The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or the “Commission”) issued an order on May 1, 2019 denying rehearing of its orders asserting concurrent jurisdiction with a bankruptcy court over wholesale power contracts.

In January, prior to Pacific Gas & Electric (“PG&E”) filing for bankruptcy, NextEra Energy, Inc. and Exelon Corporation both filed complaints and petitions for declaratory orders from FERC, requesting that the Commission find that PG&E could not abrogate, amend, or reject in a bankruptcy proceeding any rates, terms, and conditions of its FERC-jurisdictional wholesale power contracts without first obtaining approval from the Commission.  The Commission quickly issued a brief order holding that a party to a FERC-jurisdictional wholesale power contract must obtain approval from both the bankruptcy court and the Commission  to reject a contract and modify the filed rate, respectively.  PG&E then filed its petition for bankruptcy and initiated an adversarial proceeding against FERC, requesting preliminary and injunctive relief.  That matter has continued to play out in the Northern District of California and there has not yet been a resolution by the bankruptcy court.  Meanwhile, PG&E requested rehearing of the Commission’s decision.  The Commission’s order on rehearing offers a more in-depth analysis of its jurisdiction.

The order first highlights the distinct roles that FERC and a bankruptcy court play in evaluating wholesale power contracts.  While FERC’s role is to protect the public interest, the bankruptcy court’s role is to provide a path to rehabilitate debtors.  The Commission held that the existence of bankruptcy proceedings does not alter its obligation, and exclusive authorization, to consider whether wholesale rates are just and reasonable. 
Continue Reading FERC Reaffirms Concurrent Jurisdiction Over PPAs in Bankruptcy

February 22, 2019 marked the deadline by which bills could be introduced for the first half of the 2019-2020 California Legislative Session.  More than 1,800 Assembly Bills and nearly 800 Senate bills were introduced; among them, legislation focused on the electrification of vehicles and the infrastructure for charging them.

Below is a list of some of the key bills Stoel Rives’ Energy Technology Working Group will be monitoring throughout the Legislative Session.  We note that some bills do not contain language beyond the “intent of the Legislature.”  These bills are set forth separately below under the heading “Legislative Intent.”  In addition, some bills identify non-substantive, technical revisions.  However, we will continue to monitor these bills in case of substantive amendments.

Key Upcoming Dates:  Lawmakers will begin Spring Recess April 12 and reconvene April 22.  The last day for bills to be passed out of the house of origin is May 31, 2019.

AB 40 (Ting, D)   Zero-emission vehicles: comprehensive strategy.
Status: Introduced December 3, 2018; referred to Assembly Committees on Transportation and Natural Resources January 24, 2019.
AB 40 would require by no later than January 1, 2021, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to develop a comprehensive strategy to ensure that the sales of new motor vehicles and new light-duty trucks in the state have transitioned fully to zero-emission vehicles, as defined, by 2040, as specified.

AB 753 (Garcia, D)  alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program: fuels: fueling infrastructure.
Status:  Introduced February 19, 2019; referred to Assembly Committee on Transportation February 28, 2019
Existing law establishes the California Alternative and Renewable Fuel, Vehicle Technology, Clean Air, and Carbon Reduction Act of 2007, which includes the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program, administered by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission), and the Air Quality Improvement Program, administered by CARB.

This bill would require the Energy Commission to make available at least 30 percent of the moneys available for allocation as part of the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program for projects to produce alternative and renewable low-carbon fuels in the state, as specified, and projects to develop stand-alone alternative and renewable fuel infrastructure, fueling stations, and equipment, as specified.
Continue Reading Electric Vehicles and Zero Emission Transportation Related Bills Introduced in the 2019-2020 Legislative Session

At its March 14, 2019 voting meeting, the California Public Utilities Commission (“CPUC”) voted out an Order Instituting Rulemaking (“OIR”) to Implement Senate Bill 237 (“SB 237”) Regarding Direct Access and to Consider Changes to Existing Direct Access Procedures.  The Rulemaking will address the expansion of Direct Access, as required by SB 237.

