Power & Pipes

In our final dispatch from the CERAWeek conference by S&P Global, Felipe Alice shared some insights and key takeaways from a luncheon and dialogue session featuring tech entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist Bill Gates.

Our coverage of the CERAWeek conference by S&P Global in Houston, running from March 18 to March 22, continues with more updates. Today’s missive comes from the Innovation Agora, which is connected to the Executive Conference at CERAWeek. The Innovation Agora is described as a “vibrant and interactive marketplace of ideas on energy innovation and emerging technologies.” It includes several amphitheaters or “hubs” that are designed for presentations and conversations involving the latest trends in climate change, carbon, hydrogen, and emerging energy technologies.

We’re back with another update from CERAWeek 2024 by S&P Global to highlight some key takeaways from day two of the conference. Many of the sessions on this day were dedicated to infrastructure development and highlighted the opportunities and the challenges facing energy project developers.

Yesterday marked the start of CERAWeek 2024 by S&P Global, and for the rest of this week Morgan Lewis partners Kirstin Gibbs and Felipe Alice will be reporting back on the key themes and ideas they are uncovering as the conference unfolds.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or the Commission) released its enforcement results for fiscal year 2022 on October 20, 2022. The enforcement results detail the 82 enforcement actions the CFTC filed in 2022 and show that orders secured by the Commission imposed more than $2.5 billion in restitution, disgorgement, and civil monetary penalties, either through settlement or litigation.

Following weeks of anticipation, US Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) released the text of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2022, his permitting reform legislation, on September 21, 2022. As part of an agreement to win Senator Manchin’s support of the Inflation Reduction Act, Democratic leadership committed to bringing energy infrastructure permitting reform to a vote this year, namely by including it in a continuing resolution (CR) to extend government funding before the end of the fiscal year on September 30.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued show cause orders to two natural pipelines—Rover Pipeline and Midship Pipeline Company—following its December 2021 open meeting, and sent a related dispute involving Midship for an administrative hearing. Chairman Richard Glick has signaled in the last year his desire for a more active enforcement program.

The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) jointly authored a report regarding the February 2021 power outages in Texas and the US Midwest caused by extreme cold weather. The report identifies the causes of the outages and outlines a series of recommendations focusing on enhanced protection against cold weather for critical generation as well as the natural gas assets supplying gas-fired generation so that this infrastructure remains operational even in extreme cold weather.

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Nearly 200 comments were filed in response to FERC’s February 18, 2021 Notice of Inquiry (NOI) that sought new information and perspectives on whether it should revise its policy statement on the certification of new interstate natural gas transportation facilities (Policy Statement). As we discussed in our February 19 LawFlash, FERC sought comments on several areas, including potential adjustments to its determination of need, the exercise of eminent domain and landowner interests, FERC’s considerations of environmental impacts, and its consideration of effects on environmental justice communities. Commenters provided a wide range of perspectives, which we discuss below.

As has been reported, a recent ransomware attack has caused an interstate pipeline and fuel supplier to much of the eastern United States to shut down its operations. Although the attack did not compromise operational systems, the company opted to cease operations as a precautionary measure.