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The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday clarified that facilities within nuclear generation plants that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission does not regulate must comply with eight mandatory cybersecurity standards that FERC previously approved. The order is meant to cover a jurisdictional gap at nuclear plants for equipment the NRC does not regulate. The Nuclear Energy Institute and the Edison Electric Institute had told FERC the measure is unnecessary and potentially harmful because no gap exists and NRC jurisdiction covers the equipment. NRC disagreed that its jurisdiction covered the gap and FERC in Thursday's order agreed with NRC.

Exelon Corporation recently announced it has filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for approval of Exelon's proposed combination with NRG Energy, Inc. Exelon has also filed notification with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission of its intention to acquire NRG, in compliance with federal premerger notification requirements.

MidAmerican and Constellation filed a request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, October 14 seeking approval of their planned merger, continuing their string of applications for federal approvals needed to complete the union. They asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to act on the application by January 15. Under the merger agreement announced last month, MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. will buy Constellation Energy for about $4.7 billion in cash. The boards of directors for both companies have approved the deal, but shareholder and state and federal approvals are still needed. Earlier this month, the companies filed applications with the NRC and Federal Communications Commission. They hope to close on the transaction in nine to 12 months.

The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authorized Thursday EDF Development's $4.5-billion purchase of an almost-50% stake in Constellation Energy group's nuclear generation and operations business. At the same time, the commission approved an agreement that gives Constellation the option to sell its interests in non-nuclear plants and other assets to EDF, if the companies agree on any such deals. The agreement specifies that any such deals would total up to $2 billion.

Addressing controversial statements he made last month, US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Jon Wellinghoff on Tuesday clarified that he believes electricity markets will decide the future of new coal and nuclear power generation. During a press conference in Washington April 22, Wellinghoff said he believes renewable energy resources coupled with demand-side management might eliminate the need for new conventional power plants. "Ultimately, I was talking about a scenario" involving demand response and other technologies "where there may be a point where it would be feasible to utilize what are thought of as variable resources to really meet peak loads in a very reliable way," Wellinghoff said Tuesday at a Washington press event. "Reliability is the key.

A majority of energy regulators agree that reducing greenhouse gas emissions will increase the costs of electricity, but that the public is willing to pay as much as 5 percent more for green energy, according to a survey from the Deloitte Center for Energy Solutions. The survey, which was completed by 60 state regulators in March and April 2009, found that 70 percent of surveyed regulators believe that the cost of electricity is likely to increase next year -- with 50 percent identifying environmental compliance as the strongest contributing factor to these increased electricity costs. In addition, more than 80 percent of surveyed regulators believe that the Obama administration's proposed cap and trade system for carbon dioxide emissions will result in higher electricity costs in their states. "For the second year in a row, our survey demonstrates that state utility regulators, while concerned about climate change, also understand the cost implications and viabilities of the various policy options," said Branko Terzic, Energy & Resources regulatory policy leader for Deloitte. Terzic is a former state regulator, a former commissioner with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and a former utility executive. He went on to point out that surveyed regulators showed a continued belief in the green benefits of nuclear power: 55.2 percent of them claimed that nuclear power is "extremely effective" in reducing greenhouse gases associated with power generation in their state. The survey also revealed that more than two-thirds (71.7 percent) of responding state regulators believe that the U.S. should continue to develop Yucca Mountain, despite recent decisions by the administration to look for alternatives.

Exelon Corp. has won approval from federal energy regulators for its $5.2 billion hostile takeover of NRG Energy Inc., furthering the company's bid to become the largest U.S. producer of electricity. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission voted in favor of Exelon's petition to buy NRG. But the Justice Department, Nuclear Regulatory Commission and at least five states still must approve the deal. NRG responded that the "board and management team continue to believe that Exelon's proposal significantly undervalues NRG and remains highly conditional, including the need to obtain financing, and very risky because of rating agency and other concerns."

The nation's top power industry regulator on Tuesday suggested that U.S. utilities don't need to build big nuclear or coal-fired power plants to fill the nation's future power supply needs. Instead, Jon Wellinghoff, chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, said future electricity demand growth can be met with a low-emission supply from wind, solar and other renewable sources, combined with more efficient use of all sources of electricity.

In remarks focused on the promise of renewable energy and demand-side management, US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Jon Wellinghoff on Wednesday suggested that there may never be another new nuclear or coal power plant built in the country. Pointing to upwards of 1,000 GW of potential wind energy in the Midwest and West, new solar power production and storage technologies and emerging hydrokinetic power resources, Wellinghoff asserted that renewables are poised to play a substantial, gap-filling role in the US energy picture.