FERC last week moved to provide guidance and clarification related to the elements of filings made by regional transmission organizations (RTOs) in response to a decision issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

At its regular agenda meeting, the Commission said that filings establishing an RTO will be considered pursuant to Section 205 of the Federal Power Act (FPA), unless the transfer of operational control over transmission includes transfer of ownership or the transfer of jurisdictional contracts, among other things.

Consideration of such issues as the requirements for entry into, or exit from, an RTO will be considered under Section 205 of the FPA. FERC will be looking to the same issues set forth in Order 2000 in making its Section 205 determination and, in the event that an RTO member seeks to exit an RTO, such a move will be considered pursuant to Section 205.

FERC Commissioner William Massey noted that this week’s action is a follow-up to a U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruling involving Atlantic City Electric. In that ruling, the court essentially said that if there’s a change of operational control, that does not trigger Section 203 of the FPA, Massey noted. “But, clearly, [Section] 205 is implicated by a number of filings that would be made here before the Commission that involve the formation of an RTO or exit from an RTO,” he said.

A FERC staff member noted that typically, the establishment of an RTO will require a multiplicity of agreements and arrangements among the participants. “Those types of documents will require 205 filings and determination by the Commission that the balance of responsibilities among the participants in the ISO/RTO operator is just and reasonable and include entrance obligations and exit requirements and obligations,” the staff member said.

Massey verified with staff that FERC will not require a separate Section 205 filing for a transfer of operational control. “We’re saying, as you go about transferring operational control, we will look at the documents that you are required to file associated with that, whatever they are, under the 205 standard,” Massey said.

“As you can imagine, the establishment of an RTO has, typically, an element of such a transfer and is embodied in, typically, contracts and agreements that the Commission has on file and must find to be just and reasonable pursuant to Section 205,” the staff member said. He said that the substantive considerations “are really unchanged,” but that the statutory application will be different.

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