A need to act: The FERC, the state commissions, and the Clean Air Act

Journal Article · Tue Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1992 · Public Utilities Fortnightly; (United States)

OSTI ID:7091488

Rose, K ^[1]; Burns, R E

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1. National Regulatory Research Institute, Columbus, OH (United States)

Sooner or later, Federal Energy Regulation Commission (FERC) and the state commissions will be forced to confront issues such as plant retirement, wholesale power rate requests, and changing wholesale power sales arrangements after an allocation agreement was made (and often before the Clean Air Act Amendement (CAAA)). Clear policy guidelines from both FERC and state commissions will help relieve some of the uncertainty surrounding the allowance market's development. This will aid the market's development making it more likely that the predicted cost savings from trading will be realized. Clear guidance will enable utilities to make better and more informed decisions that should benefit utilities and ratepayers alike. Since FERC is a key player on this issue, sitting on the sidelines is no longer helpful and even may be harmful. Moreover, FERC has an opportunity to be leader and facilitator in the developing regulatory policy debate. There may be no better opportunity for action than at this early stage. While the link between federal and state regulation is complex, three particularly important aspects are dealt with here: FERC's jurisdiction of wholesale power transaction, regional holding company and multistate utility allowances and compliance costs, and possible federal-state coordination.

• OSTI ID: 7091488
• Journal Information: Public Utilities Fortnightly; (United States), Journal Name: Public Utilities Fortnightly; (United States) Vol. 130:11; ISSN PUFNAV; ISSN 0033-3808
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS
200600 -- Fossil-Fueled Power Plants-- Economic
Industrial
& Business Aspects-- (1990-)
200700* -- Fossil-Fueled Power Plants-- Legislation & Regulations-- (1990-)
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
296000 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Electric Power
AIR POLLUTION
COMPLIANCE
COST
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
ECONOMICS
ELECTRIC UTILITIES
LAWS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
POLLUTION
POLLUTION LAWS
POLLUTION REGULATIONS
PUBLIC UTILITIES
RATE STRUCTURE
REGULATIONS
STATE GOVERNMENT
US CLEAN AIR ACT
US DOE
US FERC
US ORGANIZATIONS