entergy Gulf States Louisiana in 2009.

The LPSC contended Entergy Louisiana should not be liable for costs that allowed Entergy Arkansas to receive energy from the Ouachita plant, as the Arkansas utility had received approval to withdraw from Entergy’s system agreement effective in 2013.

In its January 2012 order, FERC said the LPSC’s arguments were premature because the Arkansas utility had not yet left the system agreement. Entergy Arkansas formerly withdrew from the system agreement Dec. 19, 2013, when it was integrated into MISO’s footprint.

In denying the LPSC’s request for a rehearing, FERC said the LPSC failed to support its contention that the pre-withdrawal allocation of the plant’s transmission upgrade costs could not be justified. “As Entergy has explained, until Entergy Arkansas’ departure from the system agreement, the Ouachita plant provided benefits to all operating companies.”

FERC said “the fact that planning of the Ouachita plant acquisition occurred after Entergy Arkansas provided notice of intent to withdraw from the system agreement does not provide a basis for treating it differently from other system resources for the purpose of allocating associated transmission costs.”

The LPSC contended the 2012 order violated section 306 of the Federal Power Act, which requires a public utility to answer a complaint filed by a state regulatory commission. FERC countered by saying complainants “bear the burden to prove their allegations under both sections 206 and 306 of the FPA, irrespective of the FPA section 306 requirement.”

FERC’s denial said the LPSC had “misread” section 306 and said the section “provides a public utility that is the respondent to a complaint with two options: it may either (1) ‘satisfy’ the complaint or (2) answer the complaint in writing.” FERC said the LPSC’s misreading “has the effect of improperly shifting the burden of proof to a respondent” and that Entergy had fulfilled its obligations under section 306.

FERC said it saw no reason its findings conflicted with cost-causation principles and said “the appropriate forum for the Louisiana commission to raise issues regarding cost causation with respect to the post-withdrawal period was in the proceedings addressing changes to the system agreement following Entergy Arkansas’ withdrawal.”

June 23, 2015

Con Ed Rates Fixed for Another Year

Consolidated Edison of New York and the New York Public Service Commission reached a settlement that keeps distribution rates stable through 2016.

The NYPSC on Wednesday approved a plan negotiated over the past five months between its staff, the company and various stakeholders.

In January, the company, which serves New York City and Westchester County, had filed for a two-year rate increase that originally sought an additional $368 million in 2016. The increase would have increased customers’ delivery bills by 7.2%, the PSC said. Instead, electric customers will see rates frozen for a third consecutive year.

“The proposal adopted today by the commission keeps electric delivery charges for residential and small commercial customers unchanged from such charges paid in 2013 for yet another year,” commission Chairman Audrey Zibelman said in a statement.

PSC staff suggested using available customer credits, similar to the way a projected rate hike in 2014 was avoided. The 2014 rate decision provided for rate increase of $47.7 million in 2015. Customers were insulated from the increase due to a bill credit in the same amount.

The adopted joint proposal addresses Con Ed’s advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) proposal. The proposal includes small capital expenditures for AMI in 2016, but the commission also set up a collaborative process that would help Con Ed develop its AMI business plan. The results of the collaborative will be presented to the commission later this year.

June 23, 2015June 15, 2023

FERC OKs PJM Revisions on Reactive Power Payments

By Michael Brooks

PJM generating companies that deactivate or transfer ownership of units in their fleet will have to revise their reactive power rates or explain why they have decided not to under Tariff revisions approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week (ER15-696).

Generators receiving compensation for reactive power would be required to make an informational filing notifying PJM and FERC of their plans at least 90 days before the effective date of changes in their fleet.

PJM submitted the revisions to Schedule 2 of its Tariff in December after FERC issued an Order to Show Cause in which the commission said it was concerned that the RTO’s Tariff lacked explicit provisions preventing generators that have been retired or sold from receiving reactive power payments. (See Impatient FERC Orders Immediate PJM Action on Reactive Power Payments to Retired Plants.)

