81 FR 76345 - Order on Intent To Revoke Market-Based Rate Authority

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 212 (November 2, 2016)

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 212 (Wednesday, November 2, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76345-76346]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-26422]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission


Order on Intent To Revoke Market-Based Rate Authority

Before Commissioners: Norman C. Bay, Chairman; Cheryl A. LaFleur, 
and Colette D. Honorable.


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                                                   Docket Nos.
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Electric Quarterly Reports.............  ER02-2001-020
AP&G Holdings LLC......................  ER12-2430-000
Bargain Energy, LLC....................  ER14-1343-001
CES Placerita, Incorporated............  ER14-57-000
Crawfordsville Energy, LLC.............  ER15-631-001
DES Wholesale, LLC.....................  ER12-1770-001
Dillon Power, LLC......................  ER15-1810-000
DownEast Power Company, LLC............  ER10-1304-002
Escanaba Green Energy, LLC.............  ER12-2307-001
GearyEnergy, LLC.......................  ER10-2817-000
LVI Power, LLC.........................  ER12-2484-000
Madstone Energy Corp...................  ER11-4482-000
NiGen, LLC.............................  ER15-567-001
R&R Energy, Inc........................  ER11-4711-002
Societe Generale Energy LLC............  ER11-2775-000
Tall Bear Group, LLC...................  ER12-2374-000
Western Reserve Energy Services, LLC...  ER13-1706-000
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    1. Section 205 of the Federal Power Act (FPA), 16 U.S.C. 824d 
(2012), and 18 CFR part 35 (2016), require, among other things, that 
all rates, terms, and conditions of jurisdictional services be filed 
with the Commission. In Order No. 2001, the Commission revised its 
public utility filing requirements and established a requirement for 
public utilities, including power marketers, to file Electric Quarterly 
Reports summarizing the contractual terms and conditions in their 
agreements for all jurisdictional services (including market-based 
power sales, cost-based power sales, and transmission service) and 
providing transaction information (including rates) for short-term and 
long-term power sales during the most recent calendar quarter.\1\
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    \1\ Revised Public Utility Filing Requirements, Order No. 2001, 
FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,127, reh'g denied, Order No. 2001-A, 100 
FERC ] 61,074, reh'g denied, Order No. 2001-B, 100 FERC ] 61,342, 
order directing filing, Order No. 2001-C, 101 FERC ] 61,314 (2002), 
order directing filing, Order No. 2001-D, 102 FERC ] 61,334, order 
refining filing requirements, Order No. 2001-E, 105 FERC ] 61,352 
(2003), order on clarification, Order No. 2001-F, 106 FERC ] 61,060 
(2004), order revising filing requirements, Order No. 2001-G, 120 
FERC ] 61,270, order on reh'g and clarification, Order No. 2001-H, 
121 FERC ] 61,289 (2007), order revising filing requirements, Order 
No. 2001-I, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,282 (2008). See also Filing 
Requirements for Electric Utility Service Agreements, 155 FERC ] 
61,280 (2016) (order clarifying reporting requirements and updating 
data dictionary).
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    2. The Commission requires sellers with market-based rate 
authorization to file Electric Quarterly Reports.\2\ Commission staff's 
review of the Electric Quarterly Reports indicates that the following 
16 public utilities with market-based rate authorization have failed to 
file their Electric Quarterly Reports: AP&G Holdings LLC, Bargain 
Energy, LLC, CES Placerita, Incorporated, Crawfordsville Energy, LLC, 
DES Wholesale, LLC, Dillon Power, LLC, DownEast Power Company, LLC, 
Escanaba Green Energy, LLC, GearyEnergy, LLC, LVI Power, LLC, Madstone 
Energy Corp, NiGen, LLC, R&R Energy, Inc., Societe Generale Energy LLC, 
Tall Bear Group, LLC, and Western Reserve Energy Services, LLC. This 
order notifies these public utilities that their market-based rate 
authorizations will be revoked unless they comply with the Commission's 
requirements within 15 days of the date of issuance of this order.
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    \2\ See Refinements to Policies and Procedures for Market-Based 
Rates for Wholesale Sales of Electric Energy, Capacity and Ancillary 
Services by Public Utilities, Order No. 816, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 
31,374 (2015), order on reh'g, Order No. 816-A, 155 FERC ] 61,188 
(2016); Market-Based Rates for Wholesale Sales of Electric Energy, 
Capacity and Ancillary Services by Public Utilities, Order No. 697, 
FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,252 at P 3, clarified, 121 FERC ] 61,260 
(2007), order on reh'g, Order No. 697-A, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 
31,268, clarified, 124 FERC ] 61,055, order on reh'g, Order No. 697-
B, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,285 (2008), order on reh'g, Order No. 
697-C, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,291 (2009), order on reh'g, Order 
No. 697-D, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,305 (2010), aff'd sub nom. Mont. 
Consumer Counsel v. FERC, 659 F.3d 910 (9th Cir. 2011), cert. 
denied, 133 S. Ct. 26 (2012).
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    3. In Order No. 2001, the Commission stated that,

