Energy Legal Blog

Energy Policy Act of 2005 Hands FERC a Long To-Do List

The Domenici-Barton Energy Policy Act of 2005, signed into law on August 8, mandates that FERC issue several new rules and engage in other new initiatives over the next few months.  Milestones of particular significance to the power and natural gas industries are:

• Within 60 days:  Issue regulations on the National Environmental Policy Act pre-filing process for liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects. 
• Within 90 days: 
  • Consult with Departments of Interior, Commerce, and Agriculture, to establish procedures for trial-type expedited proceedings for mandatory conditions and fishways on hydropower licenses.
  • Issue a final rule exempting QFs, EWGs, and foreign utility companies from access requirements that take effect upon PUHCA repeal (PUHCA is repealed effective 6 months after enactment).
• Within 4 months: 
  • Issue rules to exempt from section 1275 any holding company whose public utility operations are confined to a single state and any other class of transactions FERC finds not relevant to jurisdictional public utility rates.
  • Issue any rules necessary to implement new PUHCA provisions.
  • Submit to Congress recommendations and conforming amendments to federal law necessary to carry out the new PUHCA subtitle.
• By Dec. 31, 2005:  Conclude California energy crisis proceedings and submit to Congress a report describing actions taken and timetables, if any, for further action.
• Within 180 days: 
  • Issue final rule implementing new reliability provisions.
  • Issue rule revising criteria for useful thermal output of QFs under PURPA.
  • Sign MOU with Commodity Futures Trading Commission on information under electric and gas market transparency provisions.
  • Report to Congress on progress in licensing and constructing Alaska natural gas pipeline.
  • With DOE, report to Congress on how to make available to all transmission owners and RTOs real-time information on the functional status of transmission lines within Eastern and Western Interconnections.
• Within 1 year:
  • By rule or order, establish how to meet the needs of load-serving entities.
  • Issue rules for incentive-based rate treatments for transmission in interstate commerce.
  • Convene regional joint boards to study security constrained dispatch, report to Congress.
  • Publish annual report assessing regional demand response resources.
  • As a member of a 5-member inter-agency task force, submit report to Congress assessing competition within wholesale and retail electricity markets.
  • Consult with DOE to conduct at least 3 LNG forums.
  • Enter MOU with other federal agencies to coordinate review and permitting of electric transmission facilities.
• Within 18 months:  Consult with DOE to submit report to President and Congress on benefits of cogeneration and small power production
• Within 2 years:  Consult with Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Interior and states to identify corridors for pipelines and electricity transmission and distribution facilities on federal land in Western states, perform environmental reviews for those designations, and incorporate corridors into relevant agency land use plans
• Within 4 years:  Consult with Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Interior and states to establish procedures to identify corridors for pipelines and electricity facilities for all other (i.e., non-Western) states.
• No deadline is set for these actions:
  • Issue rules governing national transmission corridor permits.
  • Adopt rules providing expedited procedures for processing FPA § 203 applications within 180 days.
  • Conclude MOU with Secretary of Defense to coordinate LNG facilities that may affect active military installations.
  • Consider New England states' objections to proposed locational installed capacity ("LICAP") requirement pending at FERC.
  • By rule or order, require non-regulated transmission entities to provide comparable open access.
  • Issue rules to permit recovery of prudently incurred costs of QF contracts.