In its filing, PJM argued that it lacked the power to force a generator to terminate or revise its rate schedule or to stop paying it for reactive power; doing so would be a violation of companies’ rights under section 205 of the Federal Power Act, it said.

PJM said its rule change reduces the probability that a retired generator would continue receiving reactive power payments while avoiding putting the RTO in a ratemaking role.

Some stakeholders disagreed. Public Service Enterprise Group argued that the revisions were equal to forcing generators to submit a section 205 filing, something neither PJM nor FERC can do.

FERC agreed with PJM that its proposal preserves the companies’ section 205 filing rights. “We disagree with [PSEG] that the informational filing requirement is tantamount to requiring a section 205 filing. Court and commission precedent recognize that the commission retains the ability to require informational filings without exceeding its authority under section 205.”

FERC ordered the RTO to further revise Schedule 2 of the Tariff to specify that the informational filings must include each resource’s fuel source, wattage and MVAR capability.

June 23, 2015June 15, 2023

Federal Briefs

On a party-line vote, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted 16-14 to approve a $30 billion spending bill that reduces funding for the Environmental Protection Agency and the Interior Department.

The approved funding is $400 million less than what was approved for 2015. It’s also $2.2 billion less than what the Obama administration was seeking.

Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), the ranking member on the committee, said Democrats would oppose the bill. Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) said the bill takes direct aim at the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act.

Under the bill, the EPA would be banned from enforcing the carbon mandates in states that have signaled opposition to the regulation.

More: The Hill

NRC says Entergy Can Use Decom Fund for Fuel Storage

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will allow Entergy to use $225 million of its $665 million decommissioning fund at the retired Vermont Yankee nuclear station to pay to store the plant’s spent nuclear fuel.

Before Entergy can tap into the decommissioning fund, NRC said the company must first spend $143 million in a line of credit. NRC said it believed that Entergy has sufficient funds invested in the fund to cover decommissioning costs over the next 60 years.

More: VTDigger.org

Tritium Found in Groundwater at Exelon’s Peach Bottom Plant

A groundwater monitoring well at Exelon Nuclear’s Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania has detected radioactive tritium at levels above industry safety thresholds, but the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said the material poses no safety or environmental concern.

“It’s possible that the water could eventually migrate into the plant’s outlet canal, and from there it could make its way into the [Susquehanna] River,” NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said. “If so, the potential dose would be negligible. If the amount were to make its way into the Susquehanna, the dilution effect would be so great that, even if you were to take multiple water samples, it would not be detectable.” Exelon is still working to determine how the tritium escaped and to devise a remediation plan.

Paul Gunter, a director of the public interest group Beyond Nuclear, said NRC’s finding is troubling. “This is a one-off measurement in one well,” he said. “It doesn’t say how much got out. This is what they detected at that one point.”

More: York Daily Record

NRC Considering Development of Small Nuclear Reactors

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is ready to start accepting design specifications for reactors in the 300-MW range, and the Energy Department is spending more than $450 million to assist in the licensing of plants using the smaller reactor.The move toward examining and encouraging the development of smaller reactors has gained the interest of several federal lawmakers, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. “I have long supported and advocated for the development and deployment of small modular reactors,” she said recently.

Most commercial reactors, including several in ongoing projects around the world and in the U.S., are greater than 1,000 MW. Proponents say the smaller reactors, which can be built off-site, would help cut greenhouse gases at a lower cost.

More: The Hill

Environmental Group Asks FERC to Expand Comment Deadline for Pipeline

The Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League filed a formal request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to extend the deadline for public comment on the proposed 300-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline, which would transport natural gas from northwestern West Virginia to southern Virginia.

“The FERC has certainly not gone out of its way to ensure that the public’s voice is heard,” said Anne Armistead, a member of Preserve Floyd, part of the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League. “I could not even get the e-comment feature to work on the day of the deadline when I tried to submit my comment.”

The group said the June 16 deadline didn’t allow the public time enough to learn about and comment on the proposed pipeline and that technical problems prohibited attempts to file comments electronically. Others complained that even when they did show up for public comment sessions, they didn’t get a chance to speak.

