Uneven pace of FERC Order 2022 implementation continues as grid operators face challenges
I hardly think of this as news; these concerns have been talked and written about since 2009
Energy Central…
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I hardly think of this as news; these concerns have been talked and written about since 2009
Energy Central…
The post FERC Finalizes PURPA Rule Reforms appeared first on POWER Magazine.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) finalized a long-awaited rule revising regulations that govern qualifying small power producers and cogenerators under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA). While FERC said the rule was necessary to respond to significant market changes, the action drew mixed reactions from industry.
FERC’s final rule issued on July 17 is the first major change to regulations it issued in 1980 under the pivotal law, which most experts agree has spurred the growth of smaller generators and played a major role in reshaping power sector business models.
While Congress enacted PURPA to reduce U.S. dependence on oil and natural gas, and encourage the development of alternative generation, including cogeneration and small-scale renewable generation, FERC has long-discussed updating its regulations under PURPA because it says the energy industry has since undergone many significant changes.
“It’s been my view from the start that FERC should modernize our regulations in ways that not only meet our statutory obligations, but also protect consumers and preserve competition,” said FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee.…
Kevin McIntyre, who briefly served as chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), died Jan. 2 at age 58. He had been diagnosed with brain cancer in 2017 and had surgery to remove a tumor.
President Trump nominated McIntyre, a Republican, in August 2017 to serve as FERC chairman. He was confirmed by the Senate in November of that year—the delay was attributed to his health— and sworn in on Dec. 7, 2017, just prior to his 57th birthday. The nature of his health problems was not made public until March 2018.
At that time he said his prognosis was good, owing to “excellent health” and ongoing treatment. He said: “For reasons of personal and family privacy, I do not intend to provide further details or updates on this subject.”
McIntyre was the co-leader of the global energy practice at the law firm Jones Day prior to his nomination to FERC. He led a large FERC practice at Jones Day, representing clients in several energy sectors.…
Kevin McIntyre, who briefly served as chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), died Jan. 2 at age 57. He had been diagnosed with brain cancer in 2017 and had surgery to remove a tumor.
President Trump nominated McIntyre, a Republican, in August 2017 to serve as FERC chairman. He was confirmed by the Senate in November of that year—the delay was attributed to his health— and sworn in on Dec. 7, 2017. The nature of his health problems was not made public until March 2018.
At that time he said his prognosis was good, owing to “excellent health” and ongoing treatment. He said: “For reasons of personal and family privacy, I do not intend to provide further details or updates on this subject.”
McIntyre was the co-leader of the global energy practice at the law firm Jones Day prior to his nomination to FERC. He led a large FERC practice at Jones Day, representing clients in several energy sectors.…
An official with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) told a nuclear industry group this week that the agency and Trump administration officials are trying to identify power plants they consider critical to the nation’s grid. The move is seen as part of the White House effort to prop up the struggling U.S. coal and nuclear power industries.
Anthony Pugliese, FERC’s chief of staff, provided information during a talk before the American Nuclear Society, according to Rod Adams of Atomic Insights, a Virginia-based publishing company that produces content related to atomic energy. Adams shared audio of Pugliese’s remarks with E&E News. “We are working with DOD [Department of Defense] and DOE [Department of Energy] and NSC [National Security Council] to identify the plants that we think would be absolutely critical to ensuring that not only our military bases but things like hospitals and other critical infrastructure are able to be maintained, regardless of what natural or man-made disasters might occur,” Pugliese said.…
Despite the recent retirement of “blackstart” units, grid operators have sufficient resources to quickly restore systems in the event of widespread outages, suggests a new report by staff at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC).
The report—“FERC-NERC-Regional Entity Joint Review of Restoration and Recovery Plans”—released May 2 presents findings from a joint FERC and NERC study that evaluated blackstart resources and planning by nine utilities registered with NERC. NERC—a non-profit international regulatory authority tasked with assuring reliability and security of the grid—defines a blackstart resource as one or more generating units and associated equipment that can be started without support from the bulk power system and is designed to remain energized without connection to the system. A blackstart unit energizes other equipment. The first generating unit in its cranking path is known as a “next-start” generating unit.
According to the report, blackstart generating units included in the participants’ system restoration strategies—and most participants had more than one, it noted—ranged from small (50 MVA) to larger units (100–200 MVA), to banks of generating units exceeding 1,000 MVA in capacity.…