Position Within The Government
FERC is an independent regulatory agency within the United States Department of Energy. Neither the President nor Congress reviews FERC decisions. All FERC decisions are reviewable by the federal courts. FERC is also self-funding. The Commission pays for itself by recovering costs directly from the industries it regulates through annual charges and fees.
FERC is independent of the Department of Energy, but DOE may intervene just like any other party in FERC proceedings. FERC activities "shall not be subject to further view by the Secretary or any officer or employee of the Department."
In recent years, the FERC has been promoting the voluntary formation of Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) and Independent System Operators (ISOs) to eliminate the potential for undue discrimination in access to the electric grid. However since the passage of new energy legislation, it has aggressively developed regulations to implement key provisions of the new law dealing with LNG terminals, electric reliability, Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 repeal and implementation of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005, new merger regulations and new anti-market manipulation regulations.
FERC has also been heavily involved in the California electricity crisis and in investigating allegations of electricity market manipulation by Enron and other energy companies. FERC has collected over $6.3 billion from California electric market participants by facilitating settlements. FERC is also working with Canadian energy officials to facilitate processing of a proposed Alaskan Natural Gas Pipeline, which would bring natural gas from Alaska's North Slope to the lower 48 States.
FERC regulates approximately 1,600 hydroelectric projects in the U.S. It is largely responsible for permitting the construction of a large network of interstate natural gas pipelines. FERC also works closely with the United States Coast Guard in reviewing the safety, security and environmental impacts of proposed LNG terminals and associated shipping.
Read more about this topic: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
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