In May, FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee, a Republican, joined with the commission's two Democrats as they agreed on an order rejecting numerous requests that they reconsider a rule approved a year earlier that aimed to support the relatively new battery storage technology sector.
FERC was sued over that order by an array of large power industry interests last month. The challengers include the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) and several trade groups representing investor-owned electric utilities, electric cooperatives and municipal power utilities...
"FERC concluded that the Federal Power Act vests it with exclusive jurisdiction to enable wholesale market participation by all resources, including those located on the local distribution grid or behind the meter," said the filing by AEE and SEIA.
"States may not regulate wholesale market participation by such resources," they said.
In May, Commissioner Bernard McNamee, a Republican, was the sole FERC member not to support the order as he laid out at length his views on FERC jurisdiction with regard to wholesale versus retail electricity under the FPA...