Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)

MAPP wants to apply a distance-based transmission charge for wholesale coordination transactions of four years or less between pool members.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has adopted a policy statement on hydroelectric plant decommissioning, claiming authority to deny new project licenses when existing licenses expire and to order owners to remove a dam during the relicensing process. These measures would only be applied if the FERC concludes that a project, no matter how many conditions were imposed, could no longer meet the comprehensive development standard of the Federal Power Act (FPA) (Docket No. RM93-23-000).

The statement was one of three hydroelectric orders considered as a group.

The fledgling industry is also staking out its regulatory territory. Notably, on December 14, the FERC ordered the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to provide nonfirm transmission service to AES Power Inc.

SIDE SUBHEAD

Everyone talks about them.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has upheld a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) finding that the municipal preference in hydropower project relicensing cases did not apply to "orphaned" facilities. Facilities are considered orphaned if the current license holder files a notice of intent to apply for a relicense, but then fails to file a timely application.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has denied a request by Kentucky Utilities Co. (KU) to charge market-based rates for bulk-power sales. In a related action, the FERC called for a public hearing on KU's accompanying transmission tariff, which would establish point-to-point rather than network service.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has clarified the terms and conditions for default contracts designed for use on an interim basis when disputes arise over the sale or spinoff of pipeline-affiliated gas gathering systems.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved a final order requiring Texas Utilities Electric Co. (TU) and its affiliate, Southwestern Electric Service Co., to provide network transmission service to Tex-La Electric Cooperative of Texas Inc. (Docket No. ER94-1385-000). Network service allows multiple points of receipt and delivery at a single system rate. Tex-La, a customer of Texas Utilities and a bulk-power supplier for seven distribution cooperatives in Texas, is seeking to buy power from third parties and transmit the power over TU's transmission system.

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PG&E) is moving forward with a proposal to transfer jurisdiction over its mainline natural gas transmission facilities and storage system from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

The natural gas pipelines at issue cross into the southwestern United States as well as Canada.