FERC Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur sailed through her Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday while Norman Bay was forced to defend his limited policy experience and his running of the commission’s enforcement division. He also found himself having to negotiate a gender politics minefield.

FERC lacks proper controls for handling classified national security information, the Department of Energy’s Inspector General said.

Former FERC Chariman Jon Wellinghoff is coming under fire from some of his old colleagues for comments he has made to the media regarding grid safety.

The coal industry lobby that sank Ron Binz’ FERC nomination will have a much harder time pinning the “war on coal” label on President Obama’s new choice, Norman Bay. But that doesn’t necessarily mean clear sailing.

Cheryl LaFleur became acting chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Sunday, succeeding Jon Wellinghoff, who came under pressure to resign after accepting a law firm position in October.

Storms and cybersecurity were the subjects as PJM held its third annual Grid 20/20 conference in Philadelphia.

FERC last week approved a new reliability standard that will allow PJM and other transmission planners to plan for “non-consequential” load loss following a single contingency.

Briefs from federal agencies governing PJM Interconnection and other national organizations. This week's news include stories from FERC, Congress, and the EPA.

The capacity market and the role of demand response dominated the discussion as more than 170 state regulators, PJM staff and stakeholders gathered here for the OPSI annual meeting last week.