UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION 

 

 

 

 

2015 REPORT ON ENFORCEMENT 

Docket No. AD07-13-009 

Prepared by Staff of the 

Office of Enforcement 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

Washington, D.C. 

 

NOVEMBER 19, 2015 
The matters presented in this staff report do not necessarily represent the views 

 of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, its Chairman, or individual 

Commissioners, and are not binding on the Commission. 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement i 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................................. i

INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................1

OFFICE OF ENFORCEMENT PRIORITIES ................................................................................2

DIVISION OF INVESTIGATIONS................................................................................................4

A. Overview ....................................................................................................................................4

B. Orders to Show Cause and Related Proceedings .......................................................................6

1. District Court Litigation .............................................................................................................. 6

2. Administrative Hearings .............................................................................................................. 8

C. Settlements .................................................................................................................................9

1. Settlements Related to the Arizona-Southern California Blackout ........................................... 13

2. Other Settlements ...................................................................................................................... 14

D. Self-Reports .............................................................................................................................15

1. Illustrative Self-Reports Closed with No Action ....................................................................... 18

E. Investigations ...........................................................................................................................23

1. Statistics on Investigations ........................................................................................................ 23

2. Illustrative Investigations Closed with No Action ..................................................................... 28

F. Enforcement Hotline ................................................................................................................31

G. Other Matters ...........................................................................................................................31

DIVISION OF AUDITS AND ACCOUNTING ...........................................................................33

A. Overview ..................................................................................................................................33

B. Compliance Reviews and Alerts ..............................................................................................34

1. Compliance Reviews ................................................................................................................. 34

2. Compliance Alerts ..................................................................................................................... 34

C. Audit Matters ...........................................................................................................................37

1. Oil .............................................................................................................................................. 38

2. Formula Rates ............................................................................................................................ 39

3. Nuclear Decommissioning ........................................................................................................ 41

4. Mergers and Acquisitions .......................................................................................................... 42

5. Natural Gas Tariff, Accounting, and Reporting ........................................................................ 42

6. Market-Based Rates, Electric Quarterly Reports, and Other Reporting .................................... 43

7. Capacity Markets and Demand Response ................................................................................. 44

8. No Audit Findings ..................................................................................................................... 45

D. Accounting Matters ..................................................................................................................45

1. Filings Reviewed by DAA ........................................................................................................ 45

2. Requests for Approval of the Chief Accountant ........................................................................ 46
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement ii 

3. Certificate Proceedings .............................................................................................................. 47

4. Merger and Acquisition Proceedings ........................................................................................ 48

5. Debt and Security Issuance Proceedings ................................................................................... 48

6. Rate Proceedings ....................................................................................................................... 48

7. Accounting Inquiries ................................................................................................................. 49

8. International Financial Reporting Standards ............................................................................. 49

9. Hydropower Licensee Requirements under Part 1 of the FPA .................................................. 49

DIVISION OF ENERGY MARKET OVERSIGHT .....................................................................51

A. Overview ..................................................................................................................................51

B. Market-Based Rate Ex Post Analysis ......................................................................................51

C. Market Monitoring ...................................................................................................................51

1. 2014 State of the Markets Report .............................................................................................. 51

2. Seasonal Market Assessments ................................................................................................... 52

D. Outreach and Communication .................................................................................................52

1. Website ...................................................................................................................................... 52

2. Snapshot Calls ........................................................................................................................... 53

3. Domestic and Foreign Delegation Briefings ............................................................................. 53

4. 2015 Energy Primer ................................................................................................................... 53

E. Forms Administration and Compliance ...................................................................................53

1. Electric Quarterly Reports ......................................................................................................... 54

2. eForms Refresh Project ............................................................................................................. 54

F. Agenda Items and Rulemakings ..............................................................................................55

DIVISION OF ANALYTICS AND SURVEILLANCE ...............................................................56

A. Overview ..................................................................................................................................56

B. Natural Gas Surveillance .........................................................................................................56

C. Electric Surveillance ................................................................................................................57

D. Analytics ..................................................................................................................................57

CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................................................59

APPENDIX A: OFFICE OF ENFORCEMENT ORGANIZATION CHART ............................60

APPENDIX B: FY2015 CIVIL PENALTY ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS ................................61

APPENDIX C: FY2015 NOTICES OF ALLEGED VIOLATIONS ...........................................64
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 1 

INTRODUCTION 

The staff of the Office of Enforcement (Enforcement) of the Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission (Commission) is issuing this report as directed by the Commission in its Revised 

Policy Statement on Enforcement.1 This report informs the public and the regulated community 

of Enforcement’s activities during Fiscal Year 2015 (FY2015),2 including an overview of, and 

statistics reflecting, the activities of the four divisions within Enforcement: Division of 

Investigations (DOI), Division of Audits and Accounting (DAA), Division of Energy Market 

Oversight (Market Oversight), and Division of Analytics and Surveillance (DAS). 

Enforcement recognizes the importance of informing the public of the activities of 

Enforcement staff and prepares this report with that objective in mind. Because much of the 

investigative work of Enforcement is non-public, most of the information the public receives 

about investigations comes from public Commission orders approving settlements, orders to 

show cause, publicly released staff reports, audit reports, and notices of alleged violations. 

However, not all of Enforcement’s activities result in public actions by the Commission. As in 

previous years, the FY2015 report provides the public with more information regarding the 

nature of non-public Enforcement activities, such as self-reported violations and investigations 

that are closed without public enforcement action. This report also highlights Enforcement’s 

work auditing jurisdictional companies, compiling and monitoring data from forms and reports 

submitted to the Commission by market participants, and performing surveillance and analysis of 

conduct in wholesale natural gas and electric markets. 

 

1

 Enforcement of Statutes, Regulations and Orders, 123 FERC ¶ 61,156, at P 12 (2008) (Revised Policy Statement). 

A current Enforcement organizational chart is attached as Appendix A to this report. 

2

 The Commission’s fiscal year begins October 1 and ends September 30 of the following year. FY2015, the 

subject of this report, began on October 1, 2014 and ended on September 30, 2015. 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 2 

OFFICE OF ENFORCEMENT PRIORITIES 

The Commission’s Strategic Plan announced its mission of assisting consumers in obtaining 

reliable, efficient, and sustainable energy services at a reasonable cost through appropriate 

regulatory and market means.3 The Strategic Plan identifies three primary goals to fulfill this 

mission: (1) ensuring that rates, terms, and conditions of jurisdictional services are just, 

reasonable, and not unduly discriminatory or preferential; (2) promoting the development of a 

safe, reliable, and efficient energy infrastructure that serves the public interest; and (3) 

facilitating organizational excellence through increased transparency, communication, and 

managing Commission resources and employees. To further those goals and assist the 

Commission in its obligation to oversee regulated markets, Enforcement’s four divisions gather 

information about market behavior, market participants, and market rules. The divisions 

continue to work to bring entities into compliance with applicable statutes, Commission rules, 

orders, regulations, and tariff provisions. 

In FY2015, Enforcement had the same priorities as in previous years, continuing to focus on 

matters involving: 

• Fraud and market manipulation; 

• Serious violations of the Reliability Standards; 

• Anticompetitive conduct; and 

• Conduct that threatens the transparency of regulated markets. 

Enforcement does not intend to change these priorities in FY2016. Conduct involving fraud 

and market manipulation poses a significant threat to the markets the Commission oversees. 

Such intentional misconduct undermines the Commission’s goal of ensuring provision of 

efficient energy services at a reasonable cost, because the losses imposed by fraud and 

manipulation are ultimately passed on to consumers. Similarly, anticompetitive conduct and 

conduct that threatens market transparency undermine confidence in the energy markets and 

harm consumers and competitors. Such conduct might also involve the violation of rules 

designed to limit market power or to ensure the efficient operation of regulated markets. 

Enforcement focuses on preventing and remedying misconduct involving the greatest harm to the 

public, where there may be significant gain to the violator or loss to the victims. 

The Reliability Standards established by the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) and 

approved by the Commission protect the public interest by ensuring a reliable and secure bulk 

power system. This office enforces these standards and focuses primarily on violations resulting 

in actual harm, through the loss of load or other means. Enforcement also focuses on cases 

involving repeat violations of the Reliability Standards or violations that present a substantial 

risk to the bulk power system. 

Enforcement continued its commitment to these priorities in FY2015. DOI staff opened 19 

new investigations while bringing 22 pending investigations to closure either with no action or 

through a Commission-approved settlement. During FY2015, staff negotiated settlements 

 

3

 The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Strategic Plan FY 2014-2018 (Mar. 2014), available at

http://www.ferc.gov/about/strat-docs/FY-2014-FY-2018-strat-plan.pdf. 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 3 

allowing it to recover a total of almost $26.25 million in civil penalties and disgorgement of 

nearly $1 million in unjust profits. These settlements also included provisions requiring the 

subjects to enhance their compliance programs, and periodically report back to Enforcement 

regarding the results of those compliance enhancements. 

