Company Briefs

Calpine has agreed to buy the 12-year-old Granite Ridge Energy Center in Londonderry, N.H., for $500 million, or about $671/kW, the company said last week.

The 745-MW combined-cycle, gas-fired plant is located 45 miles north of Boston in ISO-NE. The acquisition will bring the company’s generation resources in the region to about 2,000 MW.

The plant, which went into operation in 2003, features two combustion turbines, two heat recovery steam generators and one steam turbine.

More: Calpine

Xcel Completes Segment of $2B, 800-Mile Tx Project

Xcel Energy has completed its 90-mile, 345-kV segment between Minnesota and Wisconsin of the CapX2020 Hampton-Rochester-La Crosse transmission project. The project is 800 miles and begins in the Dakotas with two separate lines that converge in Minneapolis-St. Paul. The new segment terminates in Holmen, Wis., but the project will eventually extend to Madison.

The $2 billion project is expected to be completed in 2016. It is the area’s biggest upgrade of the transmission system in decades, according to project developers.

More: Post-Bulletin

165 MW of Solar Power Coming Online in New Mexico

By the end of 2016, New Mexico will be producing another 165 MW of solar electricity from three large-scale generating facilities scheduled to go into service near Roswell and Deming.

Xcel Energy subsidiary Southwest Public Service has signed a long-term power purchase agreement with NextEra Energy Resources to build and operate two 70-MW solar sites, which will be the largest photovoltaic facilities in the state.

Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, a wholesale power supplier for 44 electric cooperatives in New Mexico and three other states, also announced a deal with D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments and Denver-based TurningPoint Energy for a 25-MW solar facility in southeast New Mexico.

More: Albuquerque Journal

Ameren Adds Luminant’s Flores to Board of Directors

Rafael Flores, senior vice president and chief nuclear officer for Texas generator Luminant who is scheduled to retire at the end of the year, has been elected to Ameren’s board of directors effective Nov. 1. Flores’ election increases St. Louis-based Ameren’s board from 11 to 12.

Warner L. Baxter, Ameren’s chief executive, said Flores’ extensive nuclear operating experience will help guide Ameren, whose Callaway Energy Center is “a critical nuclear generation resource in providing safe, lean, reliable and reasonably priced energy.”

Flores has announced his retirement effective Dec. 31 after 32 years with Luminant. He oversees operations of the Comanche Peak nuclear plant southwest of Fort Worth and is active with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations and the Nuclear Energy Institute. He also serves on various committees and working groups in the nuclear industry.

More: Ameren

Westar Announces 3 Gas Plants to Shut Down by Year’s End

Westar Energy announced plans last week to shut down three of its older gas-fired peaking units in Kansas by the end of the year. The move will mean the loss of 40 jobs, though Westar indicated it would give employees positions within the company.

Westar will close a 50-year-old, 167-MW combustion turbine at the Hutchinson Energy Center. It is also decommissioning a gas generator installed in 1962 at the Tecumseh plant near Topeka and another operating since 1954 in Lawrence.

“People are using less energy, so we no longer need these old, small generating units to meet peak electrical demand,” said John Bridson, Westar senior vice president of generation. “Plus, the current price to add more renewable energy is a reasonable alternative, so we’ll add more renewable energy, as needed.” The utility said its emission-free energy will equal more than 40% of its retail demand next year.

More: The Hutchinson News; Westar

BNE Erects Connecticut’s First Wind Farm Project

BNE Energy and Connecticut political leaders celebrated the launch of the state’s first commercial wind project by putting a mammoth turbine into service in Colebrook.

Two of the three turbines that were approved for the site have been erected at the 10-acre property, which is 1,500 feet above sea level. Once both wind turbines are operational, they will produce about 5 MW. BNE will not erect the third turbine until it secures a contract for the electricity that unit produces.

BNE Energy has a 20-year contract to sell the power produced by the two turbines to Eversource Energy. From 2011 to 2014, Connecticut was the only state in the country to ban wind farm development.

More: New Haven Register

DTE Plans to Close its 40-MW Biomass Plant

Citing market conditions, DTE Energy announced it is closing a 40-MW biomass plant in Cassville, Wis. DTE bought the E.J. Stoneman Electrical Station, a former coal-fired power plant, in 2008 and converted it to burn wood waste in 2010.

The power from the station was sold to Dairyland Power Cooperative. DTE said the plant was under pressure to generate affordable energy in the face of falling electricity prices from renewable energy projects in the region.

More: Biomass Magazine

FirstEnergy Progressing on $260M Dewatering System

FirstEnergy is working to complete a dewatering facility at its giant Bruce Mansfield plant in Pennsylvania, which is expected to resolve the plant’s coal ash disposal issues. FirstEnergy has to complete the system in order to keep the 2,490-MW plant running after a Jan. 1, 2017, deadline for various emissions and ash-storage mandates.

“It’s a challenge, but we like challenges,” said James Fitzgerald, FirstEnergy manager of special projects. The facility will be able to handle between 2.5 million and 3 million tons of coal ash slurry per year. Once the ash is dried, it will be trucked to a number of company-owned disposal sites. The final destinations have not yet been decided, but one could be at the company’s Hatfield’s Ferry station in Fayette County, Pa. That power plant was retired in 2013.

The dewatering project is estimated to cost $260 million, up from initial estimates of $200 million.

More: TribLive

NRC Launches Inspection of Dominion’s Millstone

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission initiated an inspection of Dominion Resources’ Millstone Unit 2 nuclear station in Connecticut after a leaking relief valve was found. The discovery triggered the declaration of an “unusual event” Oct. 4 at the plant, the lowest of four emergency classifications.

Millstone was preparing to power down for a refueling outage when the event occurred. NRC officials said the event raises questions about operator performance, and so it ordered an inspection.

More: Associated Press

October 20, 2015

State Briefs

Naperville Muni Showing $13.2 Million Shortfall

Naperville’s municipal power provider has a $13.2 million shortfall, officials said. Since 2011, according to records, Naperville’s energy costs have exceeded projections every year, and by as much as 16% during fiscal 2014.

Much of the overrun can be traced to the utility’s membership in the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency and the assumed costs from the problem-plagued Prairie State Energy Campus. IMEA owns 15% of the project, which is expected to cost $4 billion and has experienced 25% in construction-cost overruns. Naperville and other IMEA members are paying a share of the overruns each month.

Former Naperville Councilman Bob Fieseler said the project’s costs add about $5 to every monthly residential electric bill.

More: Chicago Tribune (registration required)

INDIANA

Consumer Advocate Comes out Against Vectren’s Energy Efficiency Plan

The Utility Consumer Counselor is opposing Vectren’s proposal to boost rates to pay for its energy efficiency program, saying it would result in higher customer charges than are necessary.

UCC spokesman Anthony Swinger said Vectren already makes enough to fund the program without charging customers. Vectren proposed charging $1.10/month for residential customers to fund the program. Vectren said the program encourages energy conservation and affects the company’s bottom line.

More: Associated Press

LOUISIANA

Low Energy Prices to Sap State’s Economic Growth

Low energy prices will stunt the state’s economy over the next two years, although massive industrial projects will help drive job gains in the Baton Rouge and Lake Charles areas, according to an economic forecast released last week.

“Louisiana Economic Outlook: 2016 and 2017” projects that the state will add 15,400 jobs in 2016 and 19,600 in 2017. “Normally these numbers would be a lot better except for what’s going on in the oil patch,” said economist Loren Scott, co-author of the report.

