

[Federal Register: February 24, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 37)]
[Notices]               
[Page 9531-9532]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr24fe06-60]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket Nos. ER02-2001-005, ER03-622-000, ER02-2338-000, ER04-683-000, 
ER03-101-000, ER02-1499-000, ER02-1595-000]

 
Before Commissioners: Joseph T. Kelliher, Chairman; Nora Mead 
Brownell, and Suedeen G. Kelly; Electric Quarterly Reports; Capital 
Power, Inc.; Energy Investments Management, Inc.; New Light Energy, 
LLC; Premier Energy Marketing, LLC; Sprague Energy Corp.; TME Energy 
Services; Order on Intent To Revoke Market-Based Rate Authority

Issued February 17, 2006.
    1. Section 205 of the Federal Power Act (FPA), 16 U.S.C. 824d 
(2000), and 18 CFR part 35 (2005), require, among other things, that 
all rates, terms, and conditions of jurisdictional services be filed 
with the Commission. In Order No. 2001, the Commission revised its 
public utility filing requirements and established a requirement for 
public utilities, including power marketers, to file Electric Quarterly 
Reports summarizing the contractual terms and conditions in their 
agreements for all jurisdictional services (including market-based 
power sales, cost-based power sales, and transmission service) and 
providing transaction information (including rates) for short-term and 
long-term power sales during the most recent calendar quarter.\1\
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    \1\ Revised Public Utility Filing Requirements, Order No. 2001, 
67 Fed. Reg. 31043, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,127 (April 25, 2002), 
reh'g denied, Order No. 2001-A, 100 FERC ] 61,074, reconsideration 
and clarification denied, Order No. 2001-B, 100 FERC ] 61,342, order 
directing filings, Order No. 2001-C, 101 FERC ] 61,314 (2002).
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    2. Commission staff review of the Electric Quarterly Report 
submittals has revealed that a number of public utilities with 
authority to sell electric power at market-based rates have failed to 
file their Electric Quarterly Reports through the third quarter of 
2005. Thus, this order notifies these public utilities that their 
market-based rate authorizations will be revoked unless they comply 
with the Commission's requirements within 15 days of the date of 
issuance of this order.
    3. In Order No. 2001, the Commission stated that, [i]f a public 
utility fails to file a[n] Electric Quarterly Report (without an 
appropriate request for extension), or fails to report an agreement in 
a report, that public utility may forfeit its market-based rate 
authority and may be required to file a new application for market-
based rate authority if it wishes to resume making sales at market-
based rates.[\2\]
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    \2\ Order No. 2001 at P 222.
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    4. The Commission further stated that, [o]nce this rule becomes 
effective, the requirement to comply with this rule will supersede the 
conditions in public utilities' market-based rate authorizations, and 
failure to comply with the requirements of this rule will subject 
public utilities to the same consequences they would face for not 
satisfying the conditions in their rate authorizations, including 
possible revocation of their authority to make wholesale power sales at 
market-based rates.[\3\]
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    \3\ Id. at P 223.
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    5. Pursuant to these requirements, the Commission has revoked or 
withdrawn the market-based rate tariffs of several market-based rate 
sellers that failed to submit their Electric Quarterly Reports.\4\ 
Further, the Commission has instituted proceedings under section 206 of 
the

[[Page 9532]]

Federal Power Act against companies that failed to file.\5\
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    \4\ See Electric Quarterly Reports, 107 FERC ] 61,310 (2004); 
Electric Quarterly Reports, 69 FR 57,679 (September 27, 2004); 
Electric Quarterly Reports, 105 FERC ] 61,219 (2003); and Electric 
Quarterly Reports, 104 FERC ] 61,139 (2003).
    \5\ See Electric Quarterly Reports, 113 FERC ] 61,305 (2005).
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    6. Commission staff review of the Electric Quarterly Report 
submittals has identified a number of public utilities that previously 
had been granted authority to sell power at market-based rates that 
have failed to file Electric Quarterly Reports through the third 
quarter of 2005. Commission staff has contacted all non-filing 
utilities via e-mail to remind them of their regulatory obligations. 
None of the public utilities listed in the caption of this order has 
met those obligations.\6\
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    \6\ According to the Commission's records, the companies subject 
to this order last filed their Electric Quarterly Reports in the 
quarters and years shown below:

    Respondent/Last quarter filed
    Capital Power, Inc.--2005 Quarter 1
    Energy Investments Management, Inc.--2005 Quarter 1
    New Light Energy, LLC--2005 Quarter 1
    TME Energy Services--2005 Quarter 1
    Premier Energy Marketing, LLC--2005 Quarter 2
    Sprague Energy Corp.--2005 Quarter 2

    7. Accordingly, this order notifies these public utilities that 
their market-based rate authorizations will be revoked unless they 
comply with the Commission's requirements within 15 days of the 
issuance of this order.
    8. In addition, the above-captioned companies' failure to comply 
with their Electric Quarterly Report filing requirements provides a 
basis for the Commission to institute proceedings under section 206 of 
the FPA. These proceedings will determine appropriate refunds in the 
event these companies continue to make wholesale power sales at market-
based rates. In cases where, as here, the Commission institutes a 
section 206 investigation on its own motion, section 206(b) of the FPA, 
as recently amended by section 1285 of the Energy Policy Act of 
2005,\7\ requires the Commission to establish a refund effective date 
that is no earlier than the date of publication of notice of its 
initiation of the investigation, but no later than five months 
subsequent to that date. Thus, we will set the refund effective date as 
the date of publication of this order in the Federal Register.
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    \7\ Energy Policy Act of 2005, Sec.  1285, Pub. L. No. 109-58, 
119 Stat. 980 (2005).
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    9. In the event that any of the above-captioned market-based rate 
sellers has already filed its required Electric Quarterly Reports in 
compliance with the Commission's requirements, its inclusion herein is 
inadvertent. Any such market-based rate seller is directed, within 15 
days of the date of issuance of this order, to make a filing with the 
Commission identifying itself and providing details about its prior 
filings that establish that it complied with the Commission's Electric 
Quarterly Report filing requirements.
    10. If any of the above-captioned market-based rate sellers does 
not wish to continue having market-based rate authority and does not 
foresee entering into any contracts to sell power at market-based 
rates, it may file a notice of cancellation with the Commission 
pursuant to section 205 of the FPA to cancel its market-based rate 
tariff and end its obligation to submit further Electric Quarterly 
Reports.
    The Commission orders:
    (A) Within 15 days of the date of issuance of this order, each 
public utility listed in the caption of this order shall file with the 
Commission all delinquent Electric Quarterly Reports. If a public 
utility fails to make this filing, the Commission will revoke that 
public utility's authority to sell power at market-based rates and 
terminate its electric market-based rate tariff. The Secretary is 
hereby directed, upon expiration of the filing deadline in this order, 
to promptly issue a notice, effective on the date of issuance, listing 
the public utilities whose tariffs have been revoked for failure to 
comply with the requirements of this order and the Commission's 
Electric Quarterly Report filing requirements.
    (B) Pursuant to the authority contained in and subject to the 
jurisdiction conferred upon the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by 
section 402(a) of the Department of Energy Organization Act and by the 
Federal Power Act, particularly section 206 thereof, and pursuant to 
the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure and the regulations 
under the Federal Power Act (18 CFR chapter I), the Commission hereby 
institutes proceedings to determine the appropriate refunds if the 
above-captioned companies continue to make wholesale power sales at 
market-based rates.
    (C) The Secretary is hereby directed to publish this order in the 
Federal Register.

    By the Commission.
Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E6-2654 Filed 2-23-06; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