Staff from DAA reviewed the conduct of regulated entities through 22 audits of oil pipeline, 

public utility, and natural gas companies (up from 19 in FY2014), resulting in 360 

recommendations for corrective action and directing refunds and recoveries totaling $26.3 

million (up from $11.7 million in FY2014). 

Market Oversight continued its analysis of market fundamentals (including significant trends 

and developments) and market structure, and continued to identify market anomalies and flawed 

market rules. As in prior years, Market Oversight presented its annual State of the Markets 

report assessing significant events of the previous year, as well as its Winter Energy Market 

Assessment and Summer Energy Market and Reliability Assessment. Additionally, Market 

Oversight continued ensuring compliance with the Commission’s filing requirements for Electric 

Quarterly Reports (EQR) and various Commission financial forms. 

Finally, in FY2015, DAS worked on more than 30 investigations and reviewed numerous 

instances of potential misconduct, with some reviews resulting in referrals to DOI. DAS also 

developed a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding collection of connected entity data that, if 

adopted by a final rule, will enhance DAS’s screening and investigative activities and will reduce 

the number of informal inquiries that DAS must make based on false surveillance screen trips. 

 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 4 

DIVISION OF INVESTIGATIONS 

A. Overview 

The Division of Investigations (DOI) conducts investigations of potential violations of the 

statutes, regulations, rules, orders, and tariffs administered by the Commission. Those 

investigations may begin from self-reports, tips, calls to the Enforcement Hotline, referrals from 

organized markets or their monitoring units, other agencies, other divisions within Enforcement, 

other program offices within the Commission, or as a result of other investigations. DOI staff 

works closely with other Enforcement divisions, and other Commission offices as appropriate, 

throughout its investigations. If staff finds significant violations, it reports its findings to the 

Commission and attempts to settle investigations for appropriate sanctions and future compliance 

improvements before recommending that the Commission initiate a public show cause 

proceeding.4

 

As in previous years, DOI staff continued to support in FY2015 the Commission’s initiatives 

to increase transparency and promote consistency as it carried out its investigatory mission. 

Among other efforts to support these initiatives, the Director of Enforcement directed the 

Secretary to issue five notices of alleged violations (NAVs) involving conduct of five separate 

corporate entities and eleven individuals. The notices identified investigation subjects and 

included a concise description of alleged violations of applicable statutes and Commission 

regulations and orders.5

 

If a settlement cannot be reached, the Commission may issue an order to show cause (OSC) 

directing the subject to explain why it did not commit a violation and why penalties and 

disgorgement are not warranted. The subject has a full opportunity to respond to that OSC, and 

Enforcement staff may reply to the subject’s response. After considering the factual record and 

legal arguments submitted by the subject and Enforcement staff, if the Commission concludes 

that the subjected committed a violation and that violation warrants penalties and disgorgement, 

the Commission will state those conclusions in a subsequent order. In matters arising under the 

Federal Power Act (FPA), that subsequent order is called an Order Assessing Civil Penalties. 

DOI staff spent substantial time in FY2015 working on matters from previous years that had 

reached the OSC stage in a Natural Gas Act matter and the Order Assessing Civil Penalties stage 

in FPA matters. In FY2015, the Commission issued three OSCs related to FPA investigations, 

and it ultimately assessed civil penalties in each of those matters. DOI staff currently is seeking 

to enforce those civil penalty assessments in federal court (through the de novo review process 

set forth in section 31 of the FPA). Including actions filed in previous years, staff currently is 

litigating six such actions in federal court, seeking to enforce the Commission’s combined 

assessment of more than half a billion dollars in penalties and disgorgement. 

Most DOI investigations do not result in a contested court matter but are either closed 

without further action or settled. In all cases, staff attempts to settle matters when it is in the 

public interest to do so. In FY2015, the Commission settled with an energy firm and its traders 

 

4

 For a discussion of the processes by which Enforcement staff conducts and concludes investigations, see Revised 

Policy Statement, supra note 1. 

5

 See Appendix C to this report for a complete listing of the notices of alleged violations that Enforcement issued in 

FY2015. 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 5 

regarding violations of the Commission’s Anti-Manipulation Rule, 18 C.F.R. § 1c.1, and with a 

gas pipeline regarding violations of its tariff. 

The most significant set of settlements in FY2015 concerned the 2011 blackout in the 

southwestern United States. Commission staff, along with the North American Electric 

Reliability Corporation (NERC), completed its multi-year investigation into the September 8, 

2011 outage in Arizona, Southern California and Baja California, Mexico. The effects of that 

blackout on the economy and citizens of those parts of both countries was substantial: millions 

of people lost power, schools and businesses closed, flights and public transportation were 

disrupted, sewage pumping stations lost power, and beaches were closed and waters polluted due 

to sewage spills. After issuing a comprehensive report on the blackout in 2012 and entering into 

settlements with some of the responsible parties in previous years, the Commission and NERC 

addressed all remaining violations in FY2015 by entering into four settlement agreements. The 

settling companies agreed to undertake significant mitigation measures designed to bring the 

companies into compliance with the Reliability Standards and also agreed to pay a total of 

$22.65 million dollars in civil penalties. A significant portion of the civil penalties was offset by 

the companies’ agreement to invest in reliability enhancements that go beyond what is required 

by NERC’s Reliability Standards – providing significant improvements to the reliable operation 

of the Western Interconnection. 

While the public NAVs, settlements, orders to show cause, and orders assessing penalties 

often receive the most public attention, DOI closes the majority of its investigations with no 

further action and without those investigations becoming public. During the course of its 

investigation, if DOI concludes that there is insufficient evidence to establish a violation or 

otherwise concludes that further proceedings are not warranted, its goal is to close the matter 

promptly. In fact, DOI closed 16 investigations in FY2015 because either staff found no 

violation or there was not enough evidence to conclude that a violation had occurred. This 

number is up from seven investigations closed with no further action in FY2014. Adding those 

16 closed investigations to the six investigations that DOI closed through settlement brings the 

total closed investigations in FY2015 to 22, which is more than the number of new investigations 

DOI opened in FY2015 (19). 

In addition to this substantial amount of investigation-related work, DOI continued its 

rigorous analysis of self-reports, Enforcement Hotline calls, referrals, and other matters within 

the Commission in FY2015. As in previous years, DOI staff continued to provide guidance and 

assistance as requested by other program offices on advisory matters. 

DOI staff has a strong commitment to the public interest and tries to carry out its 

investigative work in a manner that maximizes fairness and transparency. During this fiscal 

year, the Energy Department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted a comprehensive 

examination of Enforcement’s investigative work to ensure that it was following all relevant 

policies and procedures. After nearly a year of careful study, the OIG concluded that “nothing 

came to our attention to indicate that OE had not performed enforcement activities in accordance 

with its own policies and procedures.” Accordingly, the OIG did not offer any recommended 

changes or reforms. Nonetheless, DOI and the Office of Enforcement as a whole constantly 

strive to ensure that Enforcement’s policies and procedures are not only effective in 

accomplishing the Commission’s enforcement mission but also are fair and transparent to 

subjects under investigation. 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 6 

B. Orders to Show Cause and Related Proceedings 

DOI staff spent substantial time preparing staff reports and other public filings related to 

OSC proceedings before the Commission. After considering the staff reports and other filings, 

along with the investigative subjects’ responses, the Commission decided to assess civil penalties 

in all three investigations for which it had issued OSCs in FY2015: (1) Houlian Chen, Powhatan 

Energy Fund, LLC, HEEP Fund, LLC, and CU Fund, Inc. (Docket No. IN15-3-000); (2) Maxim 

Power Corporation, Maxim Power (USA), Inc., Maxim Power (USA) Holding Company Inc., 

Pawtucket Power Holding Co., LLC, Pittsfield Generating Company, LP, and Kyle Mitton 

(Docket No. IN15-4-000); and (3) City Power Marketing, LLC and K. Stephen Tsingas (Docket 

No. IN15-5-000). The subjects declined to pay the assessed penalties and, consistent with their 

elections, the Commission has sought affirmance and enforcement of its penalty assessment 

orders in United States District Court. A summary of each matter is provided below. 

In addition to the district court litigation, staff also litigated an action before a Commission 

Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) related to Enforcement’s investigation of BP America, Inc. and 

various affiliates (collectively, BP) following the Commission’s Order to Show Cause. As 

described more fully below, the ALJ agreed with staff that BP engaged in market manipulation, 

and the ALJ’s Initial Decision is now under review by the Commission. 

In total, counting all pending federal court and ALJ litigation, as of the date of this report, 

staff is seeking to recover $544,600,000 in civil penalties and $42,242,999 in unjust profits 

through seven litigation proceedings. Enforcement staff has never had this many litigation 

proceedings over the course of one year. Moreover, with the exception of FY2012, the 

Commission has never issued more than three OSCs in one fiscal year since Congress expanded 

its enforcement authority in 2005. 

1. District Court Litigation 

In FY2015, DOI staff litigated five matters in United States District Courts across the 

country to enforce the Commission’s penalty assessments. Those matters are: 

a) FERC v. Maxim Power Corporation, No. 15-cv-30113 (D. Mass.) 