The economic forecast also says new federal ozone rules could raise electricity rates so much that Baton Rouge may not be able to compete for new industry. Scott said the narrowing gap between the price of natural gas in the U.S. versus Europe and Asia may also slow industrial growth.

More: The Advocate

MARYLAND

Gov. Hogan Shaking Up Energy Administration

Environmentalists fear Gov. Larry Hogan’s administration is retreating from the previous Democratic administration’s support of renewable energy and energy efficiency after he shook up the state’s Energy Administration last week by firing two senior managers and moving the agency’s headquarters from Annapolis to Baltimore. The Republican also stated his opposition to raising rates to pay for energy efficiency efforts.

“The administration’s apparent hostility toward nationally recognized energy efficiency programs in this state is deeply troubling,” said Mike Tidwell, executive director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. “The No. 1 way to lower ratepayers’ bills is to invest in efficiency.”

A Hogan spokesman brushed off the concerns. “The governor and the director are 100% committed to continuing the great work the agency does,” spokesman Doug Mayer said. “This administration is against raising fees.”

More: The Baltimore Sun

PSC Appoints 2 to Staff Positions

The Public Service Commission has promoted Dan Hurley to director of the energy analysis and planning division and hired Tori Leonard as director of communications.

Hurley will oversee the agency’s energy efficiency and conservation programs, smart grid implementation and the state’s new renewable energy portfolio standard. Leonard will manage communications, media relations and social media.

Hurley, who joined the PSC in 2006 as a regulatory economist, has been an assistant director in the department since 2009. Leonard was the public relations manager at Rosborough Communications, working with the firm’s transportation clients.

More: Maryland Public Service Commission

MASSACHUSETTS

Energy Secretary: Pilgrim’s Loss Means Time to Look at Hydro

Entergy’s decision to shut down its Pilgrim nuclear generating station will leave the state looking for other ways to meet federal and state clean energy goals, and Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Matthew Beaton said Canadian hydropower could help.

The loss of Pilgrim is significant, he said. “It’s a big step back in meeting our Global Warming Solutions [Act] targets because it was over 80% of the clean energy we had to help us towards our clean energy goals,” Beaten said, “making it all the more important to see the other policy solutions we are pursuing actually happen.”

He said it may be possible to import hydropower from Quebec, an option explored by Gov. Charlie Baker.

More: Boston Herald

MICHIGAN

25 Coal Plants Set to Retire by 2020

Power producers are set to retire 25 coal-fired plants in the state by 2020, citing aging equipment and increasing environmental restrictions.

Coal currently provides more than 50% of the state’s electricity supply. Industry experts expect the state to replace the lost coal power by importing power through the regional grid and from new construction of gas-fired and renewable sources.

Under the Clean Power Plan, Michigan must reduce carbon emissions by 39% from 2012 levels by 2030. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the state is on course to reach a 17% reduction by 2020. In September 2016, officials will be asked to hand over a plan detailing how the state will comply with the new regulations.

More: Detroit Free Press

State is on Track to Meet Energy Mandates

The state is on target to meet mandates set in 2008 to generate about 10% of its energy from renewable sources.

Gov. Rick Snyder outlined a renewable energy plan in March, encouraging the state to meet up to 40% of its power demand through “energy waste reduction, increased use of natural gas and renewable energy sources.”

According to the Public Service Commission, almost half of the state’s renewable energy comes from wind, 17% from landfill gas and solid waste and about 10% from hydroelectric. Solar power represents less than 1%.

More: Detroit Free Press

MISSOURI

AG Koster says State will Join CPP Lawsuit

Attorney General Chris Koster, who is running for governor, says he will join more than a dozen other states in suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to challenge rules imposing targets on states to reduce carbon emissions.

The state’s utilities, including Ameren Missouri, had urged Koster to join the mostly Republican-led states fighting the rules. Koster, the only Democrat in the state’s governor’s race, has sued EPA over other recent regulations, including the controversial “Waters of the United States” rule strongly opposed by large agricultural interests.

Koster made the announcement during a speech at a meeting of rural electric cooperative members in Branson. He argued that the state’s businesses rely on lower-cost energy and that costs would rise under EPA’s rules, which would force the state to shift its heavy reliance on coal power to renewables and natural gas.

More: St Louis Post-Dispatch

MONTANA

PSC Cuts NorthWestern’s Ability to Raise Rates to Make Up for EE

The Public Service Commission voted 5-0 to rescind a mechanism that had allowed NorthWestern Energy to raise rates to make up for demand lost because of energy efficiency programs. Commissioner Roger Koopman called the Lost Revenue Adjustment Mechanism “one of the worst ideas policymakers have ever come up with.”

Commissioner Kirk Bushman said, “It just doesn’t make sense for public policy to allow an electric company to encourage their customers to save money on their monthly bill by conserving energy, and then turn around and increase electricity rates on everybody to recover that lost revenue.”

The PSC ruling will reduce NorthWestern’s collections from state customers by about $12.7 million next year. The policy was put into effect in 2005 to compensate NorthWestern for reduced sales attributed to state mandated energy conservation programs.

More: Associated Press

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Committee Seeks Evaluation Revisions

A legislative committee instructed the Site Evaluation Committee, the state body responsible for issuing certificates to energy facilities, to revise key sections of its proposed rules for new projects such as the Northern Pass transmission line and the Kinder Morgan natural gas pipeline.

The legislators worked for three years with stakeholders to develop the new rules, which are opposed by energy industry and business representatives and generally supported by the environmental community.

But it’s still unclear if the Site Evaluation Committee will impose the new rules on the Northern Pass transmission project or the Kinder Morgan Northeast Energy Direct pipeline along the state’s southern boundary, according to Pamela Monroe, the committee’s administrator. Both projects have attracted opposition.

More: New Hampshire Union Leader

NEW JERSEY

Offshore Wind Power Firm Regroups to Win Project

Fishermen’s Energy, a firm that wants to put five windmills about 3 miles off the coast of Atlantic City, will cut ties with its Chinese turbine partner and revamp its plan after learning that the state Supreme Court won’t hear its appeal of regulators’ numerous rejections.

Instead of using turbines from the Xiangtan Electric Manufacturing Group, whose financial condition did not meet regulators’ standards, the company will build a demonstration facility using turbines from German manufacturer Siemens.

The U.S. Department of Energy pledged up to $47 million for the project in May 2014, but the Board of Public Utilities declined to approve it, saying the project would need at least $100 million in federal subsidies to proceed. The wind farm, which developers are promoting as a pilot project, would generate an estimated 25 MW of power.

More: Associated Press

NEW MEXICO

Commission Hearing for San Juan Plant Begins

The Public Regulation Commission last week began a protracted hearing on the future of the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station. The hearing, which could last up to two weeks, will examine an agreement that plant co-owner and operator Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) signed in August with environmental groups, the Attorney General’s office and the commission’s staff. The agreement would shut down two of the plant’s four generating units.

The agreement provides for a new PRC review of San Juan in 2018 to determine whether the remaining two units should be shut down after 2022, when the current partnership among plant co-owners expires and PNM’s coal supply contract ends. PNM also agreed to lower ratepayer costs for nuclear energy to replace lost coal generation and to support more renewable energy development.

New Energy Economy, an environmental pressure group, is opposed to the agreement and advocates the immediate closure of more San Juan units and the procurement of more solar and wind generation.

More: Albuquerque Journal

NEW YORK

Long Island Solar Energy Booming

Installations of new residential and commercial solar systems on Long Island in 2015 are set to eclipse sales of the previous eight years combined.

The market has been driven by falling system prices, an influx of aggressive national leasing companies, generous state and federal subsidies, and frustration with Long Island’s high electricity rates that are set to rise again next year, experts say.