More: SWVAToday.com

DOE Investigating Worker Exposure at Nevada National Security Site

The Energy Department is investigating possible radiation exposure of workers at the Nevada National Security Site.

Two incidents took place last year at the National Criticality Experiments Research Center, located at the site. Both incidents involved highly enriched uranium used in nuclear weapons. But the department’s Office of Enforcement said exposure levels were “extremely small and health risks essentially zero.”

More: Las Vegas Review-Journal

Massachusetts Town Sues FERC for Allowing Pipeline Construction

Dedham, Mass., has sued the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for approving construction of a natural gas pipeline before the town’s appeal against the project had been heard.

FERC approved the Algonquin Incremental Market project in March, allowing for the construction of a spur, or lateral line, through the towns of Dedham and West Roxbury. The town appealed the ruling, but FERC allowed construction to begin before hearing the appeal.

Dedham argued that FERC’s decision was illegal and asked the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts to halt construction. Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh, U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch and several other local politicians have written FERC threatening to sue if the commission does not halt construction until it hears the appeal.

More: Boston Globe

June 23, 2015

FERC Won’t Investigate Offshore Wind Contract

By William Opalka

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has for the third time refused to take up a Rhode Island citizen’s allegations that an offshore wind power contract is illegal (EL15-61).

FERC declined without comment to refer the contract between Deepwater Wind and National Grid to its Office of Enforcement.

Benjamin Riggs Jr. claimed the 20-year power purchase agreement violated the Federal Power Act and the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution. He sought an enforcement action against the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act for violating the “commercially reasonable” provisions of that law.

Deepwater is constructing a 30-MW offshore wind farm near Block Island. The company and National Grid signed a contract that cost $500 million more than the avoided costs of conventional generation over the project’s life, which regulators approved in 2010. The commission had initially rejected an agreement, but the companies amended the contract after the state passed legislation to promote the wind farm as a clean energy resource and as an economic development project.

The final permit, from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was issued last year and the project is now under construction. It would be the first offshore wind farm in the U.S.

National Grid argued that Riggs did not have standing to bring the action before FERC under the various statutes that he cited.

Riggs had filed complaints in 2011 and 2012 with the same allegations that also failed (EL12-16, EL12-100). He tried again in April because he said a recent Supreme Court decision, which he did not name, “suggests that any possible administrative remedy should be explored before resorting to the courts.”

The courts appear to be his only option.

“Our decision not to initiate an enforcement action means that Mr. Riggs may himself bring an enforcement action against the Rhode Island commission in the appropriate court,” FERC wrote.

The Rhode Island Supreme Court rejected a ratepayer challenge in 2012.

June 23, 2015June 15, 2023

Southwestern Energy: Gas Industry Paying Heed to Environmentalists

By Rich Heidorn Jr.

MILWAUKEE — Gas producers are “listening loud and clear” to environmental concerns about fracking, James Tramuto, vice president of governmental and regulatory strategies for Southwestern Energy, said at the MISO Annual Meeting last week.

Southwestern Energy, the fourth-largest natural gas producer in the U.S., has committed to becoming a net-zero user of fresh water in its operations by the end of the year. “We’ll get there through conservation,” Tramuto said during a panel discussion. The company currently claims to use rainwater collected in ponds and water recycled from its operations for 83% of its water use, with 17% from streams.

Southwestern is one of eight gas companies in the ONE Future Coalition, a voluntary effort whose members have pledged to reduce methane emissions from leaks or loss to 1% across the supply chain.

While gas is expected to increasingly displace coal-fired generation, and the industry has plentiful supplies, producers must address the “hot-button issues” of pollution and local moratoriums if it is to continue its growth, Tramuto said.

The Sierra Club, which won $80 million in donations from billionaire Michael Bloomberg for its “Beyond Coal” campaign — with a goal of retiring half of U.S. coal plants by 2017 — is also running a “Beyond Natural Gas” program, albeit without Bloomberg’s support.

