On Wednesday the House Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security hosted a hearing to examine the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) budget and conduct oversight. All five Commissioners participated as witnesses. APGA member systems are often impacted by FERC’s decisions pertaining to interstate transmission rate setting and subsequent rate cases. Also, this House Subcommittee has jurisdiction over APGA’s advocacy priority, Natural Gas Act (NGA) Section 5 reform. APGA members should be pleased to hear that policymakers at the hearing asked the Commissioners a series of questions focused on the potential House reintroduction of legislation to reform Section 5 of the NGA and grant FERC refund authority in certain rate cases.
The topics covered at the hearing were broad but primarily focused on recent FERC decisions and future plans to improve processes that will hopefully increase both electric and natural gas transmission capacity.
APGA staff supported legislative staff on the subcommittee with resources and information on recent advocacy efforts related to Section 5 reform and the harmful “junk and jewel” practice. View APGA's statement for the record here .APGA members should also appreciate the following exchange:
Representative Annie Kuster (NH-02) asked the Commissioners,
"While the Federal Power Act allows FERC to order refunds, when it determines utilities are overcharging for electricity, the Natural Gas Act does not allow the same refunds…When companies are caught overcharging for natural gas, meaning large interstate pipelines can over-recover billions of dollars in excessive rates that should be flowing back to everyday Americans… does this lack of refund authority impact the energy rates that Americans pay? And if Congress granted FERC the authority to issue refunds, would FERC exercise this authority to protect consumers and keep prices just and reasonable?”
FERC Chairman Willie Phillips responded positively,
“Affordability is a top priority. It is always top of mind. I have a personal relationship growing up with, we called before energy poverty was a term. To be clear, we defer to Congress in their judgment on what to do with regard to refunds. I think accountability is important. If Congress [gives us] that authority, we will faithfully execute it.”
Rep. Kuster finished her line of questioning by praising the introduction of the MPACT Act in the Senate and calling for the reintroduction of similar legislation in the House. APGA staff will continue to work with industry stakeholders and members of the House as we move toward reintroduction of bipartisan Section 5 reform legislation in the chamber. Updates on this progress will be given to the APGA Legislative Committee, APGA members should consider attending these monthly meetings to engage further.
For questions on this article, please contact Joshua St.Pierre of APGA staff by phone at 202-407-0015 or by email at jstpierre@apga.org.