The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on July 15 rejected “by operation of law” requests to reconsider its transmission planning and cost allocation rule, which has triggered a wave of appeals in courts across the United States.
If FERC doesn’t respond to rehearing requests within 30 days, they are deemed denied and parties can then file appeals in court. As it will in the transmission planning case, FERC can respond to the rehearing requests at a later date even though appeals are underway.
FERC in mid-May, on a 2-1 vote, approved Order 1920, a rule requiring transmission providers to consider forward-looking factors when developing their plans — such as utility resource plans, state energy goals, corporate energy procurement commitments and interconnection queues. The transmission plans must look ahead at least 20 years.
Transmission operators must also consider certain economic and reliability benefits when considering possible transmission projects, including production cost savings and how transmission could help grid operators handle extreme weather events.
Advanced Energy United, the American Clean Power Association and the Solar Energy Industries Association appealed Order 1920 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, according to a Thursday filing at the agency.
Like other initial appellate filings in the case, the trade groups didn’t say what their concerns were with FERC’s transmission planning and cost allocation rule.
However, in their rehearing request, the groups said FERC made a mistake when it didn’t require transmission providers to evaluate interconnection-related transmission needs in the long-term regional transmission planning process.
The agency also erred by not requiring transmission providers to consider storage resources that serve a transmission function in the list of alternative transmission technologies that transmission providers must consider in their regional transmission planning processes, the groups said.
Appalachian Voices, Energy Alabama, North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League asked the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, to review the decision, according to a Thursday filing.
Appeals were also filed in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans by Texas, and the Louisiana Public Service Commission and Mississippi Public Service Commission.
In a rehearing request, Texas joined other states in saying that FERC’s rule usurps states’ exclusive authority over generation choices by adopting rules designed to benefit renewable generation and renewable developers.
The Environmental Defense Fund filed an appeal in the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston and the Natural Resources Defense Council filed an appeal in the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City, according to filings this week at FERC.
Georgia and the Georgia Public Service Commission filed an appeal in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta on Thursday. The Sierra Club asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Wednesday to review FERC’s decision. The Public Service Commission of West Virginia and Public Utilities Commission of Ohio's Office of the Ohio Federal Energy Advocate filed a joint appeal with the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati on Wednesday.
More appeals are expected. There will be a lottery to determine which court will handle the appeals, according to Ari Peskoe, director of the Electricity Law Initiative at Harvard Law School’s Environmental and Energy Law Program.
