Yesterday, December 16, 2010, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) conditionally approved a proposal by the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator (MISO) that significantly changes how large transmission upgrades are funded across the MISO region.

MISO’s proposal creates a new category of transmission projects called Multi-Value Projects (MVPs) for upgrades that are determined to enable

IN THIS EDITION:

  1. FERC opens a rulemaking on variable energy resources.
  2. FERC extends the comment deadline in the appeals by wind farms registered for transmission reliability functions.
  3. FERC denies a petition to protect priority to interconnection capacity rights.

FERC Opens Rulemaking on Intra-Hour Scheduling, Forecasting Requirements, and Integration Services for Variable Energy Resources

The Federal

From our colleague Michael O’Connell:

On May 18, 2010, California and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to coordinate federal and state procedures and schedules for development of hydrokinetic projects off California’s coast. FERC previously entered MOUs for such coordination with Oregon, Washington and Maine.

The California-FERC MOU

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) highlighted smart grid technologies in its strategic plan for fiscal years 2009-2014 (the “Strategic Plan”). FERC found that our nation could potentially reduce peak electricity demand by up to 20% through the deployment of new technologies, including smart grid and demand response technologies.
 

In the Strategic Plan, FERC is