January 20, 2023
Project No. 199-205
I concur with today’s order[1] issuing South Carolina Public Service Authority a new license to continue to operate and maintain the Santee Cooper Hydroelectric Project. I write separately to make two points.
First, I note that the Commission finds certain recommendations filed by the resource agencies under section 10(j) of the Federal Power Act (FPA)[2] to be “outside the scope” of that section and instead considers it under FPA section 10(a)(1).[3] As I have previously stated,[4] I have misgivings about this practice.
Second, I write to express my concern about Article 207, which reserves authority for the Commission to impose financial assurance mechanisms without any limiting principle.[5] As I have previously stated,[6] this reservation may have the unfortunate effect of reinforcing uncertainty and limiting licensees’ access to the very financing we should seek to encourage. It is imperative that the Commission take a hard look at our financial assurance requirements and deliberately determine what, if any, changes or improvements should be adopted.
For these reasons, I respectfully concur.
[1] S.C. Pub. Serv. Auth., 182 FERC ¶ 61,025 (2023).
[2] 16 U.S.C. § 803(j).
[3] S.C. Pub. Serv. Auth., 182 FERC ¶ 61,025 at P 134.
[4] See, e.g., Cornell Univ., 176 FERC ¶ 61,186 (2021) (Danly, Comm’r, concurring in part and dissenting in part at P 2). To the extent those recommendations related to recreation, I agree that it is appropriate to consider them “outside the scope” of FPA section 10(j).
[5] See S.C. Pub. Serv. Auth., 182 FERC ¶ 61,025 at P 195 & Ordering Para. F (listing additional license articles, including Article 207 which provides “[t]he Commission reserves the right to require future measures to ensure that the licensee maintains sufficient financial reserves to carry out the terms of the license and Commission orders pertaining thereto.”) (emphasis added).
[6] See, e.g., Pub. Util. Dist. No. 1 of Pend Oreille Cnty., 177 FERC ¶ 61,183 (2021) (Danly, Comm’r, concurring at PP 1-3).