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Regulatory Considerations for Federal Lands Generation Projects

Learn about FERC jurisdiction, federal laws, public utility definitions, and more for projects on federal lands. Understand FPA sections, PURPA, and NERC registration criteria. Explore implications of different ownership and usage scenarios.

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Regulatory Considerations for Federal Lands Generation Projects

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  1. Regulatory Considerations for Developing Generation Projects on Federal Lands Mason Emnett Office of Energy Policy and Innovation Jonathan First Office of the General Counsel February 6, 2013 NOTE: Comments herein do not represent the views of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or its Commissioners

  2. Purpose of this Presentation • Describe the types of transactions that fall under FERC jurisdiction • Describe pertinent federal laws and how they apply • What does it mean to be a “public utility” or “transmitting utility” under federal law? • How does ownership and usage of a generation facility impact regulatory considerations? • When are parties required to register with NERC?

  3. FERC-Related Statutes • Federal Power Act • Section 205: rates, terms and conditions of transmission and wholesale sale of electricity by public utilities • Sections 210/211: interconnection and wheeling by transmitting utilities • Section 215: certification of the Electric Reliability Organization; review and enforcement of reliability standards applicable to registered entities • Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) • Section 210: obligations to purchase from qualifying cogeneration and small power production facilities

  4. Federal Agency Owns Project and Uses All Electricity Produced • No sale of electricity within the meaning of the FPA • Transmission of electricity within the meaning of the FPA is unlikely • Potential state/local interconnection issues if generation is interconnected with the local utility’s distribution grid • Potential state/local rate issues regarding fixed cost recovery

  5. Third Party Owns Project and Federal Agency Uses All Electricity Produced • No sale or transmission of electricity within the meaning of the FPA • Transmission of electricity within the meaning of the FPA is unlikely • Potential state/local interconnection issues if generation is interconnected with the local utility’s distribution grid • Potential state/local rate issues regarding fixed cost recovery and use of the distribution grid for delivery • Potential state/local franchise issues

  6. Federal Agency Owns Project and Sells Some Electricity to Third Parties • Sale of electricity within the meaning of the FPA more likely, but federal agencies are not “public utilities” so no FERC approval [caveat: sales in RTO and ISO markets are subject to FERC-approved tariffs] • Transmission of electricity within the meaning of the FPA more likely, with interconnection and transmission service subject to FERC-approved tariffs • Potential state/local interconnection issues if generation is interconnected with the local utility’s distribution grid • Potential state/local rate issues regarding fixed cost recovery and use of the distribution grid for delivery • Potential state/local franchise issues

  7. Third Party Owns Project andSells Some Electricity to Third Parties • Sale of electricity within the meaning of the FPA more likely, requiring FERC authorization • Transmission of electricity within the meaning of the FPA more likely, with interconnection and transmission service subject to FERC-approved tariffs • Potential state/local interconnection issues if generation is interconnected with the local utility’s distribution grid • Potential state/local rate issues regarding fixed cost recovery and use of the distribution grid for delivery • Potential state/local franchise issues

  8. NERC Registration • Registry Criteria for generator owners/operators: • Individual generating unit > 20 MVA (gross nameplate) • Generating plant > 75 MVA (gross aggregate) • Blackstart resources • Determined to be material to system reliability • Exceptions: • Compliance responsibility transferred by written contract • Behind the meter generation – serves retail load on customer side of retail meter

  9. Questions? Mason Emnett Deputy Director Office of Energy Policy and Innovation (202) 502-6540 mason.emnett@ferc.gov Jonathan First Special Reliability Counsel Office of the General Counsel (202) 502-8529 jonathan.first@ferc.gov

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