Regulatory Updates

New Jersey’s Landmark Environmental Justice Law

EPA Finalizes Reversal of “Once In Always In” Air Pollution Policy

On October 1, 2020, the EPA finalized a ruling that no longer enforces the “once in, always in” air emissions policy.

FERC Issues Annual Report on Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Reliability Audits

In its 2020 Report on CIP Reliability Audits, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission found that most of the cybersecurity protection processes and procedures adopted by utilities met the mandatory CIP requirements for protecting the Bulk Electric System. However, there are areas for improvement.

EPA Finalizes New Source Review Reform – Clean Air Act Update

Clear Air Act Update on Project Emissions Accounting. Addresses the balance of increase and decreases in emissions for new projects.

NERC Prioritizes Inverter-Based Resources for Future Standards Development

As inverter-based resources found in wind and solar generation technologies continue to rapidly penetrate the U.S. power delivery system, NERC remains focused on managing the potential reliability consequences.

NERC Issues 2020 State of Reliability Report

The Report identifies areas of ongoing concern including generation reserve margins and the reliability risk from shifting the resource mix toward renewables.

NERC Issues Lessons Learned on Misoperations Due to Mixing Relay Technologies

On July 10, 2020 NERC released new Lessons Learned guidance to address situations where multiple composite protection systems have misoperated as a result of mixing protective relay technologies at the remote terminals of directional comparison blocking (DCB) schemes. This technical information will help utilities improve the reliability of the Bulk Power System.

NERC Reliability Standard PRC-024-3 Approved: Frequency and Voltage Protection Settings for Generating Resources

On July 9, 2020 NERC standard PRC-024-3 was approved, paving the way for improved protection systems in support of keeping generating resources connected during defined frequency and voltage excursions.

Summary of NERC CIP Standards Updates

FERC has released a notice of inquiry seeking comments on potential enhancements to NERC’s Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Reliability Standards.