On May 1, 2015, the Commission issued an Order Assessing Civil Penalties against Maxim 

Power Corporation, Maxim Power (USA), Inc., Maxim Power (USA) Holding Company, Inc., 

Pawtucket Power Holding Co., LLC, and Pittsfield Generating Company, LP (collectively 

Maxim) and Maxim employee Kyle Mitton. The Commission determined that Maxim and 

Mitton had violated the Commission’s Anti-Manipulation Rule through a scheme to collect $3 

million in inflated payments from ISO-New England (ISO-NE) for reliability runs by charging 

the ISO for costly oil when it actually burned much less expensive natural gas. In addition, the 

Commission found that Maxim had violated section 35.41(b) of the Commission’s regulations by 

making false and misleading statements and material omissions in its communications with the 

ISO-NE Market Monitor. The Commission assessed civil penalties of $5 million against Maxim 

and $50,000 against Mitton. Commissioner Clark dissented from the Commission’s Order. On 

July 1, 2015, Enforcement staff filed a petition in the United States District Court for the District 

of Massachusetts to enforce the Commission’s Order, and the respondents filed a motion to 

dismiss the petition on September 4, 2015. That motion remains pending as of the date of this 

report. 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 7 

b) FERC v. Powhatan Energy Fund, LLC, No. 3:15-cv-00452 (E.D. Va.) 

On May 29, 2015, the Commission issued an Order Assessing Civil Penalties, in which it 

determined that Powhatan Energy Fund, LLC (Powhatan), Houlian “Alan” Chen, HEEP Fund, 

Inc. (HEEP), and CU Fund, Inc. (CU) had violated the Commission’s Anti-Manipulation Rule by 

engaging in fraudulent Up-To Congestion trades in the PJM Interconnection, LLC (PJM) market 

during the summer of 2010. The Commission determined that respondents had engaged in trades 

to improperly collect certain market payments (called Marginal Loss Surplus Allocation, or 

“MLSA”) intended for bona fide Up-To Congestion trades. Specifically, respondents had placed 

fraudulent round-trip trades (trades in opposite directions on the same paths, in the same 

volumes, during the same hours) that involved no economic risk and constituted wash trades. 

The Commission assessed civil penalties of $16.8 million against Powhatan, $1 million against 

Chen, $1.92 million against HEEP, and $10.08 million against CU and ordered disgorgement of 

unjust profits in the amounts of $3,465,108 from Powhatan, $173,100 from HEEP, and 

$1,080,576 from CU, plus interest. On July 31, 2015, Enforcement staff filed a petition in the 

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to enforce the Commission’s 

Order. On October 19, 2015, the respondents filed a motion to dismiss the petition, and that 

motion remains pending as of the date of this report. 

c) FERC v. City Power Marketing, LLC, No. 15-cv-01428 (D.D.C.) 

On July 2, 2015, in another PJM Up-To Congestion market manipulation matter, the 

Commission issued an Order Assessing Civil Penalties against City Power Marketing, LLC (City 

Power) and its owner, K. Stephen Tsingas. The Commission found that City Power and Tsingas 

had violated the Commission’s Anti-Manipulation Rule by engaging in fraudulent Up-To 

Congestion trades in the PJM market during the summer of 2010. As part of that finding, the 

Commission determined that City Power and Tsingas had engaged in three types of trades to 

improperly collect MLSA payments intended for bona fide Up-To Congestion trades: (1) roundtrip trades that constituted wash trades, (2) trading between export and import points 

(SOUTHIMP and SOUTHEXP) that had the same prices, and (3) trading between two other 

points (which had minimal price differences) not to profit from spread changes but instead for 

the purpose of collecting MLSA payments. The Commission also found that City Power had 

violated section 35.41(b) of the Commission’s regulations by making false and misleading 

statements and material omissions in its communications with Enforcement staff to conceal the 

existence of relevant instant messages. The Commission assessed $14 million in civil penalties 

against City Power and $1 million against Tsingas and ordered disgorgement of $1,278,358 in 

unjust profits, plus interest. On September 1, 2015, Enforcement staff filed a petition in the 

United States District Court for the District of Columbia to enforce the Commission’s Order. On 

November 2, 2015, the respondents filed a motion to dismiss the petition, and that motion 

remains pending as of the date of this report. 

d) FERC v. Barclays Bank, PLC, No. 2:13-cv-2093 (E.D. Cal.) 

On July 16, 2013, the Commission issued an Order Assessing Civil Penalties, in which it 

determined that Barclays Bank, PLC (Barclays) and several of its traders had violated the 

Commission’s Anti-Manipulation Rule by engaging in loss-generating trading of next-day, 

fixed-price physical electricity on the Intercontinental Exchange with the intent to benefit 

financial swap positions at primary electricity trading points in the western United States. The 

Commission assessed civil penalties of $435 million against Barclays and $18 million against the 

named traders and ordered Barclays to disgorge $34.9 million in unjust profits, plus interest. On 

October 9, 2013, Enforcement staff filed a petition in the United States District Court for the 

Eastern District of California to enforce that civil penalty assessment. The respondents, in turn, 

filed a motion to dismiss the complaint or transfer venue, which the court denied in full on May 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 8 

20, 2015. The court held that: 1) the manipulative scheme was jurisdictional to FERC and not 

within the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s exclusive jurisdiction; 2) the occurrence 

of transactions on an open market is not a defense to manipulation; 3) the Federal Power Act’s 

anti-manipulation provision, 16 U.S.C. § 824v, applies to individuals; 4) venue was proper in the 

Eastern District of California; 5) transfer to the Southern District of New York was not 

warranted; and 6) the statute of limitations had not run. On October 2, 2015, the court issued a 

scheduling order indicating that it will proceed with this case by reviewing FERC’s Order (and 

underlying administrative record) and will also consider whether a determination as to this 

penalty assessment requires supplementation of the record submitted by FERC and/or alternative 

means of fact-finding. The Court, in this scheduling order, also bifurcated the disgorgement 

calculation from its review of liability and civil penalty assessment. 

e) FERC v. Lincoln Paper & Tissue, Inc., No. 1:13-cv-13056 (D. Mass.) & FERC v. 

Silkman, No. 1:13-cv-13054 (D. Mass.) 

On August 29, 2013, the Commission issued two Orders Assessing Civil Penalties in which it 

determined that Lincoln Paper and Tissue LLC (Lincoln), Competitive Energy Services, LLC 

(CES), and Richard Silkman (CES’s Managing Partner) had violated the Commission’s AntiManipulation Rule in connection with a demand response program. It found that the respondents 

had engaged in a scheme to fraudulently inflate Lincoln’s energy load baselines and then offer 

load reductions against that inflated baseline. The Commission assessed civil penalties of $5 

million against Lincoln, $7.5 million against CES, and $1.25 million against Silkman and 

ordered disgorgement of $379,016 from Lincoln and $166,841 from CES, plus interest. On 

December 2, 2013, Enforcement staff filed two petitions in the United States District Court for 

the District of Massachusetts to enforce those penalty assessment orders (one against Lincoln 

and another against CES and Silkman). The respondents filed motions to dismiss the petitions in 

FY2014, and those motions still are pending with the court. 

2. Administrative Hearings 

In addition to court proceedings to enforce the penalty assessments, DOI staff also litigated a 

market manipulation case before a Commission ALJ in FY2015. This was the first ALJ hearing 

conducted at the Commission using all electronic exhibits, and Enforcement staff took the lead in 

ensuring the electronic evidence process went smoothly and successfully. 

On August 5, 2013, the Commission issued an Order to Show Cause and Notice of Proposed 

Penalty in Docket No. IN13-15-000 directing BP to demonstrate why it should not be required to 

pay $28 million in civil penalties and disgorgement of $800,000 of unjust profits related to 

certain trading by BP of next-day, fixed-price natural gas at the Houston Ship Channel. 

Enforcement staff alleged that such trading was uneconomic and part of an unlawful 

manipulative scheme to increase the value of BP’s financial position based on Houston Ship 

Channel natural gas prices. After denying BP’s motion to dismiss and reviewing numerous other 

filings, the Commission issued an order on May 15, 2014 establishing a hearing before an ALJ to 

determine whether BP’s conduct, in fact, violated the Anti-Manipulation Rule and to ascertain 

certain facts relevant to the calculation of a civil penalty and disgorgement amount. 

After the Commission issued its order establishing a hearing, OE staff and BP engaged in a 

lengthy discovery period in anticipation of that hearing. During that period, they exchanged 

millions of pages of written discovery, deposed a total of 23 witnesses, and received thousands 

of pages of additional discovery from 27 third parties. 

The Honorable Carmen Cintron presided over the hearing, which began on March 30, 2015 

and lasted until April 15, 2015. At the hearing, Enforcement staff cross-examined eight of BP’s 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 9 

fact witnesses, called two of its three expert witnesses for live direct testimony, and took live 

adverse direct testimony of five additional fact witnesses. BP took live direct testimony of eight 

witnesses and cross-examined two expert witnesses and the five adverse fact witnesses that 

Enforcement staff had called. In sum, the hearing record consisted of 325 exhibits and 2,657 

pages of transcripts. 

