FERC Fights Round-Up – A Role for FERC in Climate Change Enforcement, Fed-State Conflict on Puget Sound Merger

One common convention of blogging is the round-up, a series of quick links of interest that don’t warrant a full analysis or where there’s no time to prepare one. With that said, here’s the first of the FERC Fights Round Ups:

A Role for FERC in Enforcement of Climate Change Laws? Massachusetts Congressman Ed Markey, chairman of the special House committee on global warmng is expected to unveil aggressive climate change legislation that mandates an 85 percent cut in greenhouse gases over the next four decade and would include a cap and trade plan to achieve the goal. Beginning in 2012, the the Environmental Protection Agency would auction off the pollution licenses to American industry, with companies needing to reduce emissions to levels authorized in the licenses or purchase additional allowances. And there’s even a role for FERC in all of this – the bill provides for creation of a new office at FERC to oversee the licensing process to prevent fraud and market manipulation, according to the bill.[Boston Globe].

Feds Approve Puget Sound Merger, But State Remains Skeptical Last month, FERC conditionally approved the $7.4 billion merger $7.4 billion merger between Washington-based Puget Energy, Inc. and an international investment consortium led by the Macquarie Group. The applicants must still obtain clearance from the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC). The deadline for rehearing of the FERC order has passed without any filings, however, controversy over the merger remains at the state level, with WUTC having received
8000 comments from the public on the proposal, 95 percent of which oppose the deal. While the sale will give Puget Sound Energy access to needed capital for growth, many have concerns about the substantial amount of debt financing underlying the deal (the buyers will borrow $4.2 billion to make the purchase) and ownership of a local utility by a group of foreign investors. Source: Red Orbit.com.

Power infrastructure vulnerable In testimony before a congressional subcomittee, FERC Chairman Joseph Kelliher concedes that “there is some risk” that a cyber attack could cause a major power disruption on a wide geographic scale. And lax security practices at TVA make it facilities vulnerable as well, a GAO report concludes. [Homeland Security Insight and Analysis].