The growth of solar is “staggering,” said Carlo Lanza, chairman of the Long Island Solar Energy Industry Association, a business group. Local solar employment has almost doubled in two years, to at least 2,500 workers, the group estimates. “What we always dreamed of seeing happen here is coming to fruition,” Lanza said.

More: Newsday

NORTH CAROLINA

Duke Disputes ‘Tenacious’ Solar Opponent Label

An environmental group says Duke Energy’s gains in solar energy come at the expense of competing producers who want to participate in the solar revolution.

Duke says it has helped elevate the state to become the nation’s No. 4 producer of solar power and is installing photovoltaic facilities in a number of other states. But an advocacy group says Duke has worked with lawmakers to try to reduce subsidies for competing private solar projects.

Environment North Carolina, in a report titled “Blocking the Sun,” charges that Duke’s support of solar “only extends … to solar panels the utility owns and that deliver profits to its balance sheet.” A Duke spokesman dismissed the report as a “rehash of a lot of previous anti-utility reports and news accounts.”

More: Charlotte Business Journal; Duke Energy

NORTH DAKOTA

PSC Reports the Use of Renewables Rising

Public Service Commission Chairman Julie Fedorchak reported last week that more than 16% of the retail electricity sold in the state in 2014 came from renewable sources (2.6 million MWh out of 16 million MWh).

The state exported more than half of the 36 million MWh of electricity it produced in 2014, which included about 27 million MWh of coal-fired energy and 8.8 million MWh of renewable energy, mostly wind power. Fedorchak said the state’s carbon dioxide emissions have dropped by more than 15% since 2002.

The PSC filed comments opposing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Clean Power Plan, saying the rule is uneconomic, uses unrealistic assumptions and violates the Federal Power Act that gives states decision-making authority over their power supply.

More: North Dakota Public Service Commission

VIRGINIA

Rare Salamander Could Derail Pipeline Route

The $5 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline could be held up by 5 inches — the length of the Cow Knob salamander, which inhabits a protected area of the George Washington National Forest, in the path of the proposed project.

The salamander and its rocky, forested habitat are protected under a federal pact struck in 1994 aimed at maintaining the amphibian’s numbers so that it wouldn’t wind up on the endangered species list.

Currently, 5.5 miles of the 564-mile pipeline would run through the creatures’ home. Lead project partner Dominion Resources said it is evaluating its options and plans to meet with forest officials to discuss how the sensitive habitat could be avoided.

More: Culpeper Star Exponent

WEST VIRGINIA

State to Woo Shale-Related Businesses

The state has joined Pennsylvania and Ohio in an agreement to work together to attract shale-related industry to the region, home to the most productive natural gas basins in the country, the Marcellus and Utica shales.

The effort was announced at a summit last week aimed at promoting cross-state efforts to woo manufacturers and petrochemical plants. The forum featured speakers who outlined focus areas such as interstate pipeline siting, public projects to store natural gas liquids and workforce training.

The states plan to bring together government, industry and economic development voices for more discussion.

More: TribLive

October 17, 2015

Opposing Parties: Require a New Merger Application

By Suzanne Herel

The D.C. Public Service Commission should not reopen the record to consider a newly reached settlement in Exelon’s proposed $6.8 billion takeover of Pepco Holdings Inc., parties opposed to the deal said in a filing Friday.

PSC rules prohibit settlements to be submitted after a final decision, the group said, referring to the commission’s Aug. 25 rejection of the merger as not in the public interest. The group argued that the commission should require the companies to file a new application.

The group represents DC Solar United Neighborhoods, Grid 2.0 Working Group, Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Coalition and Maryland DC Virginia Solar Energy Industries Association.

The settlement, brokered by Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration, was filed Oct. 6 in an attempt to persuade the commissioners to approve the deal, which has been approved by FERC, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia. (See Mayor’s Settlement Puts DC PSC on the Spot in Exelon-Pepco Deal.)

Regardless of the agreement, the filing said, “the public continues to share the commission’s concern that the ‘potential conflicts of interest inherent in Pepco’s role and its parent company’s policy positions and interests might inhibit our local distribution company from moving forward to embrace a cleaner and greener environment.’”

The prevailing concern involves Exelon’s commitment to its generation assets, in particular to its partly struggling nuclear fleet.

To shore up that point, the filing includes more than 800 emails from district residents opposing the merger, most using a template letter saying in part, “I am dismayed by the D.C. government’s behind-the-scenes Exelon settlement. Their secretive process took place over the objection of the majority of D.C. ratepayers. … Your unanimous ruling against the merger, and the thorough process that preceded it, restored faith in the district’s democratic institutions. Anything less than a full process now would deprive D.C. residents of our due process rights.”

The petitioners acknowledge that the commission has the right to waive its own rules, but they advised it not do so because of the unprecedented interest the case has drawn — more than 3,000 commenters, the most in the agency’s more than century-old existence.

“Many of the interested customers or groups have justifiably relied on the formal parties to present and champion their positions, including particularly the District of Columbia government and the Office of the People’s Counsel,” the filing said. “Now, both the district government and OPC have acceded to the terms that the joint applicants offered, so they no longer reliably represent the views of residential customers or groups that are unwilling to concede to Exelon.

“The realignment of some parties with Exelon and Pepco effectively muffles the public’s voice in any proceeding that merely reopens the existing case and that does not give other interested individuals or organizations a full opportunity to participate as parties.”

They allege that reopening the case would set a dangerous precedent for future applicants seeking to negotiate a settlement only after the commission has highlighted the deficiencies in their filing.

Friday was the deadline to submit comments regarding the joint applicants’ request to reopen the case.

Also filing opposition was D.C. Public Power, which at the same time submitted its intent to buy Pepco’s district assets and requested to become an intervenor. (See Group Proposes to Buy Pepco’s DC Assets, Form Publicly Owned Utility; Exelon Would Keep Md., Del., NJ PHI Units.)

In addition, the Ward 3 Democratic Committee submitted a filing saying that the settlement amounts to a new proposal and should be treated as such under a new application.

October 16, 2015

Group Proposes to Buy Pepco’s DC Assets

By Rich Heidorn Jr. and Suzanne Herel

WASHINGTON — A newly formed advocacy group on Friday filed its intent to acquire the district assets of Pepco Holdings Inc. and transform it into a not-for-profit utility that it said will generate about $1 billion in savings over the next 20 years.

Not having to pay federal taxes or dividends to shareholders would “unlock” $150 million a year in savings — or about $60 million after subtracting debt — that could be spent on reliability, improvements and rate reductions, said Michael Siegel one of D.C. Public Power’s four board members, in announcing the proposal Friday morning at the National Press Club.

“Additional benefits will accrue by maintaining local ownership and presence as well as additional economic activity,” added board member John Chelen.

In its filing, DCPP also objected to the Public Service Commission reopening the record for Exelon’s proposed $6.8 billion acquisition of PHI and requested late intervenor status because the group was formed April 30, after the filing deadline for joining in the case. Other parties also objected to reopening the record. (See Opposing Parties to DC PSC: Require a New Exelon-Pepco Merger Application.)

‘Strong Interest’ from Lenders

Chelen said the group had received “strong interest” from “recognized investment banks” in financing the deal, which would occur after Exelon consummates the purchase.

The group said the utility’s debt would be “an extremely secure and attractive investment” because of the district’s strong economy and low interest rates for alternative investments.

It said PHI D.C.’s book value was $1.4 billion as of March 2013 — though shareholders would certainly seek a higher price in any sale.

Chelen said the group already had approached Exelon with its interest but was turned down.

