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The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week approved a final rule extending reliability standards to generator tie-lines and a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on standards regarding generator verification. Generator Requirements at the Transmission Interface (RM12-16) In a final rule, the commission approved Reliability Standards FAC-001-1 (Facility Connection Requirements), FAC-003-3 (Transmission...

Ron Binz’ nomination to the FERC chairmanship was hanging by a thread late last week after coal-state lawmakers took the former Colorado regulator to task at his confirmation hearing and Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.V.) announced he would oppose the nominee. Binz testifies Binz will need the backing of one...

WASHINGTON – The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission today rejected settlements by FirstEnergy and Duke Energy affiliates over their moves to PJM, ruling that the companies unfairly imposed transition costs on transmission customers who were not party to the agreements. The orders involve FirstEnergy’s American Transmission Systems Inc. (ATSI), which moved...

danicek / 123RF Stock Photo The EPA’s proposed greenhouse gas limits on new power plants will not be as strict as initially proposed, but will still effectively prohibit the construction of new coal-fired plants, according to news reports. Plants burning natural gas reportedly will be permitted to emit about 1,000...

A Toronto entrepreneur announced plans last week to build a 1,000 MW merchant transmission line to deliver power from Ontario to PJM. (Source: Lake Erie Power Corp.) The “Lake Erie CleanPower Connector” would run under Lake Erie for about 60 miles from Nanticoke, Ontario to Erie County, Pennsylvania. The HVDC...

Seneca Pump hydro plant in Warren, PA (Source: FirstEnergy) FirstEnergy Corp. asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for approval to sell 11 hydroelectric power stations in Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia to Harbor Hydro Holdings, LLC, a subsidiary of LS Power Equity Partners II, LP. The hydro projects, totaling 527...

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission Friday cited nine PJM plants for additional scrutiny in its mid-year gradings of the nation’s nuclear fleet. The NRC grades each reactor based on data submitted quarterly by plant operators (“performance indicators”) and inspections by resident inspectors and regional staff. Its mid-year assessment places all operating...

If Democrats backing a carbon tax agree to use the revenue to reduce personal and corporate income taxes, congressional Republicans could sign on, says Harvard economist N. Gregory Mankiw, who served as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush. Most economists agree a carbon tax...

Air pollution from electric generation is responsible for more than 29,000 premature deaths annually in PJM states, more than any other air pollution source, according to a new study by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. (Source: MIT) The study found that fine particulates (PM2.5) and ozone pollution from electric...

(Source: NRC) The NRC grades each reactor based on data submitted quarterly by plant operators (“performance indicators”) and inspections by resident inspectors and regional staff. Its mid-year assessment places each operating unit within one of four levels of regulatory response, with the agency’s scrutiny increasing as plant performance declines:  The...