Anti-gas protests have become a regular feature at open meetings of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

“I would not discount the chance that gas may become the next ‘evil,’” said CAISO CEO Stephen Berberich, who also spoke on the panel.

Gas, Electric Schedules

Tramuto also commented on FERC’s efforts to better align the market schedules of the gas and electric industries. In April, the commission approved a rule adopting two gas scheduling changes but declined to move the start of the gas day to 4 a.m. CT from 9 a.m. CT. (See FERC Approves Final Rule on Gas-Electric Coordination.)

At the beginning of the scheduling discussions, Tramuto said, “people weren’t talking to one another, they were talking past one another and not really understanding the other side and what their needs were versus what our capabilities are.”

He added, “It’s the first time I’ve seen in a long time that the gas community collectively — that was the producers side, the pipelines, the whole group — all spoke with one voice on not changing that 9 a.m. start time.”

June 23, 2015

FERC Proposes Streamlined Reliability Rules for TOs, RCs

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week proposed revisions to several sets of reliability standards:

In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) on transmission operations (TOP) and interconnection reliability operations and coordination (IRO) standards, the commission outlined language it said would clarify standards for transmission operators and reliability coordinators, combining the eight current TOP standards into three. The commission said that the North American Electric Reliability Corp. had addressed concerns it raised in November 2013 about outage coordination and the treatment of system operating limits and interconnection reliability operating limits (IROLs) (RM15-16).
A second NOPR is designed to streamline and clarify requirements of emergency preparedness and operations (EOP) and protection and control (PRC) reliability standards. It would revise the definition of a remedial action scheme (RM15-7, RM15-13, RM15-12).

Comments on the proposed rules are due 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.

June 23, 2015June 15, 2023

FERC Upholds ComEd Charge on Energy Storage

By Michael Brooks

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week rejected a rehearing request on its approval of Commonwealth Edison’s wholesale distribution charge on an energy storage facility (ER15-3).

In its request, the Energy Storage Association contested ComEd’s classification of Energy Vault — a Chicago-based company whose energy storage facility is connected to ComEd’s distribution system and participates in PJM’s ancillary services markets — as a load-serving entity. The association argued that because the commission has previously classified energy storage resources as generators, the charge should not apply, as ComEd has exempted generators from such charges.

“By defining an [energy storage resource] as a market seller it was PJM’s and FERC’s clear intention to ensure battery facilities, such as Energy Vault, would be treated similar to other market sellers, such as generators and pumped storage facilities, rather than as a market buyer or load, which ComEd proposes to do here,” ESA said.

Energy Vault echoed these arguments in its protest to FERC’s November 2014 approval of the charge, which costs the company $3,449 annually.

FERC disagreed, saying that energy storage could be classified as generation, transmission or distribution, depending on the circumstances. In this case, Energy Vault’s battery “spends a substantial share of its operating life being charged by withdrawing energy from the distribution system,” the commission said. “Generation does not.”

“Notwithstanding the label applied to Energy Vault, be it deemed a wholesale customer serving load, generation, market seller or some combination, it is indisputable that Energy Vault seeks to use the ComEd distribution system to both inject into and withdraw power from its batteries,” FERC said. “The Nov. 28, 2014, order was not based on any particular label or classification for Energy Vault, but upon the fact that Energy Vault is using ComEd’s distribution system to withdraw energy for battery charging and therefore should contribute to its costs.”

ComEd exempted generators from wholesale distribution charges in 2009. The company found that reverse flows from renewable generation potentially benefit its system by reducing congestion.

“While a storage device discharging to the distribution system should also provide beneficial counterflow, a storage device differs from generation in that it must spend a substantial amount of time charging,” FERC said. “During charging, it will add to the flow and load on the distribution system just like any other load and, crucially, unlike a generator.”

FERC said that while it does treat energy storage as generation for specific purposes, that does not preclude a transmission owner from recovering the costs of its system through distribution charges.

Energy Vault’s storage facility, E-Vault, is a 100-kW prototype battery system that stores and provides power for the company’s Solar Plugs, solar-powered EV charging stations, including one on Northerly Island in Chicago.