Exelon, Pepco: No Deal

In a letter included in the filing, Exelon and PHI attorney Mark Director wrote that the concept “raises many complex legal, financial, regulatory, operational and commercial considerations. It would require substantial time to evaluate those complexities, and that would complicate and delay, rather than simplify and streamline, matters to be considered by the D.C. PSC and would require approvals from other regulatory authorities.

“As Exelon and PHI remain committed to completing their merger as promptly as possible, the companies do not believe it would be productive to have further conversations about your proposal.”

Said Chelen, “DCPP had, in fact, structured its proposal to be as uncomplicated as possible with the intent of facilitating Exelon’s and PHI’s ability to complete their merger. Perhaps the real reason is they were able to attract a better deal for them from the mayor and D.C. officials.”

That settlement was presented Oct. 6 to the PSC, which denied the merger as filed on Aug. 25 as not being in the public interest. (See Mayor’s Settlement Puts DC PSC on the Spot in Exelon-Pepco Deal.) The proposal envisions a non-profit board hiring an experienced utility operator to run day-to-day operations, similar to Long Island Power Authority’s contract with Public Service Enterprise Group.

Exelon referred a request for comment to Pepco. A PHI spokeswoman said Thursday that a district-only system would be “expensive and inefficient.”

Myra Oppel, regional communications vice president at PHI, said the group’s proposal “raises many complex legal, financial, regulatory, operational, commercial and customer considerations that the group has not begun to address.”

The group said it had discussed its proposal with numerous city leaders but not directly with Mayor Muriel Bowser. “Some people are wildly enthusiastic,” said Chelen. “Other people are guarded.”

Public Power in Cities

Of the about 2,200 power providers in the U.S., about 2,000 are public power, including Seattle, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Austin, Jacksonville and Cleveland. Only 200 are investor-owned utilities, though they tend to be in bigger cities.

The group said public power agencies similar to that of Chattanooga, Tenn. — a city about 60% the size of the district — have “extremely high capital productivity,” unlike IOUs, whose profits can increase with higher spending.

“From our point of view, the [Exelon-Pepco] deal relies on an extremely complex, vague and opaque non-unanimous settlement agreement [NSA] that will be a nightmare to monitor and enforce,” Chelen said.

“What is most disturbing is it calls upon divestiture that is the severance of Pepco D.C.-based assets as an ultimate means to ensure compliance,” he said. “The inclusion of this provision affirms that divestiture is the best method to secure the public interest. The NSA severance clause amounts to exclusive acknowledgment that the NSA is a risky deal for the district.”

October 15, 2015

DC Public Power to Propose Alternative to Exelon-Pepco Merger

[EDITOR’S NOTE: See updated story on D.C. Public Power’s filing Friday.]

By Suzanne Herel

A D.C. advocacy group on Friday will release details of a proposed alternative to the Exelon-Pepco Holdings Inc. merger that it says would provide up to $1 billion in benefits to the district over the next 20 years.

In a Sept. 28 filing with the D.C. Public Service Commission, D.C. Public Power, which advocates energy independence for district ratepayers, said that it planned to seek “an agreement with Exelon to acquire between 51 to 100% of PHI’s D.C.-based assets at an agreed-upon price and terms.”

The nonprofit group called its plan “workable and feasible” and said it would “meet all of the D.C. PSC’s concerns with the proposed merger.”

DCPP said a transaction would occur as soon as possible and would provide “appropriate assurances sufficient to satisfy the D.C. PSC, intervenors and elected officials that the acquisition is in the public interest.”

The group said it had shared its proposal with Exelon and the D.C. government, but had “not yet engaged the cooperation of the merging parties.”

Exelon referred a request for comment to Pepco. A PHI spokeswoman said Thursday that a District-only system would be “expensive and inefficient.”

“PHI and Exelon, along with the District government, the Office of the People’s Counsel, and other parties have filed a proposal with the Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia that is reasonable and achievable and delivers significant benefits to D.C. residents and the community. We believe that it is in the best interests of our customers.”

DCPP plans to outline the details at 10 a.m. at the National Press Club in D.C. A statement announcing the press conference claimed the plan would produce a net present value of $1 billion in benefits over 20 years.

Friday marks the deadline for public comment to be filed with the PSC in response to a request by Exelon and Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration to reopen the record for the proposed $6.8 billion acquisition of Pepco. As of Thursday afternoon, no comments had been posted. Anya Schoolman, head of solar advocacy group DC SUN, which did not sign on to a new proposed settlement brokered by Bowser, told The Washington Post that her group would be filing comments in opposition on Friday.

The D.C. PSC rejected the proposed deal Aug. 25, saying it was not in the public interest, including its effects on ratepayers, market competition and preservation of natural resources and the environment. (See DC Halts Exelon’s Acquisition of Pepco Holdings; Pepco Stock Tumbles.)

Bowser, who hailed the rejection, entered into negotiations with the companies and several interveners who also had opposed the merger, most notably Attorney General Karl Racine and People’s Counsel Sandra Mattavous-Frye. They released a settlement Oct. 6 designed to assuage the PSC’s concern and convince it to reconsider. (See Mayor’s Settlement Puts DC PSC on the Spot in Exelon-Pepco Deal.)

Among the concessions, Exelon would provide a Customer Investment Fund worth $72.8 million, including $25.6 million to offset the effect of any rate increases over the next four years; one-time funding of various renewable and sustainable energy efforts; and a commitment to buy 100 MW of wind power within PJM. (See Details of Exelon-DC Settlement.)

Exelon, based in Chicago, also would co-headquarter its offices in the district.

An initially approved D.C. Council plan to study the feasibility of turning Potomac Electric Power Co. into a city-owned utility was killed in June after Pepco lobbyists communicated with seven councilmembers or their aides. That majority amended the agreement to reallocate the $250,000 to study “emerging alternatives” for energy and energy efficiency. (See Pepco’s Influence Runs Deep.)

October 14, 2015

FERC Jurisdiction over DR in Peril as Supreme Court Splits

By Rich Heidorn Jr.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court’s liberal wing indicated support Wednesday for FERC’s jurisdiction over demand response, but the commission faced harsh questions from conservatives Antonin Scalia and Chief Justice John Roberts and swing vote Anthony Kennedy.

Kennedy and Scalia challenged Solicitor General Donald Verrilli’s arguments on behalf of FERC, with Kennedy referring to them as “circular” logic and Scalia expressing opposition to the commission’s “fiddling around” with retail rates.

Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan were equally critical of attorney Paul Clement, representing the Electric Power Supply Association. Sotomayor interrupted Clement early in his argument, demanding “where is that written down?” after the attorney categorized FERC’s intent as trying to reduce retail demand.

EPSA filed the lawsuit challenging FERC Order 745, which set rules for compensating DR in RTO energy markets. In May 2014, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the order, saying DR is a retail product and thus subject to state, not federal, jurisdiction.

Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas and liberal Ruth Bader Ginsburg were silent during the one-hour argument, which drew numerous RTO stakeholders as observers.

If the justices side with their normal allies, the court could end up deadlocked 4-4, meaning the D.C. Circuit ruling would stand. Justice Samuel Alito has recused himself in the case.

“If the court does cast a four-to-four vote at its private conference on Friday, and decides that [is] the most that it can do, that result would be announced promptly, perhaps as early as next Monday,” SCOTUS Blog predicted.

Breyer’s Wife Sells Stock

Bloomberg reported that Alito recused himself because he owns stock in Johnson Controls, which owns EnergyConnect, a DR provider that has filed a brief with the court. Bloomberg also reported that Breyer’s wife owned stock in the same company, which it said Breyer was unaware of when he heard the case. She sold her 750 shares for about $33,000 the following day after an inquiry by a Bloomberg reporter.