After the hearing and post-hearing briefing, Judge Cintron issued an Initial Decision on 

August 13, 2015, finding in Enforcement staff’s favor on all substantive issues. Specifically, she 

found that BP’s Texas team had engaged in market manipulation by changing its trading patterns 

in the investigative period to flood HSC with next day gas to benefit its corresponding short 

financial positions. In doing so, Judge Cintron credited the testimony elicited by Enforcement 

staff, emphasizing the credibility and weight of its experts’ testimony, and gave no weight to the 

testimony of BP’s primary expert witness. BP filed exceptions to the Initial Decision on 

September 14, 2015, and Enforcement Staff filed its opposition to those exceptions on October 5, 

2015. Judge Cintron’s decision and the parties’ briefs are pending before the Commission. 

C. Settlements 

In FY2015, the Commission approved nine settlement agreements between Enforcement and 

11 separate subjects to resolve pending investigations in six matters. The settlements assessed a 

total of $26.25 million in civil penalties and disgorgement of nearly $1 million.6 In half of those 

matters, the subject’s compliance efforts warranted credit to reduce payment of monetary 

penalties. Since 2007, the total civil penalties assessed by the Commission (excluding 

overturned and pending proceedings) amounts to approximately $628 million and the total 

disgorgements amount to approximately $300 million. 

Since the 2010 issuance of the Revised Penalty Guidelines,7 almost every Commissionapproved settlement subject to the Penalty Guidelines has fallen within the established range. 

An organization’s civil penalty can vary significantly depending on the amount of market harm 

caused by the violation, the amount of unjust profits, an organization’s efforts to remedy the 

violation, and other culpability factors, such as senior-level involvement, prior history of 

violations, compliance programs, self-reporting of the violation, and cooperation with 

Enforcement’s investigation. For example, under the Penalty Guidelines, an organization’s 

culpability score can be reduced through favorable culpability factors to zero, lowering the base 

penalty by as much as 95 percent.8

 Because a number of factors can influence the civil penalty in 

each case, the amount of disgorgement of unjust profits (if any) does not always directly relate to 

the amount of the civil penalty. 

In FY2015, the Commission approved settlement agreements that resolved violations of the 

Anti-Manipulation Rule by six related entities, violations of Reliability Standards by four 

entities, and violations of tariff provisions by one entity. 

 

6

 A table of FY2015 Civil Penalty Enforcement Actions, both those resolved through settlement and those resolved 

through agency proceedings, is attached to this report as Appendix B. 

7

 Revised Policy Statement on Penalty Guidelines, 132 FERC ¶ 61,216 (2010) (Revised Penalty Guidelines). 

8

 Revised Penalty Guidelines, 132 FERC ¶ 61,216 at P109. 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 10 

Types of Violations Settled, FY2015

OATT/Tariff

Reliability Standards

Market Manipulation and/or

False Statements

Types of Violations Settled, FY2014

OATT/Tariff

Reliability Standards

Market Manipulation and/or

False and Misleading

Statements

Merger/Consolidation

Authorization

Hydro
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 11 

Types of Violations Settled, FY2013

Natural Gas Transportation

OATT/Tariff

Reliability Standards

Market Manipulation and/or False and

Misleading Statements

Market Based Rate Violation

Hydro Licensing

Types of Violations Settled, FY2012

Natural Gas Transportation

OATT/Tariff

Reliability Standards

Market Manipulation and/or

False and Misleading

Statements
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 12 

The Commission approved the following settlement agreements in FY2015: 

 

 

 

 

Types of Violations Settled, FY2011

Natural Gas Transportation

OATT/Tariff

Reliability Standards

Market Manipulation and/or False

Statements

Market Based Rate Violation

Violation of Commission Order

Types of Violations Settled, FY2010

Natural Gas

Transportation

OATT/Tariff

Reliability Standards
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 13 

1. Settlements Related to the Arizona-Southern California Blackout 

DOI staff and NERC completed their investigations related to the September 8, 2011 power 

outage in Arizona, Southern California and Baja California, Mexico that caused over 30,000 

MWh of lost firm load. The Commission and NERC entered into four settlements with different 

entities related to that investigation in FY2015. Those settlements are in addition to the two 

settlements with different entities (Arizona Public Service Company and Imperial Irrigation 

District) related to the power outage that the Commission and NERC entered into in FY2014. 

The sequence of events leading up to the power outage began when a large, 500 kV, 

transmission line in the Southwest went down on the afternoon of September 8, 2011. The loss 

of that line caused power flows to be instantaneously redistributed around the grid and 

overloaded a set of connections in Southern California known as “Path 44.” Path 44 was 

carrying all flows into the San Diego area (as well as parts of Arizona and Mexico) at that point 

in time, and this large flow of power through that path caused the intertie separation scheme at a 

local switchyard (the San Onofre Switchyard) to activate. Activation of this separation scheme 

disconnected San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) from major transmission lines and key 

generation units, which isolated the SDG&E control area, caused power plants to trip, and (along 

with other factors) ultimately resulted in hours-long blackouts in San Diego, the Baja California 

control area of Mexico, and parts of Arizona. 

The four FY2015 settlements that the Commission and NERC entered into regarding the 

blackout are: 

California Independent System Operator (CAISO), Docket No. IN14-10-000. The Commission 

issued its order approving the settlement agreement with CAISO on November 28, 2014. 

CAISO manages the high-voltage transmission lines that make up approximately 80 percent of 

California’s power grid, and serves as the Transmission Operator under Coordinated Functional 

Registrations for several entities, including SDG&E and Southern California Edison Company. 

CAISO operators had failed to monitor the intertie separation scheme at the San Onofre 

Switchyard moments before the September 8 outage began, and because CAISO was not 

monitoring the scheme, it failed to take necessary emergency measures to keep the scheme from 

operating when the intertie became overloaded. In the settlement, CAISO admitted the facts but 

neither admitted nor denied violations of three Requirements of three Reliability Standards. 

CAISO also agreed to a civil penalty of $6 million, with $2 million to be paid in equal shares to 

the U.S. Treasury and NERC, and $4 million to be invested in reliability enhancement measures 

beyond the requirements of the Reliability Standards. CAISO also agreed to mitigation and 

compliance monitoring.

Southern California Edison Company (SCE), Docket No. IN14-8-000. The Commission issued 

its order approving the settlement agreement with SCE on October 21, 2014. SCE operates as a 

Transmission Operator within the CAISO footprint. The intertie separation scheme at the San 

Onofre switchyard had never operated before the September 8 blackout, and SCE had never 

studied—or developed emergency plans to remedy—the impact of such an event on reliability of 

that part of the grid, which already was severely compromised by the time the scheme operated 

on September 8. When the scheme operated, it caused a rapid decline in frequency within the 

San Diego Gas & Electric area, eventually resulting in its complete blackout. Had SCE 

adequately studied how the grid might react if the scheme operated, it (and other reliability 

entities) might have been able to limit the cascading failures and blackouts that followed 

operation of the intertie separation scheme. In the settlement, SCE admitted to certain facts but 

neither admitted nor denied violating one Requirement of one Reliability Standard. It agreed to a 

civil penalty of $650,000, with $250,000 to be paid in equal shares to the Treasury and NERC, 

and $400,000 to be invested in reliability enhancement measures beyond the requirements of the 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 14 

Reliability Standards. SCE also agreed to mitigation and compliance monitoring. 

Western Area Power Authority-Desert Southwest (Western-DSW), Docket No. IN14-9-000. 

The Commission issued its order approving the settlement agreement with Western-DSW on 

November 24, 2014. Western-DSW is a division of one of four power marketing administrations 

that are part of the Department of Energy. It markets power from plants at the Hoover, Parker 

and Davis dams and serves as a Transmission Operator for lines necessary to transmit that 

power. Following the loss of a key transmission line on September 8, Western-DSW 

experienced significant voltage depression on its system and needed to shed load. However, its 

State Estimator, a monitoring tool that gathers system measurements and calculates real-time 

values, stopped working during the event, leaving it unable to sufficiently identify, study and 

mitigate post-contingency system operating limit violations affecting its system. In the 

settlement, Western-DSW admitted the facts but neither admitted nor denied violations of four 

Requirements of three Reliability Standards. Western-DSW also agreed to mitigation and 

compliance monitoring. 

Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC), Docket No. IN14-11-000. The Commission 

issued its order approving the settlement agreement with WECC on May 26, 2015. In its 

capacity as the Reliability Coordinator (RC), in 2011 WECC was the highest level of authority 

responsible for the reliable operation of the Bulk-Power System in the Western Interconnection. 

