PCCA Journal|1
st
Quarter 2015
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POWER NEWS
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FERC Plans Conferences
Focused on EPA’s Clean Power Plan
T
he Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
(FERC) in December announced a series of
technical conferences to discuss implications
of compliance approaches to the EPA’s pro-
posed Clean Power Plan rule. The conferences
will focus on issues related to electric reliability, wholesale
electric markets and operations, and energy infrastructure.
The conferences began with a commission-led National
Overview session at FERC headquarters on February 19.
Subsequent staff-led regional technical conferences will be
held in Washington, St. Louis, and Denver on dates to be
announced. Commission members may participate in those
conferences.
“The commission clearly has a role to play in ensuring that
the nation’s energy markets and infrastructure adapt to sup-
port compliance with the proposed Clean Power Plan,” said
FERC Chairman Cheryl A. LaFleur. “These technical confer-
ences will be an opportunity for the commission to hear from
a wide range of stakeholders across the country on issues
related to reliability, market operations, and energy infra-
structure.”
Topics at the National Overview technical conference in-
cluded:
s
Whether state utility and environmental regulators, regu-
lated entities, and others have the appropriate tools to
identify reliability and/or market issues that may arise.
s
Potential strategies for complying with the EPA regulations
and coordinating with FERC-jurisdictional wholesale and
interstate markets.
s
How planning entities, industry, and states coordinate reli-
ability and infrastructure planning processes with environ-
mental compliance efforts to ensure the adequate develop-
ment of new infrastructure and to manage any potential
reliability and operational impacts of proposed compliance
plans.
Each of the three regional conferences will include discus-
sion of potential effects on each region’s reliability, power
system operations, and generator dispatch under various
compliance approaches. Further information also will be
posted on the Calendar of Events on the FERC website, www.
ferc.gov, prior to the conferences.
Chamber Analysis Details State Concerns
with Proposed EPA Power Plant Regulations
A
comprehensive new analysis
released in January by the U.S.
Chamber’s Institute for 21st
Century Energy demonstrates the sever-
ity and breadth of state objections to
EPA’s proposed clean power plan rule.
Released last June by the Obama
administration, the rule represents one
of the largest and costliest regulatory
actions in history. Last fall, stakeholders
and the public were invited to submit
comments to EPA for consideration. All
fifty states, often through their public
utility commissions or environmental
agencies, submitted comments.
“What is truly striking is the level
of concern many states have regard-
ing EPA’s rule—whether they are blue
states, red states, or purple states,” said
Karen Harbert, president and CEO of the
Energy Institute. “Keeping the power on
and keeping electricity affordable are
not partisan issues, and indeed those
responsible for critical functions in many
states of all political stripes are telling
the Obama administration that major
changes must be made to this rule.”
The Energy Institute’s analysis identi-
fies 12 significant and common themes
raised by states, ranging from rushed
regulatory timelines (34 states), the legal
basis of the rule (32 states), threats to
reliability (32 states), and negative eco-
nomic consequences (28 states). At least
40 states questioned the achievability
of at least one of the “building blocks”
upon which the rule is based.
“EPA has emphasized from the start
that listening to the states and to stake-