FERC sought Supreme Court review because of the growing importance of DR. While the D.C. Circuit ruling explicitly addressed only DR participation in wholesale energy markets, FERC said the ruling also threatened its participation in wholesale capacity markets.

That could create upheaval in markets such as PJM, where capacity auctions represent about 95% of total DR revenue. After some uncertainty, PJM decided to include DR in the 2018/19 Base Residual Auction in August.

The Supreme Court agreed in May to reconsider the D.C. Circuit ruling on two questions:

Whether FERC reasonably concluded that it has authority under the Federal Power Act, 16 U. S. C. 791a et seq., to regulate the rules used by operators of wholesale electricity markets to pay for reductions in electricity consumption and to recoup those payments through adjustments to wholesale rates.
Whether the Court of Appeals erred in holding that Order 745 — which required RTOs and ISOs to pay DR the same LMPs as generation in energy markets — is “arbitrary and capricious.”

(See Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Demand Response Appeal.)

Most of the arguments focused on jurisdiction, however.

Direct Effect

Verrilli led off the arguments and was interrupted almost immediately by Kennedy, who — after noting the interplay between retail and wholesale markets — asked what “marks the end of federal power and the beginning of local power?”

Verrilli did not answer directly, but contrasted the current dispute with the Mississippi Power case, in which FERC ruled that the utility could recover at wholesale its investment in a nuclear plant. The commission was overruled, with the court ruling that FERC had infringed on the authority of the state regulator to deny cost recovery in retail rates as imprudent. “That was a very direct effect on the exercise of state regulatory jurisdiction, which you do not have here,” Verrilli said.

“I find that a pretty fuzzy line, ‘very direct effect,'” Scalia jumped in. He continued, “Yes, FERC has the power to regulate wholesale rates. But … the argument is, not through the fiddling around with retail rates, which is what is asserted is happening here.”

$8 Hamburgers

After several exchanges between the two, Roberts took his turn with Verrilli, comparing FERC to someone “standing outside McDonald’s” offering diners $5 not to go in and spend $3 on a hamburger.

Because of FERC’s action, Roberts said, “the price of a hamburger is actually … $8, because if they give up the $5, they’ve still got to pay the $3. And your answer is, there’s no impact on what the states can do, because they can still say, no, the price of the hamburger should be $2, or it should be $4. The point is that … FERC is directly affecting the retail price.”

Kennedy returned with another question: “Is it fair to say that FERC is luring retail customers into the wholesale market? And if that … were true, would that not be a serious problem for the government?”

“It’s wrong as a matter of history. It’s wrong as a matter of law,” Verrilli responded. “Wholesale demand response was not FERC’s idea… This is a practice that grew up organically out of the private actions of market participants once the wholesale markets were deregulated. It’s exactly the kind of innovative private market conduct that you would hope that deregulation would bring about. And the private actors, the wholesale market operators, brought that idea to FERC as early as 1999.”

Verrilli went on, saying that the Federal Power Act gives FERC authority “over practices that affect … wholesale rates. And there’s just no doubt … that all of the practices FERC is regulating occur in the wholesale auction.”

Limiting Principle

Roberts acknowledged that was true, but he pressed Verrilli to identify the “limiting principle” on FERC’s authority, saying that without one, “FERC can do whatever it wants.”

Verrilli responded that “the effects have to be direct.”

Repeating hypothetical examples cited by the D.C. Circuit, he said, “regulating steel, regulating inputs into electric generation — we don’t think FERC’s authority goes anywhere near that far.”

Verrilli concluded by citing the Chevron doctrine, which says FERC is entitled to deference in its interpretation of the Federal Power Act. “There is no statutory text that unambiguously denies FERC this authority that it’s exercising here over this wholesale conduct.”

Reliability Benefit

Representing DR provider EnerNOC, attorney Carter G. Phillips backed Verrilli, saying that FERC did not create DR but rather responded to a market created by his clients and others who were trying to create a demand-side component to the wholesale market and a way to avoid brownouts. “And so tariffs were filed in order to provide a basis for putting in the demand side. And the reason why this is a direct effect on the … wholesale rates is because it’s an absolute one-to-one relationship. If I put in a unit of — or reduce a unit of — demand, I don’t need as much supply, and that affects the price directly. And that’s the direct relationship that derives from the economic principles.”

Phillips also sparred with Kennedy and Scalia. “FERC’s argument is essentially circular,” Kennedy said. “It says, well, the market forces will work this out — but we define the market.”

Scalia asked Phillips why “all the companies” aren’t in agreement with FERC and EnerNOC. DR provider EnergyConnect, the Coalition of MISO Transmission Customers and the PJM Industrial Customer Coalition joined EnerNOC’s brief.

“Most of the private companies on the other side generate electricity” and see DR as competition, Phillips responded.

Clement, the final attorney to speak, made a point to note that he represented not only the generators that make up EPSA but also load-serving entities that could provide DR under state-sanctioned retail programs.

Signing on to EPSA’s brief were the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, the American Public Power Association, PPL and Old Dominion Electric Cooperative.

FERC Reducing Retail Demand?

“What FERC was trying to do here was to reduce retail demand by providing payments to retail customers on an otherwise wholesale market in an effort to change the effective price for retail sales,” Clement said. “Now, that sure sounds like something that belongs to the states.”

“Where is that … written anywhere that that was their goal?” interrupted Sotomayor. “What I’ve heard them say is, we’re trying to lower the price of wholesale [power] to a more just amount. That’s what’s in anything I’ve seen written. You’ve recharacterized it.”

Clement persisted: “These retail customers don’t belong on the wholesale market. Whether you think they were lured in or you think they walked in the door, it doesn’t matter. They are in a market where they don’t belong.”

“What’s the horror here of concurrent jurisdiction … if, in fact, it’s lowering prices?” Sotomayor asked.

“You actually have the … federal regulators and the state regulators bidding against each other for the same customers to reduce their same retail demand,” Clement responded.

LMP Too High?

That led Clement to move from the jurisdictional dispute to the second question, saying that while no states raised a jurisdictional objection before FERC itself, Ohio, Illinois and all of the MISO states said FERC should not require compensation at LMP “because that’s too high.”

“And by setting it so high, what you are going to do is you’re going to crowd out our own efforts at dealing with demand response,” Clement said for the states. “Because we love demand response. We want demand response. But we don’t want to pay twice as much as the market really should pay for demand response. And if you’re out there offering our same retail customers the ability to get demand response paid at huge LMP levels, then [states are] going to be crowded out.”

Breyer said Clement’s logic would prevent FERC from allowing large consumers to buy electricity at wholesale, “because that would take the retail customers away from the jurisdiction of the state.”

He continued: “I have found no case … that would say that they cannot do this for the reason you suggest.”

Kagan said Clement’s argument seemed to be that FERC “can’t do anything with respect to demand response.”

Clement disagreed, saying FERC was allowed to have a role in “true wholesale demand response,” which he said meant working through load-serving entities.

He said FERC’s premise “that the sky will fall if you don’t have this precise type of retail customer on wholesale market demand response” was belied by the experience of Southern Co., which does not participate in an RTO or an ISO, yet it has “a greater level of demand response than other parts of the country” subject to Order 745.

Congressional Intent

Kagan said Clement’s argument was at odds with the 2005 Energy Policy Act, “which made it so clear that Congress liked demand response — that it wanted FERC to lower barriers to demand response — to then say, well, FERC has no jurisdiction to do exactly what the policy that Congress articulated is.”

