Advanced Energy Management Alliance Applauds U.S. Solicitor General Decision to Appeal Case to Highest Court

WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 8, 2014) The Advanced Energy Management Alliance expressed optimism today after the U.S. Solicitor General, Donald B. Verilli, Jr., announced that his office would be filing a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari at the U.S. Supreme Court, in conjunction with filing for an extension in response to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals decision that vacated Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) Order 745 (Electric Power Supply Ass’n v. FERC, D.C. Circuit No. 11-1486).

“The decision by the U.S. Solicitor General to file a petition at the Supreme Court is a recognition that the decision by the Circuit Court to vacate Order 745 is inconsistent with the language and intent of the Federal Power Act and is harmful to fair and competitive markets and to consumers across the nation,” stated Jon Wellinghoff, strategic advisor to AEMA, former Chair of the FERC and the key author of Order 745. “I urge the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh the merits of this case carefully, and allow the U.S. government as well as supporters of demand response—providers, states, consumers, and environmental groups–the opportunity to present arguments in favor of preserving Order 745 in the Court.”

Issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in 2011, under the leadership of Chairman Wellinghoff, Order 745 requires grid operators to pay the comparable market price, known as the locational marginal price, for demand response resources in the wholesale market.

The impact of Order 745 on the nation’s grid cannot be overstated. Since going into affect, utilization of demand response resources has increased significantly, offering consumers greater choice, resulting in billions of dollars of savings, while providing stability and reliability to the nation’s electrical grid. Earlier this year, regional energy markets PJM and ERCOT credited demand response programs for helping to prevent blackouts during last winter’s polar vortex.

In addition to providing reliability to the grid, a recent study by Navigant found that demand response resources are capable of providing significant environmental benefits, including reducing carbon dioxide emissions nationally by one-to-two percent.

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