The RC has the authority to prevent or mitigate emergency operating conditions in the next-day 

and real-time timeframes, including by issuing directives to other entities, such as Transmission 

Operators. On September 8, WECC operators failed to respond properly to alarms, issued no 

reliability directives during the outages, relied on outdated reliability studies, did not review 

other studies, and were not aware of how certain system and interconnection operating limits 

could undermine grid system reliability. In its settlement, WECC admitted the facts but neither 

admitted nor denied violating nine Requirements of five Reliability Standards. It agreed to pay a 

civil penalty of $16 million, with $3 million to be paid in equal shares to the Treasury and 

NERC, and $13 million committed to be invested in reliability enhancements beyond the 

requirements of the Reliability Standards. As parties to the settlement, WECC and Peak 

Reliability, as the successor to WECC as RC, agreed to numerous mitigation activities and 

compliance monitoring. 

2. Other Settlements 

MISO Cinergy Hub Transactions, Docket No. IN12-2-000. On December 30, 2014, the 

Commission issued an order approving the settlement of a market manipulation investigation of 

Twin Cities Energy, LLC (Twin Cities), two of its affiliates, and three individual traders, Jason 

Vaccaro, Allan Cho, and Gaurav Sharma (collectively, the Traders). Following an investigation, 

staff determined that Twin Cities and the Traders had violated the Commission’s AntiManipulation Rule by flowing physical power in such a way as to move the real-time physical 

market of the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. (MISO) to the benefit of related 

financial positions. In settling, Twin Cities stipulated and agreed to the facts, and admitted that it 

violated the Commission’s Anti-Manipulation Rule. Twin Cities agreed to pay a civil penalty of 

$2,500,000, as well as disgorgement to MISO in the amount of $978,186, plus interest. Twin 

Cities will also implement new compliance measures, including submitting compliance reports to 

FERC for four years. The Traders admitted the facts, but neither admitted nor denied the 

violations. They agreed to pay civil penalties as follows: Jason Vaccaro, $400,000, Allan Cho, 

$275,000, and Gaurav Sharma, $75,000. Additionally, the Traders agreed to new compliance 

obligations and to accept physical trading bans in every market as follows: Jason Vaccaro for 

five years, Allan Cho for four years, and Gaurav Sharma for four years. 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 15 

 

In re Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC, Docket No. IN15-7-000. On July 30, 2015, the 

Commission issued an order approving the settlement of a tariff violation investigation of 

Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC (Columbia Gas). Following a referral from DAA and 

subsequent investigation, staff determined that Columbia Gas had violated the General Terms 

and Conditions of its FERC Gas Tariff by failing to post notices of the auctions of its available 

firm capacity on the public side of its Electronic Bulletin Board. The investigation, and the 

settlement, covered the period January 1, 2010 through May 1, 2013, the date on which 

Columbia Gas began properly posting such notices. In settling, Columbia Gas stipulated and 

agreed to the facts, admitted the violation, and agreed to pay a civil penalty of $350,000. In 

response to DAA’s audit report related to this same violation, Columbia Gas agreed to 

implement written procedures and internal controls to ensure that it reported accurate and 

consistent data in its posted capacity reports. 

D. Self-Reports 

Over the past five years (FY2011-15), staff has received more than 460 self-reports. Staff 

concluded that further enforcement action was not necessary following review of the vast 

majority of those reports, because, for example, there was no material harm (or the reporting 

companies already had agreed to remedy any harms) and the companies had taken appropriate 

corrective measures, both to remedy the violation and to avoid future violations through 

enhancements to their compliance programs. 

In FY2015, staff received 122 new self-reports from a variety of market participants, 

including electric utilities, natural gas companies, generators, and RTO/ISOs. A significant 

number of these self-reports were from RTOs/ISOs. Staff also closed 78 self-reports that had 

been submitted during this fiscal year and previous fiscal years. 

The Penalty Guidelines emphasize the importance of self-reporting by providing credit that 

can significantly mitigate a penalty when a self-report is made.9 Staff continues to encourage the 

submission of self-reports and views self-reports as showing a company’s commitment to 

compliance. 

The following charts depict the types of violations for which staff received self-reports from 

FY2011 through FY2015. Some self-reports include more than one type of violation. In 

FY2015, RTO/ISO self-reports and regulatory filing violations accounted for the majority of the 

self-reports received. 

 

9

 Revised Policy Statement on Penalty Guidelines, 132 FERC ¶ 61,216, at P 127 (2010).
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 16 

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Number of Self‐Reports

Type of Violation

Self‐Reports Closed in FY2015 by Type of Violation

0

5

10

15

20

25

Number of Self‐Reports

Type of Violation

Self‐Reports Closed in FY2014 by Type of Violation
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 17 

 

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Number of Self‐Reports

Type of Violation

Self‐Reports Closed in FY2013 by Type of Violation

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Number of Self‐Reports

Type of Violation

Self‐Reports Closed in FY2012 by Type of Violation
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 18 

1. Illustrative Self-Reports Closed with No Action 

In a continuing effort to promote transparency while encouraging the compliance efforts of 

regulated entities, Enforcement presents the following illustrative examples of self-reports DOI 

staff closed in FY2015 without conversion to an investigation. One of the various factors staff 

considered in closing the following self-reports was the absence of significant harm to the 

market. These summaries are intended to provide guidance to the public and to regulated entities 

as to why staff chose not to pursue an investigation or enforcement action, while preserving the 

non-public nature of the self-reports. 

Regulatory Filing Violation. An energy trading firm self-reported that it had failed to file a 

request for “Category 1” status as required by Order No. 697. A Category 1 seller is defined as a 

market participant that is highly unlikely to have market power, because it sells less than 500 

MW of power. If a market participant does not meet the requirements in section 35.36(a)(2) of 

the Commission’s regulations for Category 1 status and does not fall under other exemptions, it 

must file triennial updates, which enable the Commission to determine whether it has market 

power. After discovering the errors, the company: (1) conducted an internal audit to confirm its 

Category 1 status, (2) contacted the Office of Energy Market Regulation (OEMR) staff to advise 

them of the situation and to let them know a remedial tariff filing was forthcoming, (3) filed for 

Category 1 status to correct the situation, (4) instituted internal reporting requirements, and (5) 

developed a formal FERC compliance policy to help prevent similar violations in the future. 

Staff closed the matter with no action, because the violations did not harm the market and 

because the company promptly took remedial measures and implemented necessary compliance 

measures. 

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Number of Self‐Reports

Type of Violation

Self‐Reports Closed in FY2011 by Type of Violation
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 19 

Regulatory Filing Violation. A company self-reported that it realized during an internal review 

of state and federal regulatory requirements (prompted by a prospective corporate 

reorganization) that it inadvertently had failed to file Form No. 566, as is required by section 

46.3 of the Commission’s regulations. Form No. 566 requires utilities to list “each purchaser 

who, during any of the three (3) preceding calendar years, purchased (for purposes other than 

resale) from a public utility one of the twenty (20) largest amounts of electric energy measured in 

kilowatt hours sold (for purposes other than resale) by such utility during such year.” The 

Commission uses the information from Form No. 566 in conjunction with information from 

Form No. 561 (Annual Report of Interlocking Positions) to determine whether public or private 

interests will be adversely affected by the holding of officer or director positions of both a public 

utility and its customers Staff closed the matter without further action because the company 

promptly filed the missing forms and enacted diligent measures to ensure future compliance, and 

because no harm occurred from the late filing. 

Regulatory Filing Violation & Failure to Comply with Commission Orders. An electricity 

transmission provider self-reported that after receiving permission pursuant to FPA section 204 

to issue secured debt, it (1) failed to file timely reports for those issuances (as is required by the 

FPA and Commission order) and (2) failed to follow the Commission’s instructions regarding 

calculation of the interest rate for two of its issuances. The transmission provider’s internal 

regulatory counsel had identified these omissions during a review of the company’s finances. 

Shortly thereafter, the transmission provider reallocated its interest payments in accordance with 

the rate it should have been paying, updated its online compliance tracking system to include 

section 204 obligations, designated a specific individual as being responsible for filing section 

204 reports, and established a second-tier review to help ensure that it files such reports in a 

timely fashion. In light of the provider’s prompt disclosure, the lack of market harm, and its 

remedial measures, staff closed the self-report without further action. 

Electric Quarterly Reports. A large bank submitted a self-report disclosing that it had made 

errors in its EQR submissions. The bank worked with Market Oversight to address the errors, 

and Market Oversight reported to DOI staff that it was satisfied with the bank’s corrections and 

did not see any need for further action. Accordingly, staff closed this self-report without further 

action. 

Electric Quarterly Reports. An electric utility reported that it had erroneously filed EQR data for 

the previous year in incorrect units (Cents/kWh instead of Dollars/MWh). The utility submitted 

corrected EQRs in less than two weeks, and it reported to DOI that it was not the owner of the 

plant at issue at the time of the original filing and thus had not made the mistake. Given the 

prompt correction by the utility and lack of direct fault on its part, and given the ministerial 

nature of the error, this self-report was closed with no further action. 

