Dive Brief:
- FERC has scheduled a series of technical conferences for industry professionals and regulators to discuss the implications of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan, beginning with a national overview in Washington, D.C., in February.
- Additional staff-led conferences will be held in D.C., St. Louis and Denver on dates the commission will announce later. FERC members may participate in those conferences.
- The conferences will focus on issues related to electric reliability, wholesale electric markets and operations, and energy infrastructure.
Dive Insight:
Some FERC commissioners have been calling for a formal role in the implementation of the Clean Power Plan, and now it appears they will get one, although it's not clear how much weight the conference proceedings will hold with EPA decision makers.
In addition to three regional conferences yet to be scheduled, FERC at the Feb. 19 national overview will head discussions on whether state utility and environmental regulators, regulated entities and others have the appropriate tools to identify reliability and/or market issues that may arise.
“The Commission clearly has a role to play in ensuring that the nation’s energy markets and infrastructure adapt to support compliance with the proposed Clean Power Plan,” said FERC Chairman Cheryl LaFleur. “These technical conferences will be an opportunity for the Commission to hear from a wide range of stakeholders across the country on issues related to reliability, market operations, and energy infrastructure.”
The national event will also look at potential strategies for complying with the EPA regulations and coordinating with FERC-jurisdictional wholesale and interstate markets. Regulators and stakeholders will also consider how planning entities, industry and states coordinate reliability and infrastructure planning processes with environmental compliance efforts.
FERC said each of the three regional conferences will include discussion of potential effects on each region’s reliability, power system operations and generator dispatch under various compliance approaches.