FERC Compliance and Enforcement for Electric Utilities

July 28-29, 2022 | Online :: Central Time

0722-ferc-compliance

“Extremely helpful in breaking down why we are where we are today and understanding legislative reasoning.” Credit & Risk Analyst, Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc.

“Sometimes it takes a training event, where you are uninterrupted and focused on material to allow yourself to fill in the knowledge gaps. This training event allowed me to obtain that knowledge.” Manager, Regulatory, AEP

 “This course provides a wonderful foundation for FERC and NERC compliance professionals!” Portland General Electric

The FERC Compliance and Enforcement for Electric Utilities course provides a comprehensive overview of the agency’s impact on the electric power industry. This course is designed for attendees who are seeking a basic knowledge of FERC, desiring a refresher course, or wanting to learn about how the Biden administration and changes in congressional leadership influence the commission.

This course looks at many of the substantive requirements with which utilities – and in some cases, other participants in the electricity markets – must comply.  In addition, it addresses steps that can be taken before FERC initiates an investigation or audit, describes what happens if FERC decides to act and when and what an organization should do in that case, and reviews the array of penalties that could be imposed when a violation occurs.

Learning Outcomes

FERC has a large – and growing – presence in the electric industry, especially in light of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Attendees will be able to recognize and relate the nature of the FERC role and how agency actions may affect regulated entities and the marketplace.

• Identify the substantive requirements involved in ensuring compliance with FERC regulations
• Discuss the FERC organization and describe the divisions that are responsible for enforcement of FERC requirements
• Describe the essential elements of protecting an organization by establishing proactive measures focused on maintaining compliance
• Explain what makes an internal compliance and audit program effective
• Define the purpose of the FERC hotline
• Examine various scenarios of actions that can be taken by FERC and consider organizational responses
• Recognize penalties that can be imposed by FERC
• Consider mitigating factors that may apply to FERC actions and their benefits

 

Thursday, July 28, 2022 : Central Time

Electric Power: Industry Overview, Organization, and Federal/State Distinctions

 

Getting to Know FERC

• An Overview of FERC
• Regulation before FERC

Exploring FERC’s Compliance Jurisdiction

• FERC Authority and Jurisdiction
• State Authority and Jurisdiction

Principles of Electric Regulation

• Regulation Under the Federal Power Act
• Just and Reasonable Rates
• Prohibition Against Undue Discrimination
• Filed Rate Doctrine
• Rule Against Retroactive Ratemaking
• Due Process and Burden of Proof
• Basics of Ratemaking

FERC Compliance Practice and Procedure

• Types of Proceedings
• Overview of Regulatory Process

The Introduction of Competition

• PURPA
• EPAct 1992
• Order 888 and its Progeny
• Order 2000
• Recent Developments

FERC Compliance within Organized Markets (RTOs, ISOs, and ITCs)

• RTO Characteristics and Functions
• Major Market Issues

12:00 – 12:30 p.m. :: Lunch Break

Utility Mergers and Acquisitions

• Historical Overview
• PUHCA and EPACT 2005
• FPA Section 203
• FERC Merger Policy

New Developments in FERC Compliance

• Formula Rates
• FERC’s NEPA Review

Mandatory FERC Compliance and Enforceable Reliability Regime

• Reliability History
• Federal Power Act and Energy Policy Act of 2005
• NERC

Current Threats and Emerging Issues in FERC Compliance

• Use of FERC’s Top-Down Authority
• Scope of Emerging and Evolving Challenges

Transition to Risk-Based Monitoring and FERC Enforcement

• Monitoring and Enforcement Processes
• Risk-Based Enforcement

Friday, July 29, 2022 : Central Time

FERC Compliance Best Practices for Reliability

• Understanding Regulatory Context
• Cultivating Internal Structure
• Conducting Compliance Reviews
• Engaging in ERO CMEP Activities

Introduction to Market Manipulation 

• FERC Enforcement Background
• Historical Development of FERC Enforcement
  • Prior to FERC: 1930s – 1970s
  • Non-FERC Agency Enforcement Regimes
  • Initial FERC Regime: 1977 – 2005
• Current FERC Regime: 2005 – Present
  • Order No. 670
  • Typical Enforcement Issues
  • Examples of Prohibited Actions
  • Case Studies

FERC Enforcement Process and Audits

• How Enforcement Investigations Undertaken
• Settlement Procedures
• Orders to Show Cause
• Appeal Routes
• Penalties
• Guidance Letters
• Audits
  • How Conducted
  • Recent Examples

FERC Enforcement Penalties and Best Practices

• FERC Penalty Guidelines
• Best Practices for Handling the FERC Enforcement Process

Peter Scanlon, Shareholder, Duncan, Weinberg, Genzer & Pembroke, P.C.

