Recently, the three sitting Commissioners of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) convened thirty industry experts at a virtual Technical Conference on state adoption of carbon pricing and its implementation in organized, wholesale electricity markets managed by regional transmission organizations (RTOs) or independent system operators (ISOs). Public interest was high, with more than 2,000 computers across the country logged on to the discussion, which stretched over nine hours. Although no carbon pricing measures have been filed by RTO/ISOs for consideration by FERC, the sense of the Technical Conference was that proposals from states or from RTO/ISOs acting on their own initiative are right around the corner, irrespective of the election outcomes in November.
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Carbon Markets, Policy, and Management
FERC Carbon Pricing Conference Set
By Inside Energy on
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has scheduled a conference on September 30, 2020 regarding carbon pricing in organized wholesale electricity markets. According to the conference notice, the purpose is to discuss “considerations related to state adoption of mechanisms to price carbon dioxide emissions…in regions with FERC-jurisdictional organized wholesale electricity markets.” This conference should be of significant interest to a wide range of market participants and their investors, plus consumers of electricity, state policymakers and other diverse interests.
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New Administration’s “America First Energy Plan” Touts Fossil Energy Production; Omits Plans for Electricity Sector
By W. Andrew Jack on
As expected, with the inauguration of President Trump all Obama Administration content on the White House website has been replaced with content of the new Administration. The new content includes “An America First Energy Plan”, the entire focus of which is national security and job creation benefits of the…
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A Watch List of Possible Changes in EPA’s Final Clean Power Plan
In August, EPA is expected to finalize and to modify its ambitious Clean Power Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants. Here is a Watch List of key areas for possible changes and clarification that EPA might make, after considering voluminous public comments on the Proposed Regulations, which were issued in June 2014:
- Timelines for State Implementation. Will EPA relax the level of interim requirements for emission reductions by 2020 (or 2022, as suggested in recent press reports) and allow each state a more gradual or back-loaded schedule to meet final targets by 2030?
- Timelines for Filing State Implementation Plans. Will EPA delay or ease the threshold for granting waivers of the one-year requirement for filing single-state implementation plans or two-years for multi-state implementation plans?
- Credits for Early Action. Will EPA enable states to obtain credits or adjustments in baseline periods for early emission reduction actions that have already occurred or for acceleration of emission reductions achieved prior to 2020?
- Adjustments to the Four Building Blocks. Will EPA modify the four building blocks used to calculate each state’s achievable emission reductions, including changes in assumptions regarding achievable emission reductions under each building block?
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Supreme Court Decisions Raise Questions about Future Judicial Scrutiny of EPA’s Clean Power Plan
Two of the Supreme Court’s major, end-of-term decisions turn on the deference the Court gives to agency determinations of the meaning of ambiguous clauses in complex regulatory statutes, applying the familiar Chevron framework. The Court’s less deferential applications of Chevron raise important questions about the deference courts might be expected…
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U.S. Appeals Court Rejects, as Premature, Challenge to EPA’s Clean Power Plan
Today, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit refused to review challenges of EPA’s authority to adopt comprehensive regulations of carbon emissions from exiting power plants. A coal company, joined by 12 States, had asked the Court of Appeals to prohibit EPA from finalizing its…
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FERC Outlines its Role in Implementing EPA’s Clean Power Plan
Earlier this year, FERC held four technical conferences to discuss the implications of state, regional and/or federal plans for compliance with EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan (CPP) rule to set carbon emission limits for existing electricity generating units. A major issue raised was the impact of the CPP on electric…
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