Clement cited Commissioner Philip Moeller’s dissent on Order 745 and comments by the Federal Trade Commission, which he said told FERC “you are picking the wrong compensation level.”

Having saved five of his 20 minutes for closing remarks, Verrilli got the last word, saying Clements’ view of “hermetically sealed-off retail and wholesale spheres” was unrealistic.

“In the real world today, large customers can buy directly. They can do it through contract, and they can also go into the wholesale market auctions and buy, if their states permit it… And this is really no different because demand response entities that want to come in and participate can only do so if their state law allows them to do so. So it’s no different than what’s been going on in the real world for quite a long time.”

Verrilli also responded to Clements’ arguments about the role of load-serving entities in providing DR. FERC “found that load-serving entities don’t have sufficient incentives to engage in demand response. And it’s obvious why they don’t, because they cannibalize their own profits. The higher cost they have, the higher their rate-of-return profits are going to be generated. They will do it under commands from state regulatory agencies to do it, but they’ll do it grudgingly. And what FERC said is you want people to come in who have a real profit motive to do it and that’ll incent the LSEs to get in there and try to get a piece of the action rather than letting it go to somebody else.”

Fears Unwarranted

Verrilli said fears that state and federal DR can’t coexist were unwarranted, saying “we have 24 states in which this is going on. And if this were a problem, you’d expect to see in this administrative proceeding some evidence that it was a problem, and there is zero evidence. You look at all these briefs; there isn’t a citation to anything in the administrative record that suggests that the federal and state programs can’t work in harmony.”

“You’ve got a practice … that has saved billions of dollars in wholesale costs and will save billions of dollars, and it’s an effective tool against blackouts and brownouts, and that nobody has shown in the real world does any harm.”

More: Transcript of Argument; Briefs

October 13, 2015

SPP, MISO Reach Deal to End Transmission Dispute

By Amanda Durish Cook and Tom Kleckner

INDIANAPOLIS — MISO and SPP have filed a settlement agreement with FERC allowing MISO to use the SPP transmission system to transfer power freely between its North and South regions.

The settlement (ER14-1174, et al.) eliminates the $9.57/MWh hurdle rate established in 2014 after SPP complained that MISO’s use of the SPP grid exceeded a 1,000-MW transfer limit in their joint operating agreement.

The agreement also supplants MISO and SPP’s Operations Reliability Coordination Agreement (ORCA), set in place in early 2014 to address capacity sharing across the region.

Six transmission owners outside of MISO and SPP — Southern Co., the Tennessee Valley Authority, Associated Electric Cooperative, Louisville Gas and Electric, Kentucky Utilities and PowerSouth Energy Cooperative — signed off with the two RTOs on the deal.

Moving forward, MISO’s compensation of SPP and the independent transmission owners will be determined through application of a capacity factor for flows exceeding the existing 1,000-MW contract path. New directional transfer limits were included in the deal: Power flowing from north to south is limited to 3,000 MW, while power flowing south to north is capped at 2,500 MW. Otherwise, the capacity usage provision between MISO and SPP under their joint operating agreement stands intact.

Under the settlement, MISO will pay SPP and the independent transmission owners $16 million — $8 million per year — to settle all claims of compensation from Jan. 29, 2014, to Jan. 31, 2016. Sixty percent of the funds will be paid to SPP, while the remaining 40% will be disbursed to the independent transmission owners. SPP said it will distribute the funds it collects to its members. The RTO will have to file the proposed distribution method with FERC because the funds are not being collected under its Tariff.

The settlement creates an operating committee to manage any disputes that may arise. The committee will be composed of two members each from MISO, SPP and the independent TOs.

The agreement will last seven years from the date of the initial complaint in January 2014. In early 2021, the parties will have the opportunity to give notice to terminate or revisit settlement provisions.

Jennifer Curran, MISO’s vice president of system planning and seams coordination, said that the RTO will “continue to evaluate if there are … appropriate alternatives to the agreement,” including expansion of its own grid to reduce the use of its neighbors’ systems.

“That work will be ongoing to see if there could or would be appropriate transmission solutions,” she said during a press conference.

In recognition of the limits of the 1,000-MW contract path, FERC on Thursday granted MISO a year-long extension on a waiver of Tariff provisions and North American Energy Standards Board rules on the processing of long-term firm transmission service requests (TSRs) between MISO South and MISO Midwest or PJM (ER14-2022-001). “A number of long-term TSRs remain in the queue that seek capacity from the MISO South region to non-contiguous geographic regions outside of MISO. MISO expects the number of these already-sold long-term TSRs to exceed the 1,000-MW threshold until 2019. MISO intends to honor fully these transmission commitments, but they make it very difficult for MISO to process adequately any additional long-term TSRs,” MISO wrote in the waiver request.

The waiver relaxes processing, assessment and timing regulations on long-term TSRs. MISO said that without the waiver, it would be forced to deny the requests.

The waiver, which expired April 1, 2015, now lasts until April 1, 2016 or until the resolution of the dispute between MISO and SPP.

Curran said MISO will file with FERC to remove the hurdle rate.

“We’re excited to have made this filing today. We think it’s a good compromise. Most importantly, it provides us clarity,” Curran said. “It took a lot of work across all parties.”

David Kelley, SPP’s director of interregional relations, said SPP’s main objective was to protect the interests of its members. He called the settlement a “mutually beneficial agreement.”

“Both sides weighed the risks of not settling and realized both parties were better off not litigating and reaching consensus instead. We had some uncertainty, too, for our members, with continued litigation,” Kelley said.

FERC set the dispute for hearings and settlement negotiations in March 2014. The parties met for seven settlement conferences at the commission’s offices in Washington.

MISO said the settlement will allow cost-effective energy delivery through continued shared use of the transmission system.

“We are pleased to have reached a resolution that provides electricity savings to consumers across the MISO region and brings clarity to our members and all stakeholders,” MISO CEO John Bear said in a statement. “With the issue of capacity sharing behind us, we can now collectively return our full attention to the significant challenges facing the industry.”

SPP CEO Nick Brown also praised the arrangement.

“As the SPP region grows and we continue to modernize the electric grid, cooperation with our neighboring regions has never been more important,” Brown said in a statement. “I am pleased we were able to reach this agreement with MISO to ensure that our member companies and their customers are compensated for the use of the SPP transmission system.”

October 13, 2015

Entergy Closing Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station

By William Opalka

Entergy announced Tuesday it will close its Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, Mass., no later than June 1, 2019, marking the company’s exit from the New England market.

The company blamed “poor market conditions, reduced revenues and increased operational costs” for the planned closure. The plant has come under increased scrutiny from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, having earned the second-worst ranking for operational performance. (See Federal Briefs.)

The company said it would cost $45 million to $60 million in direct costs, plus any additional capital expenses, to comply with NRC requirements.

“The decision to close Pilgrim was incredibly difficult because of the effect on our employees and the communities in which they work and live,” Entergy CEO Leo Denault said in a statement. “But market conditions and increased costs led us to reluctantly conclude that we had no option other than to shut down the plant.”

The 680-MW plant began operations in 1972.

The company blamed low current and forecast energy prices caused by shale gas. The Energy Information Administration reported last week that January 2016 forward contracts for on-peak power in New England are trading at about $90/MWh, versus $190/MWh a year ago.

Entergy says the falling prices would lower annual revenue from Pilgrim by more than $40 million.

It also blamed what it called “wholesale energy market design flaws” that suppress energy and capacity prices, state subsidies for renewable energy and a recent proposal to import Canadian hydropower. (See Baker: Hydropower Contracts Best Way to Lower Costs.)