Mr. Scanlon is a Shareholder at Duncan, Weinberg, Genzer & Pembroke, with over three decades of experience in commercial litigation and administrative law, including rate proceedings involving electric and natural gas utilities.  Mr. Scanlon’s practice involves advising clients on organized market rules, rate case litigation, regulatory compliance, enforcement matters, standards of conduct, power plant acquisitions and construction issues, hydroelectric license issues, municipal law, communications law, and energy contracts.  Mr. Scanlon has extensive experience advising clients on regulatory compliance, enforcement, standards of conduct, and transactional matters.  Mr. Scanlon presents regularly on energy law topics including climate policies effecting natural gas policies and usage, FERC’s market manipulation authority and enforcement, federal power marketing administrations, energy contracting issues, and FERC practice and procedures.  Mr. Scanlon provides annual updates to a treatise on natural gas practice and procedures and rates issues. Mr. Scanlon previously served as in-house counsel for a natural gas public utility holding company involved in natural gas exploration, interstate pipelines, storage, local distribution, and energy production and marketing. 

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Sean Neal, Shareholder, Duncan, Weinberg, Genzer & Pembroke, P.C.

Sean is a Shareholder with Duncan, Weinberg, Genzer and Pembroke, P.C., practicing from the firm’s Sacramento, California office.  For over two decades, Sean’s practice has focused on utility regulation, both federal and state.  He has appeared in and litigated cases involving utility regulation and contractual disputes before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, California State Court, Federal Appellate and District Courts and the American Arbitration Association.  His advice has helped client navigate and transact in independent system operator and regional electricity markets. 

An additional hallmark of Sean’s practice is assisting clients with their compliance obligations, including under the mandatory Reliability Standards regime enforced by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation and Western Electricity Coordinating Council.  He has assisted clients prepare for audits, negotiate compliance agreements, and act as part of client’s reliability compliance team.  Sean similarly has advised clients as to compliance with federal market behavior rules. When clients have been faced with enforcement action by compliance enforcement authorities, Sean has worked with clients to reach mutually acceptable resolutions with those authorities.

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Barry Lawson, Regulatory Policy Director, Duncan, Weinberg, Genzer & Pembroke, P.C.

Mr. Lawson joined the Firm in May 2021 as a Regulatory Policy Director focusing on electric industry cybersecurity, grid security, Bulk Electric System (BES) reliability and other interrelated issues. Mr. Lawson’s focus is working with clients on these issues and providing technical and policy support to the Firm’s attorneys on these and other issues.

Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Lawson completed a 20-year career with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) as their Senior Director, Regulatory Affairs. His regulatory and policy focus at NRECA over the years transitioned from FERC open access, pricing and interconnection transmission policy to disaster planning and response, cyber and data security, electric grid security, and BES reliability issues. This work helped him to develop and establish strong relationships and contacts with electric industry trade associations (including APPA, EEI, ELCON, EPSA, LPPC, TAPS and others), the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and its Regional Entities, and numerous federal government agencies (including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and others). Mr. Lawson’s extensive knowledge and expertise in these areas are valuable to existing and new clients.

Earlier in Mr. Lawson’s career, he performed transmission policy analysis for EEI, KEMA Consulting and Columbia Gas Transmission. Mr. Lawson’s electric industry career began with Dominion Energy (Virginia Power) in the distribution engineering and customer service areas.

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Ellen Hill, Associate Attorney, Duncan, Weinberg, Genzer & Pembroke, P.C.

Ms. Hill has been with DWGP since 2020 and is duly admitted to practice law in the State of Arizona and the District of Columbia. Her work includes practice areas relating to energy, electric reliability, utility, environmental, municipal, and cybersecurity law, along with various issues relating to telecommunications. Ms. Hill has assisted with proceedings before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the Bonneville Power Administration, and the Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia concerning wholesale transmission, ancillary services, and retail distribution rates. She is familiar with both federal and state regulatory law.

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Sylwia Dakowicz, Associate, Duncan, Weinberg, Genzer & Pembroke, P.C.