Qualifying Facility Violations. A number of unrelated small generators self-reported that they 

had failed to file their Form No. 556 to self-certify a qualifying facility (QF) and, therefore, had 

made sales of electricity for resale in interstate commerce without the Commission authorization 

required by FPA section 205. These generators all promptly filed their Form 556s, made timevalue refunds on the money that they had collected for these sales, and added new compliance 

measures to prevent similar violations in the future. Given the limited harm, the prompt selfreports, and appropriate remedial measures, staff closed these self-reports without further action. 

Failure to Obtain Market-Based Rate (MBR) Authority. The owner of three facilities that had 

converted from being qualified cogeneration facilities to qualifying small power producers 

reported that it had made sales for resale in interstate commerce without the Commission MBR 

authority required by FPA section 205. The owner requested MBR authority promptly upon 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 20 

discovering the deficiencies. The Commission granted the requests and directed the owner to 

submit a refund report for the unauthorized sales. The refund report demonstrated that all sales 

occurred at avoided cost rates pursuant to state PURPA tariffs, so the company did not have to 

refund the money it had collected, but it still owed time-value refunds for the entire period it 

collected that money without required authorization. Staff closed the self-report after the 

company made the refunds, because the violation was unintentional and the entity promptly selfreported and obtained outside counsel to ensure future compliance with the Commission’s MBR 

requirements. 

Regulatory Filing Violation. Multiple utilities self-reported that they inadvertently had created 

improper interlocking positions with subsidiaries by, for example, appointing parent company 

officers as officers of those subsidiaries. Section 305(b) of the FPA generally prohibits such 

interlocking positions absent a prior Commission finding pursuant to Part 45 of the 

Commission’s regulations that neither public nor private interests will be adversely affected. 

The companies had not identified the potential violations until after they had made the 

appointments, but they promptly made the requisite filings with the Commission and 

implemented additional compliance measures to avoid similar violations in the future. There 

was no indication that any of the relationships led to individuals exerting undue influence, but 

some of the companies voided the appointments as a curative measure. Staff closed these selfreports without further action. 

Tariff/OATT Violation & Regulatory Filing Violation. An electric transmission provider selfreported that it recently had learned, during an internal compliance review, that a generator it had 

purchased in 2008 had failed to develop an Open Access Transmission Tariff (OATT) or Open 

Access Same-Time Information System (OASIS) and had not been complying with the 

Standards of Conduct. That generator owns a short lead line that it uses solely to connect to an 

interstate transmission provider. In 2008, and at the time of the self-report, such generators were 

required to establish an OATT and create and maintain an OASIS and to follow the Standards of 

Conduct or to seek a waiver of those Standards. In 2015, the Commission exempted such 

generators from those requirements in Order No. 807. The parent company requested, and the 

Commission granted, a waiver for the generator covering the period when those requirements 

still applied, and it adopted new training and compliance programs to help ensure that such 

violations do not happen again. Given the lack of harm, the company’s prompt self-report, and 

its new compliance measures, staff closed the self-report with no further action. 

Tariff/OATT Violation. An electricity transmission provider self-reported that a software bug 

had led it to act on certain transmission service requests (TSRs) without holding them in a queue 

for 15 minutes, as is required by its tariff. One customer sent a letter to the company stating that 

it had been disadvantaged by this error and demanded either damages or an award of the 

transmission service to which it was entitled. The provider determined that it had sufficient 

capacity to grant the award and did so when the customer resubmitted its TSR. As a result, there 

was no market harm associated with the error. The provider subsequently fixed the bug and 

added procedures to its software upgrade checklist to ensure that such errors would not be 

repeated. In light of the isolated nature of this incident, the lack of harm, and the provider’s 

remedial efforts, staff closed this self-report without further action. 

Tariff/OATT Violation. An electricity transmission provider self-reported that, due to a software 

error, its load serving operator had failed to act on a Redirect Transmission Service Request 

(Redirect TSR) from a customer. Its tariff requires the provider to act on such requests within 

five minutes. While its redirect request was not acted upon, the customer had sufficient 

transmission rights to allow it to receive the physical service that it had sought, and the customer 

did not complain about the error. The provider made software changes and provided additional 

training to its load serving operators to avoid similar errors in the future. In light of the isolated 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 21 

nature of this incident, the lack of harm, and the provider’s remedial efforts, staff closed this selfreport without further action. 

Demand Response. An electric energy supplier self-reported that three of its demand response 

assets had submitted inaccurate meter data in violation of the relevant RTO/ISO’s data accuracy 

tariff requirement and that these inaccurate submissions had resulted in the company receiving 

overpayments from the RTO/ISO. The company informed the RTO/ISO within 24 hours of 

discovering its first inaccuracy and reported the other two after it completed an internal 

investigation. The company then implemented remedial methods to prevent similar violations in 

the future, including installing tools to quickly identify any faulty meters or customer sites not 

reporting their expected load values. Staff closed the self-report after the entity refunded the 

RTO/ISO the full amount of overpayments it received plus interest. 

RTO/ISO Violation. An RTO/ISO self-reported that over the course of several hours on one 

day, it had failed to process requests for available capacity in the timeframe dictated by its tariff. 

There was sufficient capacity available, and the one market participant affected by this error was 

satisfied with the subsequent steps taken by the RTO. Thus, staff closed the matter with no 

further action. 

RTO/ISO Violation. An RTO/ISO self-reported that it had failed to bill one energy company 

millions of dollars in congestion charges beginning in 2005 and extending for a number of years. 

Because of the long period of time that had passed from the earliest missed charges, the 

RTO/ISO was limited in the amount of unbilled revenues it could seek through billing 

adjustments, and it was able to recover only approximately 2/3 of the unbilled amount. While 

staff was concerned about the length and magnitude of this billing error, it concluded that the 

error was made in good faith, was corrected promptly after being discovered, and had no effect 

on the reliability of the bulk power system or the RTO/ISO’s local marginal prices. Moreover, 

the RTO/ISO rebilled the majority of the relevant congestion charges and distributed them to the 

Financial Transmission Right holders who would have received the congestion charges absent its 

error. Accordingly, staff closed this self-report with no further action. 

RTO/ISO Violation. An RTO/ISO reported that, due to a technical issue, it had failed to post 

historical bid data, as was required by its tariff. After a market participant brought this omission 

to the RTO/ISO’s attention, it conducted an investigation and determined that the omission was 

limited to one day’s worth of data. The RTO/ISO then posted that data and corrected the 

technical issue that had led to the error. Given the limited scope of the error, the RTO/ISO’s 

prompt response, and the lack of harm, staff closed this self-report without further action. 

RTO/ISO Violation. An RTO/ISO self-reported a violation of its tariff stemming from the 

failure of its software to incorporate updated fuel information. The failure to include this 

information could have resulted in mitigation for units that should not have been mitigated or 

mitigation to a lower price than required. In the sixteen occurrences identified, none of the units 

were mitigated; thus, there was no harm or market impact. The RTO/ISO identified an issue 

with its server as the root cause of the problem and addressed that issue. Because the RTO/ISO 

self-reported the violation, there was no harm or market impact, and the RTO/ISO fully 

mitigated the violation, staff closed this matter with no action. 

RTO/ISO Violation. There were multiple self-reports of RTO/ISOs inadvertently forwarding 

market participants’ confidential information to other companies or individuals in violation of 

the confidentiality provisions in their respective tariffs. The RTO/ISOs promptly reported the 

disclosures, attempted to have the recipients destroy the confidential information, and instituted 

new procedures to limit such improper disclosures in the future. Accordingly, staff closed those 

self-reports without further action. 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 22 

RTO/ISO Violation. An RTO/ISO failed to adjust its procedures to take into account a tariff 

update that required the payment of interest on certain monetary deposits. This error was not 

discovered until ten years later, when one of the requesting depositors asked for interest in 

addition to the return of its deposit. The RTO/ISO searched through its records, made a list of 

the entities to which it had failed to pay interest, and paid the interest to all but a small fraction of 

them, who could not be located. The RTO/ISO has put new systems in place to ensure that such 

interest is paid in the future. Accordingly, staff closed the matter. 

Tariff/OATT Violation. A gas pipeline company reported that a software bug had caused it to 

reject scheduling gas consistent with its available capacity on one day for several firm and 

interruptible shippers. The error was corrected the following day, and the pipeline company 

provided full reservation credits to the affected firm shippers. Shippers reported to staff that they 

were satisfied with the pipeline company’s mitigation. Given that the company’s error was 

inadvertent and that the company discovered the violation quickly and took prompt remedial 

measures, staff closed this self-report with no further action. 

Natural Gas Transportation. Three affiliated pipelines self-reported that they had discovered 

during an internal investigation that they had failed to include certain volumetric information in a 

number of Transactional Reports that they had posted on their respective electronic bulletin 

boards (EBBs). Section 284.13 of the Commission’s regulations requires these pipelines to post 

this volumetric information, and the pipelines claimed that their failure to do so was the result of 

a software coding error. The pipelines implemented an interim fix within a week and a 

permanent fix a short time later. The pipelines claimed that these errors were harmless, because 

sufficient information regarding the rate and location for all the transactions was accurately 

posted, even though the volumetric information was missing, and the pipelines are not aware of 

any shipper inquiries relating to the errors. Moreover, volumetric information was included in 

the pipelines’ quarterly “Index of Customers” for firm transactions, so any harm that might have 

resulted would have been short-term. The pipelines adopted remedial measures to ensure that 

this type of error does not recur and made an informational posting on their EBBs informing 

shippers of all capacity reporting errors. Accordingly, staff closed the self-report without further 

action. 

