On October 28, 2019, the Attorneys General of California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island (collectively “State AGs”) wrote to FERC to discuss opportunities for the State AGs and FERC to work cooperatively to promote state-level clean energy policies that benefit consumers and enhance grid reliability. The State AGs expressed an “urgent need” for further action to address climate change’s “massive” environmental, health, and economic harms in their states, and noted that the Commission’s actions related to market design, natural gas siting, and grid reliability significantly impact each state’s ability to achieve their clean energy goals.
The State AGs specifically asked FERC to consider four recommendations in its decision-making: (1) promote market design choices that recognize state rights under the Federal Power Act to shape their resource mixes; (2) eliminate barriers to competition for renewable energy generators, energy storage, energy efficiency, demand response, and other clean energy technologies; (3) comprehensively assess the associated climate impacts with new pipeline infrastructure, as well as all reasonable clean energy alternatives; and (4) exercise oversight authority to ensure that Regional Transmission Operators and other regulated entities are encouraging participation, transparency, independence, and responsiveness to states, consumers, and other stakeholders.
The State AGs also requested an in-person meeting with the Commission to discuss how their offices might collaborate to achieve their shared objective of electric power that is safe, affordable, and reliable.
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