Ms. Dakowicz is an Associate in the Firm’s Sacramento office. Her practice focuses on renewable energy, community choice aggregation, municipal, electric reliability, communications, and hydropower law. Ms. Dakowicz drafts pleadings and provides analysis pertaining to proceedings before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on matters including utility mergers, the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA), and transmission owner rate cases. Ms. Dakowicz represents clients in transmission revenue requirement settlement proceedings, provides clients with advice concerning participation in California Independent System Operator (CAISO) stakeholder proceedings, and assists clients in preparing and modifying contracts related to interconnections and North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Reliability Standards. She also tracks and analyzes NERC developments, CAISO tariff and market changes (including developments in the Western Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) and the Western Interconnection), as well as California Energy Commission (CEC) and California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) proceedings.

Prior to joining the Firm, Ms. Dakowicz interned with the CAISO, as well as with the CPUC for both Commissioner Martha Guzman Aceves and the Administrative Law Judge Division. At the CPUC, Ms. Dakowicz analyzed for the Administrative Law Division matters in both the energy and telecommunications fields, involving such matters as market rules and expert testimony standards. Before attending law school, Ms. Dakowicz worked as an Anti-Money Laundering Analyst at an international bank.

We will be using Microsoft Teams to facilitate your participation in the upcoming event. You do not need to have an existing Teams account in order to participate in the broadcast – the course will play in your browser and you will have the option of using a microphone to speak with the room and ask questions, or type any questions in via the chat window and our on-site representative will relay your question to the instructor.

• IMPORTANT NOTE: After November 30 you will not be able to join a Teams meeting using Internet Explorer 11. Microsoft recommends downloading and installing the Teams app if possible. You may also use the Edge browser or Chrome.
• You will receive a meeting invitation will include a link to join the meeting.
• Separate meeting invitations will be sent for the morning and afternoon sessions of the course.
  • You will need to join the appropriate meeting at the appropriate time.
• If you are using a microphone, please ensure that it is muted until such time as you need to ask a question.
• The remote meeting connection will be open approximately 30 minutes before the start of the course. We encourage you to connect as early as possible in case you experience any unforeseen problems.

Please Note: This event is being conducted entirely online. All attendees will connect and attend from their computer, one connection per purchase. For details please see our FAQ

If you are unable to attend at the scheduled date and time, we make recordings available to all attendees for 7 days after the event

REGISTER NOW FOR THIS EVENT:

FERC Compliance and Enforcement for Electric Utilities

July 28-29, 2022 | Online

Your registration may be transferred to a member of your organization up to 24 hours in advance of the event. Cancellations must be received on or before June 24, 2022 in order to be refunded and will be subject to a US $195.00 processing fee per registrant. No refunds will be made after this date. Cancellations received after this date will create a credit of the tuition (less processing fee) good toward any other EUCI event. This credit will be good for six months from the cancellation date. In the event of non-attendance, all registration fees will be forfeited. In case of conference cancellation, EUCIs liability is limited to refund of the event registration fee only. For more information regarding administrative policies, such as complaints and refunds, please contact our offices at 303-770-8800

Credits

EUCI is accredited by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) and offers IACET CEUs for its learning events that comply with the ANSI/IACET Continuing Education and Training Standard. IACET is recognized internationally as a standard development organization and accrediting body that promotes quality of continuing education and training.

EUCI is authorized by IACET to offer 1.0 CEUs for this event.

Instructional Methods

This program will use PowerPoint Presentations, group discussions, as well as active participation.

Requirements for a Successful Completion of Program

Participants must log in each day and be in attendance for the entirety of the course to be eligible for continuing education credit.

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Upon successful completion of this event, program participants interested in receiving CPE credits will receive a certificate of completion.

Course CPE Credits: 11.0
There is no prerequisite for this Course.
Program field of study: Specialized Knowledge
Program Level: Basic
Delivery Method: Group Internet Based
Advanced Preparation: None

EUCI is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its web site: www.nasbaregistry.org

 

 

Who Should Attend

Those who will benefit from this course include engineers, managers, members of the financial community, attorneys, and anyone else interested in understanding the laws governing FERC in addition to its rules, policies, and procedures. The course will also be beneficial to individuals seeking insight on current agency proceedings involving electric power.

• Engineers
• Utility project managers
• Transmission and distribution personnel
• Members of the financial community
• Attorneys
• Regulators and regulatory affairs personnel for utilities
• Governmental agencies interested in FERC compliance rules