The merchant plant was relicensed three years ago by NRC and can operate through 2032. But the commission’s decision to place Pilgrim in column 4 of the reactor oversight process action matrix put it in the unwelcome position of being one of three of the country’s 99 nuclear plants so designated.

“We have invested hundreds of millions of dollars to improve — first and foremost — Pilgrim’s safety, as well as its reliability and security, but face increased operational costs and enhanced Nuclear Regulatory Commission oversight,” the company said. “We also take into account the effect on our stakeholders of operating over the long-term if it is not economically viable to do so.” Entergy said the exact date for closing the plant would be decided in the first half of 2016. It already notified ISO-NE that the plant will not be available as a capacity resource starting in mid-2019.

ISO-NE’s 10th capacity commitment period begins in June 2019, with its Forward Capacity Auction slated for February 2016.

Generators are required to notify the RTO by Monday if they will participate in the 2016 auction.

Nuclear power generated 34% of New England’s power in 2014. Pilgrim represents almost 17% of the region’s nuclear capacity.

ISO-NE could ask Entergy to keep the plant online if a study indicates it is needed for grid reliability. If Entergy agrees, it would receive out-of-market payments. But the RTO does not have the authority to prevent a resource from retiring.

The closure of Pilgrim will mark Entergy’s exit from New England. The company closed the 615-MW Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant at the end of 2014 and last week announced the sale of a 583-MW natural gas plant in Rhode Island. (See Entergy Sees Big Gain on Sale of RI Gas Plant to Carlyle.)

The Pilgrim nuclear decommissioning trust had a balance of approximately $870 million as of Sept. 30, which is approximately $240 million above what NRC requires for license termination activities, Entergy said.

Entergy bought the plant in 1998 for $80 million from Boston Edison. Entergy Nuclear was the first company in the nation to purchase a nuclear plant through the competitive bid process, it said.

October 13, 2015

‘Most Favored Nation’ Provision

By Suzanne Herel

Exelon spokesman Paul Elsberg confirmed last week that the concessions the company agreed to in its bid to win D.C.’s approval of its takeover of Pepco Holdings Inc. could result in changes to the deals already struck with Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey.

“The most-favored-nations clauses in other jurisdictions that have already approved the merger proposal … would be triggered by a final order from the Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia approving the merger,” he said. “The existing approvals are not contingent on the result of the MFN, although once the D.C. PSC issued its order, we would return to the other commissions to true up our merger packages in their jurisdictions.”

Elsberg said the company did not have an estimate of how much the cascading concessions would cost.

Exelon and Pepco had estimated that accepting all of the district’s demands would have boosted the cost of the proposed transaction to $7.35 billion to $8.75 billion, according to the PSC’s Aug. 27 order rejecting the merger.

“That was the PSC’s estimate based on a different set of proposals, and not the settlement with the District of Columbia government,” Elsberg said. “Regrettably, we do not have an estimated cost based on the current settlement.”

In its settlement with D.C., Exelon pledged $72.8 million in a Customer Investment Fund (CIF), which the company says results in $215.94 in benefits per customer, based on 337,117 customers. The MFN provision, identical for each jurisdiction, requires that Exelon increase each jurisdiction’s CIF so that the benefits per distribution customer are equal.

Based on estimates of each jurisdiction’s number of residential customers, the settlement could increase Exelon’s total contribution to the CIFs by more than $100 million. (See chart.)

Some state regulators, however, say they believe the MFN provisions applies to more than just the CIFs and include other benefits.

Roger Berliner, a regulatory attorney and Montgomery County councilman who led opposition to the merger in Maryland, said no amount of new benefits afforded his state would make it a deal that would be in the public interest.

But, he said, “Will I want to make sure if, in fact, there are things that have been offered to D.C. that should now be reflected in what Maryland consumers can get? Absolutely. I want everything we can get out of this.”

That includes the $5.2 million Exelon has offered for workforce training. “I promise we’ll be knocking on that door,” he said.

Delaware, as well, has its eyes on D.C.

“The plan all along was to have the commission review the settlements from all the jurisdictions regarding the most-favored-nation [status] and kind of see where we match up compared with what other jurisdictions got, so I think it’s potentially impacting Delaware,” PSC spokesman Matt Hartigan said. “Depending on what the final order says from D.C., that might result in more benefits, but it’s a little premature to say at this point.”

Stefanie Brand, director of the New Jersey Division of Rate Counsel, opposed the merger and still has concerns over issues like ratepayer protections and promises of reliability. But, she said, an approval in D.C. likely would mean more money for New Jersey customers.

“We don’t really know how it’s going to shake out,” she said.

October 13, 2015

Mayor’s Settlement Puts DC PSC on the Spot in Exelon-Pepco Deal

By Suzanne Herel

On Aug. 25, D.C. People’s Counsel Sandra Mattavous-Frye hailed the Public Service Commission’s surprise rejection of the proposed Exelon-Pepco merger as a “David and Goliath” win.

Six weeks later, Mattavous-Frye stood with Exelon CEO Christopher Crane, urging the PSC to greenlight the $6.8 billion merger under an Oct. 6 settlement brokered by Mayor Muriel Bowser and Attorney General Karl Racine. Bowser and Racine also had previously opposed the deal.

What changed? “Affordability for consumers, reliability of service, renewable and sustainable energy options and jobs,” Mattavous-Frye told RTO Insider. “The concessions offered in the proposed settlement far exceed what was offered” in the original application, she said.

With the administration and public advocate on its side, Exelon’s chances appear to hinge on winning a ‘yes’ vote from PSC Chairman Betty Ann Kane or Commissioner Joanne Doddy Fort.

The third member of the panel, Commissioner Willie Phillips, had issued a partial dissent in August, saying that while he could not support the merger as filed, he was “disappointed in the loss of the many opportunities inherent in the proposed merger that could have achieved benefits for ratepayers, the local economy and the environment of the District of Columbia.”

The other commissioners also lamented having to rule without being offered a settlement that could have addressed critics’ concerns. “Therefore, we consider the joint application as it stands on this record, not as it might have been proposed,” the order said.

Done Deal?

That’s leading some to conclude the merger is likely to be approved.

“I think the settlement itself rather than what’s in the settlement makes it more likely” that the commission will approve it, said Anya Schoolman, president of solar power advocate group DC SUN, one of the few intervenors in the case who did not sign on to the agreement.

The PSC will hear comments through Oct. 16 on the motion by the D.C. government and the utilities to reopen the record to consider the settlement. The applicants have requested a decision within 150 days.

While Washingtonians debate whether Bowser’s decision to settle was savvy or a sell-out, the other states that approved the acquisition on a “most favored nation” status — Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey — are watching closely to see what a sweetened deal for the district will mean for them. (See related story, ‘Most Favored Nation’ Clause Triggered.)

Meanwhile, Wall Street is weighing both the odds the deal will be consummated and whether the additional concessions Exelon made significantly hurt the acquisition’s attractiveness. Exelon stock rose almost a dollar after the settlement was announced last week, closing Friday at $30.82. Pepco also rose almost a dollar, ending the week at $26.52.

The acquisition would create the Mid-Atlantic’s largest electric and gas utility — and the country’s largest utility by customer count. Exelon has said the deal would boost its customer base to nearly 9.8 million from 7.8 million and increase its rate base to almost $26 billion from $19 billion.

Exelon Concessions

In making its decision, the PSC said it weighed the proposal on seven factors of public interest, among them the effects on ratepayers and shareholders, market competition and preservation of natural resources and the environment. (See DC Halts Exelon’s Acquisition of Pepco Holdings; Pepco Stock Tumbles.)