Direct Access permits customers of a California investor-owned utility (“IOU”) (e.g., Pacific Gas and Electric, San Diego Gas and Electric, Southern California Edison) to obtain their electricity from an electric service provider registered with the CPUC.  The IOU continues to provide transmission and distribution service to the customer.  Direct access was instituted in 1998 as part of California’s efforts to deregulate the electric sector.

As part of California’s efforts to recover from the energy crisis in 2000-2001, the California legislature passed Assembly Bill 1X (“AB1X”), which authorized the Department of Water Resources (“DWR”) to begin procuring electricity on behalf of IOU customers, and required the CPUC to allow DWR to recover the costs of such procurement from IOU ratepayers.  AB1X also authorized the CPUC to suspend Direct Access, motivated by a concern that IOU ratepayers would flee to Direct Access to avoid paying the cost of DWR procurement.Continue Reading California Public Utilities Commission Opens Rulemaking to Consider Expansion of Direct Access

The CAISO recently issued Part 2 of its Resource Adequacy Enhancements Straw Proposal and stakeholders met with the CAISO this week to discuss the paper and get further clarifications on the initial skeletal structure provided.

As part of the process, the CAISO reviewed the counting rules in other ISO/RTOs and found that most ISO/RTOs use…

The 2019-2020 California Legislative Session has reached its first deadline.  February 22, 2019 marked the deadline by which bills could be introduced for the first half of the Legislative Session. Lawmakers will begin Spring Recess April 12 and reconvene April 22.  The last day for bills to be passed out of the house of origin is May 31, 2019.

Below is a list of some of the key bills Stoel Rives’ Energy Team will be monitoring throughout the Legislative Session.  We note that some bills do not contain language beyond the “intent of the Legislature.”  However, we will continue to monitor these bills in case of substantive amendments.  These bills are set forth separately below under the heading “Legislative Intent.”

The majority of the bills introduced this Legislative Session relate in some way to California’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and move to cleaner sources of generation, including legislation governing electric vehicles, energy storage, and renewable energy.  A number of bills introduced in February also attempt to address the impacts of wildfires, or to reduce wildfire risk.


ASSEMBLY BILLS

AB 40 (Ting, D)   Zero-emission vehicles: comprehensive strategy.

Status: Introduced December 3, 2018; referred to Committees on Transportation and Natural Resources January 24, 2019.

AB 40 would require by no later than January 1, 2021, the State Air Resources Board to develop a comprehensive strategy to ensure that the sales of new motor vehicles and new light-duty trucks in the state have transitioned fully to zero-emission vehicles, as defined, by 2040, as specified.
Continue Reading Key Energy Related Bills Introduced in the 2019-2020 Legislative Session

FERC approved new changes to the CAISO tariff on February 19, 2019, with a retroactive effective date of November 27, 2018, that will impact projects in the CAISO’s generator interconnection queue. These changes are the result of a several month stakeholder initiative to enhance the interconnection process and follow a history of reforms intended to…

On January 29, 2019, the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development, the state’s land use agency, filed temporary rules amending the standards for siting solar PV facilities on agricultural lands.  Although the Land Conservation and Development Commission stopped short of making the changes permanent in order to further consider stakeholder interests at its May…

The CAISO is proposing several changes to the Resource Adequacy framework that will be relevant to generators both within and outside of California. CAISO is in the initial stages of developing their policy changes and it is a good time to voice concerns or offer suggestions before the changes are solidified.  We expect more than…

As a follow up to last week’s post about the proposed rules that would limit the development of solar PV on certain high-value farmland in Oregon, the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development issued its staff report on the proposed rules.  The staff report provides an overview of the rationale for the proposed changes…

The Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (“DLCD”), the state agency charged with overseeing and implementing the state’s land use planning program, is proposing new regulations that would prevent developers from siting solar PV facilities on certain farmland deemed high value.  Over the last several years, opposition to the siting of solar PV facilities…