Federal Energy Regulatory Commissioner Bernard McNamee has made it clear all year that he is stepping down from the regulatory body. He finally gave the exact date of his exit. In a Twitter post and statement on the FERC website, McNamee revealed September 4 will be his last day on the job. “Since I announced...
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in the U.S. proposes to update its hydropower project safety regulations to promote continued safe operation, maintenance and repair at jurisdictional projects to ensure the protection of life, health and property in surrounding communities. The proposed changes to part 12 of FERC’s regulations are outlined in a Notice of...
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission staff prepared a final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the relicensing of the Turlock and Modesto Irrigation Districts’ 168-MW Don Pedro Project and for licensing of the 4.7-MW La Grange Project. On April 28, 2014, the districts filed an application (amended on Oct. 11, 2017) for the Don Pedro Project on...
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has issued an order granting an exemption from licensing for the 1.087-MW Strontia Springs Project on the South Platte River in Douglas and Jefferson counties in Colorado. FERC is authorized to exempt from the licensing requirements of Part I of the Federal Power Act small hydroelectric projects with an installed...
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has issued a preliminary permit to Paddy Hill Holdings LLC to study the feasibility of the 9-MW Brownville Hydroelectric Project in Jefferson County, New York. The proposed Brownville project, on the Black River, would consist of a new impoundment with a storage capacity of 500 acre-feet at a normal pool...
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has issued a new (subsequent) operating license for the 223.788-MW Middle Fork American River Hydroelectric Project in California. The project is owned by Placer County Water Agency. The original operating license was issued in March 1963 and expired in February 2013. Since then, the project has operated under an annual...
The Federal Energy Commission has released Energy Primer: A Handbook for Energy Market Basics. According to the introduction: Natural gas, electricity and crude oil are forms of energy that are of particular interest to FERC pursuant to its authority under the Natural Gas Act, Federal Power Act, and Interstate Commerce Act. This primer explores the...
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has issued a new (subsequent) operating license for the 900-kW Gonzales Project, located on the Guadalupe River in Gonzales, Texas. The project is owned by the city of Gonzales, Texas. The original operating license was issued in August 1980 and expires July 31, 2020. The city filed the application for...
The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted utilities and other organizations to review existing or create epidemic/pandemic-response plans. To assist, the North American Transmission Forum (NATF), North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) jointly developed a resource to help utilities create, update or formalize their plans. The...
In response to an April 6 request by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) to defer the implementation of several reliability standards that had effective dates or phased-in implementation dates for this summer, FERC said yes. Some standards that were set to take effect on July 1 will now take effect October 1 and...