Natural Gas Transportation. A natural gas pipeline self-reported that, following some unrelated 

system enhancements to its electronic bulletin board in December, shippers were unable to view 

offers of released firm capacity for sale. Section 284.8 of the Commission’s regulations requires 

pipelines to post such information. The pipeline notified its customers and, after completing its 

internal investigation, provided them with supplemental market information. None of the 

customers raised any concerns regarding the failure to post the information as originally 

required. The pipeline developed a formal policy to require review of system changes to reduce 

the likelihood of future problems. Staff closed the matter with no action because the violation 

was inadvertent, it caused no harm to customers or the market, and the pipeline quickly took 

corrective action. 

Standards of Conduct. A pipeline self-reported that it had violated FERC’s Standards of 

Conduct for Transmission Providers under Part 358 of the Commission’s regulations by failing 

to make timely postings on its website of: (1) certain waivers granted to affiliates and (2) notice 

of customers providing Voluntary Consent that allowed the company to disclose their non-public 

information to marketing function employees. Upon discovery of the errors, the company 

promptly made the postings publicly available on its website and provided additional training to 

the employees responsible for the postings. Staff closed the matter because the errors did not 

harm the company’s customers or other market participants. 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 23 

Regulatory Filing Violation. Multiple natural gas companies self-reported that they had failed to 

file Form No. 552 (Annual Report of Natural Gas Transactions), as is required by Commission 

regulations. Upon learning of the failure, the companies retroactively filed the forms and put in 

place procedures to ensure that they would file the required forms on a timely basis in the future. 

Staff closed these self-reports because the companies’ violations was inadvertent and promptly 

remedied. 

E. Investigations 

During FY2015, DOI staff opened 19 investigations, as compared to 17 investigations in 

FY2014. As in FY2014, over half of these new investigations arose from referrals based on 

conduct observed through surveillance by either DAS or the RTO/ISO Market Monitoring Units. 

Nearly a quarter of the new investigations in FY2015 were referred by the Commission itself. 

Staff closed 22 investigations in FY2015 either through a settlement or resolution without further 

action. In addition, the Commission issued orders to show cause in three pending matters, 

directing the subjects to explain why the Commission should not assess penalties against them 

based on the recommendations set out in earlier staff reports. 

1. Statistics on Investigations 

Of the 19 investigations staff opened this fiscal year (some of which involve more than one 

type of potential violation or multiple subjects), 14 involve market manipulation, four involve 

violations of the market behavior rules, seven involve tariff violations, one involves gas capacity 

releases, one involves violations of natural gas posting requirements, and one involves false 

statements to the Commission. 

DOI staff closed 22 investigations in FY2015, compared with 15 in FY2014. Of those 22 

investigations, staff closed six through settlement and 16 either upon finding no violation or 

because staff concluded that the evidence was insufficient to support finding a violation. The 

Commission-approved settlements of investigations are summarized above; illustrative examples 

of investigations closed without enforcement action are discussed below. 

The following charts show the disposition of investigations that closed in fiscal years 2012 

through 2015. 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 24 

Disposition of Investigations, FY2015

Closed ‐ Finding of Violation/No

Sanctions

Closed ‐ Insufficient Evidence or

No Violation

Settlement

Proceeded to Order to Show

Cause

Disposition of Investigations, FY2014

Closed ‐ Finding of Violation/No

Sanctions

Closed ‐ Insufficient Evidence or

No Violation

Settlement

Other
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 25 

Disposition of Investigations, FY2013

Closed ‐ Finding of Violation/No

Sanctions

Closed ‐ Insufficient Evidence or

No Violation

Settlement

Proceeded to Order to Show Cause

Other

Disposition of Investigations, FY2012

Closed ‐ Finding of Violation/No

Sanctions

Closed ‐ Insufficient Evidence or

No Violation

Settlement

Proceeded to Order to Show Cause
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 26 

The following charts summarize the nature of the conduct at issue for those investigations 

that were closed without action in fiscal years 2012 through 2015. 

Disposition of Investigations ‐ All to Date,

FY2007 ‐ FY2015

Closed ‐ Finding of Violation/No

Sanctions

Closed ‐ Insufficient Evidence or

No Violation

Settlement

Proceeded to Order to Show

Cause

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Market Behavior

Rules

Reliability Market

Manipulation

Tariff/OATT False Statement to

Commission

Types of Alleged Violation in Investigations Closed

Without Action, FY2015
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 27 

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

Standards of

Conduct/Tariff Violation

Market Manipulation Market

Manipulation/Separation

of Functions

Market

Manipulation/Tariff

Violation

Types of Alleged Violation in Investigations Closed With

No Action, FY2014

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Market

Manipulation/False

Statement &

OATT/Tariff

Market

Manipulation/False

Statement

Reliability Tariff/OATT MBR

Types of Alleged Violation in Investigations Closed With

No Action, FY2013
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 28 

2. Illustrative Investigations Closed with No Action 

The following descriptions provide illustrative examples of the investigations that 

Enforcement closed without action in FY2015. Like the self-report examples, these are intended 

to provide guidance to the public while preserving the non-public nature of DOI’s investigations. 

Violation of Reliability Standards. Staff did not seek civil penalties or other remedies against 

one of the companies under investigation in connection with the September 8, 2011 outage in 

Arizona, Southern California and Baja California. This decision came after staff met with the 

company and provided its preliminary conclusion that the company had violated the Reliability 

Standards. The company responded to those preliminary conclusions by providing additional 

evidence to FERC and NERC staff that clarified the actions that it took related to the blackout 

and its obligations under the specific Reliability Standards at issue. Based on this newlyprovided information, staff decided to close the investigation as to that company without further 

action. 

Market Manipulation (Electricity). In response to a Hotline tip, staff opened an investigation 

into whether an energy trading firm had violated the Commission’s Anti-Manipulation Rule by 

flowing power uneconomically across adjoining RTO/ISOs to benefit related balance-of-day 

financial positions. After obtaining and analyzing relevant trade data and other documentary 

evidence along with testimony from the relevant trader, staff concluded that the physical trading 

in question was infrequent over the investigation period and that the volume and direction of the 

trading did not indicate that the firm was improperly attempting to benefit its related financial 

positions. During the course of its investigation, staff also examined certain other transactions 

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Market Manipulation/False

Statement & OATT/Tariff

Market Manipulation/

False Statement

Reliability Tariff/OATT

Types of Alleged Violation in Investigations Closed With

No Action, FY2012
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 29 

by this market participant and concluded that there was insufficient evidence of a manipulative 

trading scheme involving those transactions, so it closed the investigation with no action. 

Market Manipulation (Electricity) and OATT/Tariff Violation. In response to a Hotline tip, staff 

opened an investigation into whether a utility improperly had used a network transmission 

service to facilitate off-system sales (i.e., engaged in a so-called “hubbing” scheme). The tip 

alleged that the utility’s scheduling agent routinely over-scheduled network transmission service 

in order to facilitate the scheduling agent’s sales of power off-network. Such conduct could have 

constituted a tariff violation as well as a violation of the Commission’s Anti-Manipulation Rule. 

Staff investigated and determined that while incidental over-scheduling of network transmission 

service may have occurred simultaneous with off-system sales, such over-scheduling was 

incidental and unintentional. Moreover, any apparent hubbing was the result of inherent issues 

in the structure of the relevant market and power system and not because of manipulation or 

misuse of network service. As for the tariff violation, staff concluded that due to the complex 

contractual relationships at play, the entity utilizing the network service was a non-jurisdictional 

entity not subject to the Commission’s regulations in matters of tariff violations. Due to the lack 

of intent and manipulation, the accidental nature of the conduct, and the lack of jurisdiction over 

the tariff violation, staff closed the investigation without further action. 

Market Manipulation (Electricity). Acting on a referral from an RTO/ISO MMU, staff 

investigated whether a demand response aggregator had violated an RTO/ISO tariff and/or the 

Commission’s Anti-Manipulation Rule by enrolling a resource in a yearly demand response 

capacity program knowing that the resource’s operating level could change dramatically during 

that delivery year. After conducting written fact discovery and taking testimony, staff 

determined that while the aggregator had received information before enrollment regarding 

potential changes to the resource’s operating level, the aggregator did not have sufficient time to 

consider the significance of that information and it did not have enough details regarding the 

timing and extent of the potential changes to be able to draw conclusions regarding the its 

participation in the capacity program. Staff also determined there was no evidence that the 

aggregator had intended to enroll the resource to take advantage of its potential change in 

operating level. Accordingly, staff closed the investigation without further action. 

