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Power & Pipes
FERC, CFTC, and State Energy Law Developments
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA’s) long-awaited final rule on the minimum safety standards for underground natural gas storage facilities (UNGSFs) was published in the February 12 Federal Register.
A declaratory order issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (the Commission) on January 30 in Docket No. RP20-41-000 grants pipeline developers greater certainty in planning and siting construction. The order was issued after a split 2-1 vote.
In November 2019, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy issued Executive Order 92 increasing the state’s offshore wind generation goal from 3,500 MW by 2030 to 7,500 MW by 2035. To date, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) has approved only one 1,100 MW offshore wind project, but is expected to conduct additional solicitations in 2020 and 2022 and approve approximately 2,400 MW of additional offshore wind generation.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed S. 2252 into law on January 17, 2020. The bill takes steps to advance electric vehicle (EV) goals proposed in the draft New Jersey Energy Master Plan (which was released in June 2019 but has not been posted in final form). By enacting this legislation, New Jersey joins several states, including Oregon and Colorado, that have taken action to encourage EV adoption in recent months.
Morgan Lewis has been named Energy Group of the Year by Law360 for our work assisting energy clients in deploying innovative pricing models, navigating complicated regulatory requirements, and managing crises.
A notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) titled, “Update to the Regulations Implementing the Procedural Provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act,” published today by the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), is likely to have far-reaching effects for the energy and public infrastructure sectors, and could facilitate more efficient implementation of energy production/generation projects for all major energy sources (i.e., renewable, fossil, nuclear, and hydroelectric sources) as well as transportation projects.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on December 19, 2019, directed PJM Interconnection to extend its minimum offer price rule (MOPR) from new natural gas–fired electric generators to also cover any generator that receives or is entitled to receive certain types of state subsidies.
With the degree of scrutiny applied to H-1B petitions at an all-time high, it is important for employers, including those in the energy industry, to begin assessing their H-1B needs.