[i]f a public utility fails to file a[n] Electric Quarterly Report 
(without an appropriate request for extension), or fails to report 
an agreement in a report, that public utility may forfeit its 
market-based rate authority and may be required to file a new 
application for market-based rate authority if it wishes to resume 
making sales at market-based rates.\3\
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    \3\ Order No. 2001, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,127 at P 222.

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    4. The Commission further stated that,

[o]nce this rule becomes effective, the requirement to comply with 
this rule will supersede the conditions in public utilities' market-
based rate authorizations, and failure to comply with the 
requirements of this rule will subject public utilities to the same 
consequences they would face for not satisfying the conditions in 
their rate authorizations, including possible revocation of their 
authority to make wholesale power sales at market-based rates.\4\
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    \4\ Id. P 223.

    5. Pursuant to these requirements, the Commission has revoked the 
market-based rate tariffs of market-based rate sellers that failed to 
submit their Electric Quarterly Reports.\5\
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    \5\ See, e.g., Electric Quarterly Reports, 80 FR 58,243 (Sep. 
28, 2015); Electric Quarterly Reports, 79 FR 65,651 (Nov. 5, 2014).
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    6. Sellers must file Electric Quarterly Reports consistent with the 
procedures set forth in Order Nos. 2001, 768 \6\ and 770.\7\ The exact 
filing dates for Electric Quarterly Reports are prescribed in 18 CFR 
35.10b (2016). As noted above, Commission staff's review of the 
Electric Quarterly Reports for the period

[[Page 76346]]

up to the first quarter of 2016 identified 16 public utilities with 
market-based rate authorization that failed to file Electric Quarterly 
Reports. Commission staff contacted or attempted to contact these 
entities to remind them of their regulatory obligations. Despite these 
reminders, the public utilities listed in the caption of this order 
have not met these obligations. Accordingly, this order notifies these 
public utilities that their market-based rate authorizations will be 
revoked unless they comply with the Commission's requirements within 15 
days of the issuance of this order.
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    \6\ Electricity Market Transparency Provisions of Section 220 of 
the Federal Power Act, Order No. 768, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,336 
(2012), order on reh'g, Order No. 768-A, 143 FERC ] 61,054 (2013).
    \7\ Revisions to Electric Quarterly Report Filing Process, Order 
No. 770, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,338 (2012).
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    7. In the event that any of the above-captioned market-based rate 
sellers has already filed its Electric Quarterly Reports in compliance 
with the Commission's requirements, its inclusion herein is 
inadvertent. Such market-based rate seller is directed, within 15 days 
of the date of issuance of this order, to make a filing with the 
Commission identifying itself and providing details about its prior 
filings that establish that it complied with the Commission's Electric 
Quarterly Report filing requirements.
    8. If any of the above-captioned market-based rate sellers does not 
wish to continue having market-based rate authority, it may file a 
notice of cancellation with the Commission pursuant to section 205 of 
the FPA to cancel its market-based rate tariff.
    The Commission orders:
    (A) Within 15 days of the date of issuance of this order, each 
public utility listed in the caption of this order shall file with the 
Commission all delinquent Electric Quarterly Reports. If a public 
utility subject to this order fails to make the filings required in 
this order, the Commission will revoke that public utility's market-
based rate authorization and will terminate its electric market-based 
rate tariff. The Secretary is hereby directed, upon expiration of the 
filing deadline in this order, to promptly issue a notice, effective on 
the date of issuance, listing the public utilities whose tariffs have 
been revoked for failure to comply with the requirements of this order 
and the Commission's Electric Quarterly Report filing requirements.
    (B) The Secretary is hereby directed to publish this order in the 
Federal Register.

    By the Commission.

    Issued: October 27, 2016.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016-26422 Filed 11-1-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P