Under the settlement, Exelon would invest $78 million in the district — more than five times Exelon’s initial pledge of $14 million — to promote sustainability, increase reliability and support low-income residents. (See sidebar, Details of Exelon-D.C. Settlement.)

Of that, $17 million would be put toward conserving natural resources and the environment and promoting energy efficiency.

Exelon also would set aside $25 million to offset rate increases through March 2019 and immediately disburse $14 million to customers.

Exelon and PHI have committed to moving 100 jobs to the district from elsewhere and hiring at least 102 union employees within two years while dedicating $5.2 million in workforce training for district residents.

D.C. Councilman Vincent Orange, speaking on the Kojo Nnamdi radio show Thursday, lauded Bowser’s office for securing the agreement.

“The mayor and her team actually entered into some intense negotiations and basically, they took us from last to first in terms of benefits that are going to be realized for the ratepayers and consumers in the District of Columbia,” said Orange, a former regional vice president for PHI.

‘Cheap Baubles’

“What they’ve offered is baubles — cheap, showy things that don’t really add up,” countered Councilwoman Mary Cheh. “The people who are getting a bad deal are residents and ratepayers.”

“We think that either the mayor got tricked into agreeing to a deal that provides very little more for D.C. than the rejected deal, or she is trying to trick us into believing that this is something substantially better,” said DC Sun’s Schoolman. “The bottom line is that this does not change the underlying conflict of interest” between Exelon as a merchant generator with a commitment to its nuclear fleet and the district’s push for renewable energy.

The other public interest group absent from the settlement is Grid 2.0, which advocates for distributed generation.

“The ‘Halloween candy’ that’s been added by the mayor to make this appear better doesn’t address the underlying issues identified by the Public Service Commission,” said Larry Martin of Grid 2.0.

That was Then, This is Now

Former opponents of the merger aren’t the only ones who seem to have executed an about-face.

Exelon and Pepco initially argued against implementing a host of conditions proposed by Bowser’s administration, calling them “extraordinary and inappropriate on a number of levels.”

In particular, they said, increasing the Customer Investment Fund would be too costly. The settlement reached last week more than doubles the CIF, from $33.75 million to $72.8 million.

Due to the most-favored-nation clauses, accepting the list of conditions initially proffered by the D.C. government would have boosted the cost of the proposed transaction to $7.35 billion to $8.75 billion, according to the PSC’s order.

In addition, Crane testified that Exelon was not willing to make the boards of PHI and PEPCO more “independent” because it “is simply not tenable given the nature of the transaction and the business in general.” He went on to say, “If these or similar conditions were attached to the merger approval, I could not recommend to my board that I close the deal.”

The settlement, however, does increase the independence of PHI and PEPCO in a variety of ways.

Pepco’s CEO will be a member of Exelon’s Executive Committee and will “have full authority to make rate case decisions,” the settlement said. “The district and Pepco will be anything but ‘second tier’ in the new organization.”

Asked what changed Crane’s mind, Exelon spokesman Paul Elsberg said, “Since the PSC explained why it didn’t approve the merger, we’ve been working hard to learn what’s most important to the district — and we’ve responded in the settlement with the District of Columbia government.

“This included as part of the overall settlement package commitments that strengthen PHI board independence.”

Businesses Support

Some of the most vocal supporters of the deal are the D.C. business community and charitable organizations that receive funding from Pepco. (See related story, Pepco’s Influence Runs Deep.)

Harry Wingo, president and CEO of the D.C. Chamber of Commerce, has supported the merger from the start and recently participated in a media blitz, including a video posted on the merger partners’ website.

Among other advantages, he said, the merger will give Pepco the ability to improve its infrastructure.

“I think the fact that the mayor is behind this improves the likelihood of this moving forward,” he said. “I’m excited about it being approved.”

James Dinegar, president of the Greater Washington Board of Trade, said the merger would improve reliability, safety and costs.

“Pepco has real challenges on reliability. Here is an opportunity to act like a real world power capital, not a city that has its power go out” frequently, he said, calling Exelon one of the best power companies in the country.

“My concern now is that if the best company can’t buy Pepco, no one can buy Pepco,” he said. If the commission rejects the merger, he said, D.C. would be left with a “wounded power company.”

“My patience is pretty well done with the opponents. … What’s your solution for reliability?”

Critics say Pepco is already facing financial penalties if it fails to improve its reliability.

Checks and Balances

One of the main concerns surrounding the original merger filing was accountability. How could the district trust that Exelon would hold true to its promises?

Mattavous-Frye said she’s satisfied that the new agreement contains the “checks and balances” needed to ensure the companies’ promises are kept.

She said a significant concession was Exelon’s agreement to use an annual measurement, rather than a three-year average, to gauge progress in improving reliability.

As she noted, reliability would be monitored on an annual basis. Exelon has agreed to open its books to the OPC and PSC. And “ring-fencing” protections have been strengthened, separating PHI’s finances from that of Exelon’s affiliates and assets, such as its nuclear business.

Still, critics point to unaddressed issues. Yes, Exelon says it will support solar installations, but, said Schoolman, nothing in the agreement speaks to what price D.C. will be charged for that energy. She said that the district currently pays above-market prices for the solar energy produced at Exelon’s project at Dunbar High School.

“Thus, this provision may actually inhibit solar development and cost D.C. taxpayers more than if private sector developers were in charge of the project,” she said.

Rates

Another squabbling point is rates. Exelon has set aside $25.6 million to offset the effect of any rate increases through March 2019. Then, however, it will begin recouping its costs with a guaranteed 5% return.

“It’s a shell game, really,” Cheh said. “They say they’re going to give us this total amount. When you actually look at it, it’s money that we’re going to be giving back to them.”

Mattavous-Frye, however, said that absent a merger, it’s likely that rate increases over the next four years would top Exelon’s proposed $72.8 million investment in the district.

“The settlement provides roughly five years to prepare for the ‘energy future’ through public education, deployment of energy efficiency programs, incorporating local solar and renewable energy and by developing local microgrids — all while D.C. ratepayers are ‘ring fenced’ from the financial impact of outside factors affecting Exelon’s utility operations,” she said.

“After 2019, certainly there will be changes, but the regulatory process of rate case investigations will remain, and Exelon-Pepco would be required to request that ‘ring-fencing’ provisions be removed or modified.”

One of the most striking provisions of the settlement is Exelon’s intention to establish D.C. as its co-headquarters with Chicago. The offices of Exelon Utilities will be moved from Philadelphia to D.C., where CEO Denis O’Brien would preside over the largest electricity distribution unit in the country. O’Brien chairs the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce.

Also moving to D.C. from Chicago would be the primary offices of Exelon’s chief financial officer, currently Jonathan “Jack” Thayer, and chief strategy officer, William Von Hoene Jr. Pepco Energy Services also would be relocated from Arlington, Va.

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Generating comments from more than 3,000 individuals and organizations, the Exelon-Pepco merger has garnered more participation than any other issue in the PSC’s history of more than a century.

At the time of the PSC’s vote to reject the merger, Mattavous-Frye credited the public. Standing against the deal were 26 of the district’s 42 Advisory Neighborhood Commissions and half of the council.

“This was about consumer empowerment,” she said. “People did not think their participation would be meaningful, and it is.”

For her part, Cheh is hoping the public will rise again.

“I hope all the Advisory Neighborhood Commissions all come forth and say this settlement is bad. The community groups that took a position have to come back and say this is bad,” she said. “They really have to make their voice heard.”

— Michael Brooks contributed to this article.