Dive Brief:
- A court's decision to overturn Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Order 745 will stand, after the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to hear an appeal by the commission and other parties.
- Generators are hailing the decision as a victory. Order 745 brought demand response under FERC jurisdiction and put those resources at market parity with other resources.
- FERC has not ruled out an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Dive Insight:
The court's decision was not a surprise, but still comes as a loss for champions of demand response. The sector is still expected to grow, but at almost half the rate before Order 745 was overturned.
FERC Commissioner Philip Moeller said he was unhappy the commission would no longer oversee demand response, according to RTO Insider. "It’s not the end of the world if states are the ones now that have to procure DR," he added. "It’s real money to real consumers. They will treat it responsibly.”
FERC Chair Cheryl LaFleur is reportedly consulting with colleagues on whether to ask the Supreme Court to reconsider, but RTO Insider said it is "a very long shot" the court takes the case.
Commissioner Tony Clark was more upbeat and agreed with the court's ruling. "This is now an opportunity for us to move forward," he said. "It does not mean we should ignore demand response. Rather DR reductions can still be accounted for if they’re measurable, verifiable.”
