FERC's Troubling Transmission Order No. 1920

Abstract

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)'s Order No. 1920, issued May 13, 2024, is FERC's latest attempt to craft a nationwide policy to regulate market entry and pricing for the electricity transmission network.1 Approved by a one‐vote margin (2:1) in a short‐staffed Commission, the Order numbers 1,300 pages. In the accompanying dissent and concurring opinion, the three participating Commissioners are unusually critical of each other, in places verging on insulting, with accusations of faulty reasoning, unspoken agendas, basic lapses in logic, and blatant inconsistency with the limits on federal regulatory authority. The 2:1 split continues the evident partisanship apparent in FERC's 2023 orders on natural gas pipeline issues that I wrote about earlier this year.2