Market Manipulation (Electricity) and OATT/Tariff Violation. A commodities trading company 

participating in an RTO/ISO’s Financial Transmission Rights (FTR) market submitted bids 

between electrically-equivalent nodes on the transmission system, despite repeated warnings 

from the RTO/ISO that its tariff expressly prohibits such bids. Such sustained trading in 

contravention of the RTO/ISO warnings raised concerns that the company intentionally was 

violating the RTO/ISO tariff and the Commission’s Anti-Manipulation Rule. Specifically, it 

appeared that the company may have been attempting to manipulate the FTR market by bidding 

large volumes of MWs at electrically equivalent locations (which it could do at no cost) and 

reaping substantial profits if a small price divergence ever were to occur between those locations 

due, for example, to differences in the FTR and day-ahead models. After conducting an 

investigation, staff determined that (1) the relevant traders at the company had not received the 

RTO/ISO’s warnings and, therefore, had not ignored those warnings; (2) the company had 

submitted low MW bids; (3) the bids did not result in any market harm because the RTO/ISO 

removed them before they could clear the FTR auctions; and (4) the company promptly modified 

its trading application to prevent traders from submitting FTR bids at electrically equivalent 

locations in the future. Accordingly, staff closed the investigation without further action. 

Market Manipulation (Natural Gas). Acting on a DAS referral, staff opened an investigation into 

whether a natural gas company had manipulated an index by selling large volumes of physical 

gas at uneconomically-low prices to drive down the index and benefit the producer’s financial 

positions in violation of the Commission’s Anti-Manipulation Rule. DAS had flagged several 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 30 

trades by that company as suspicious during a review of Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) data in 

an unrelated investigation. After reviewing additional data and evidence provided by the 

company, staff concluded that there was insufficient evidence that the company had intended to 

manipulate the index, and it closed the investigation without further action. 

Market Manipulation (Electricity). Acting on a referral from an RTO/ISO, staff investigated 

whether a financial trading firm had engaged in cross-product manipulation on one day in 2014 

by submitting virtual bids with the intent to benefit its existing FTR position. The firm had never 

before submitted virtual bids between the two nodes at issue, and its decision to do so on that 

particular day resulted in it losing money on those bids. While the bids themselves lost money, 

they caused the value of the firm’s FTR position to increase substantially. After requesting 

documents and taking testimony of the relevant trader, staff found insufficient evidence of 

manipulative intent. In particular, the trader provided a credible, legitimate explanation for his 

decision to place those virtual trades, and the company produced an email from the trader to his 

supervisor shortly after the day-ahead results were posted for that day, noting that his virtual 

trades might have affected the company’s FTR position and explaining that this result was 

unexpected and that he would cease trading at those nodes in the future. Based on lack of 

evidence of manipulative intent, the limited duration of the trading, the fact that the RTO/ISO 

might be able to claw back any gains realized through these trades, and discussions with the 

company in which it identified new protective measures that it had taken to avoid problems with 

virtual trades in the future, staff closed this investigation without further action. 

Market Manipulation (Natural Gas). Staff initiated an investigation after a DAS screening 

program had identified unusually high concentrations of physical natural gas trading during 

certain bidweeks by a single entity at hubs in the Northeast. In addition, it appeared that one 

trader at the entity was using his physical transactions to benefit his financial positions. Staff 

evaluated whether the entity, which held financial positions potentially benefitting from resultant 

price movements at those hubs, was engaging in cross-market manipulation by structuring its 

physical trades to those hubs to benefit existing financial positions. Staff was particularly 

concerned when the trader could not provide a consistent explanation for his bidding strategy. 

The Commission authorized staff to convert the investigation to a formal one, in which it had 

been delegated authority to issue subpoenas, after it learned that the company had not preserved 

certain materials that were subject to staff’s earlier document preservation directive. However, 

after reviewing the remaining documentary evidence and data from ICE, and holding multiple 

meetings with the company, staff ultimately concluded that the company was not engaged in 

market manipulation and it closed the matter with no action. 

OATT/Tariff Violation. DAA referred this matter for investigation after it found in an audit 

several errors in the collection and recording of data by a certain public utility over the course of 

a year. Further analysis showed that the utility had submitted inaccurate settlement information 

to an RTO/ISO on behalf of a demand response resource that had been participating in the 

capacity market. Enforcement notified the RTO/ISO, which then resettled most of the 

incorrectly-reported amounts. Because the errors uncovered in connection with the audit were 

inadvertent and because the public utility corrected those errors and agreed to refund the excess 

payments to the RTO/ISO, staff closed the matter with no action. 

Market Behavior Rules. Following a self-report and a referral from the Commission for inquiry 

and action as appropriate, staff opened an investigation to determine whether a generator had 

made a material omission to the Commission, in violation of section 35.41(b) of the 

Commission’s regulations, in its Market-Based Rate application and subsequent refund report. 

While the refund report was accurate, the entity had misstated in its MBR application why it had 

filed the application late. However, after considering a number of factors, including the lack of 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 31 

harm to customers or the market, the self-report, the adoption of compliance procedures, and the 

company’s precarious financial condition, staff closed the investigation without further action. 

Market Manipulation (Electricity). DAS referred a matter for investigation after identifying 

patterns in trading data suggesting that a particular power marketing company might have been 

engaging in virtual trade to benefit certain financial transmission rights held by the 

company. Such trading could have violated the Commission’s Anti-Manipulation Rule. After 

taking testimony and reviewing data and other material, staff closed the investigation with no 

further action because it found that the existence of manipulative behavior and an intent to 

manipulate to be unsubstantiated. 

F. Enforcement Hotline 

DOI staff fields calls and other inquiries made to the Enforcement Hotline (Hotline).10 The 

Hotline is a means for people, anonymously if preferred, to inform Enforcement staff of potential 

violations of statutes, Commission rules, orders, regulations, and tariff provisions. When staff 

receives information concerning possible violations, such as allegations of market manipulation, 

abuse of an affiliate relationship, or violation of a tariff or order, staff researches the issue 

presented and often consults other members of the Commission’s staff with expertise in the 

subject matter of the inquiry. In some cases, the Hotline calls lead to investigations by DOI. 

In FY2015, Enforcement received 195 Hotline calls and inquiries, 186 of which were 

promptly resolved within the fiscal year through advice provided by staff or otherwise and 9 of 

which remained pending as of the end of the fiscal year. Staff also closed several Hotline 

matters that had been pending from previous years. In FY2015, staff converted no Hotline calls 

to preliminary investigations, although multiple FY2015 hotline calls concerned conduct in 

investigations that were already pending. Every year, a significant percentage of the calls 

received relate to subjects outside of the Commission’s jurisdiction or contested matters pending 

before the Commission. DOI staff resolves these matters by advising those callers where they 

may find the information they need, or directs them to the appropriate Commission office or 

docketed proceeding. 

G. Other Matters 

As in previous years, DOI staff assisted other divisions and offices within the Commission 

on important matters in FY2015. Such matters included: 

Gas-Electric Coordination Issues. DOI staff participated on the Gas-Electric coordination team, 

including the preparation in Docket No. RM13-17-002 of the Order Dismissing Request for 

Clarification re: Communication of Operational Information Between Natural Gas Pipelines and 

Transmission Operators issued by the Commission on July 16, 2015. DOI staff also provided 

advice to the Commission in the context of six specific orders related to requests for waiver, gas 

supply issues, and resource compliance with RTO/ISO dispatch instructions. 

PJM Up-to Congestion Issues. DOI staff continued to work with other offices in the 

Commission to analyze issues raised in Docket Nos. ER13-1654-000 and EL14-37-000 

regarding PJM’s treatment of Up-to Congestion, including how it compares and contrasts with 

 

10

 See 18 C.F.R. § 1b.21 (2015). 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 32 

PJM’s treatment of virtual supply and virtual demand. DOI staff participated in a technical 

conference on these issues and worked with other offices to review and analyze comments that 

various parties subsequently submitted. 

Inter-Office Coordination. DOI staff regularly coordinates with the Office of the General 

Counsel (OGC) and OEMR when applicants fail to timely submit filings to the Commission. In 

FY2015, the three offices coordinated on more than 125 late filings under FPA sections 203 and 

205. Frequently, such coordination results in the inclusion in orders of language reminding 

applicants to submit filings on a timely basis or they may be subject to future enforcement 

actions. In some instances, when OGC or OEMR staff become aware of a late filing, they 

encourage entities to also submit a self-report to Enforcement. Occasionally, such coordination 

has resulted in Commission orders that include referrals to DOI for further examination and 

inquiry, as appropriate. DOI also coordinates with OGC and OEMR when facilities fail to file a 

Form No. 556 to self-certify as a qualifying facility (QF) in a timely manner and refunds are due 

for jurisdictional sales that were made without FPA section 205 authorization or a QF exemption 

under section 292.601 of the Commission’s regulations. 

No-Action Letters. Enforcement is one of several offices within the Commission that is jointly 

responsible for processing entity requests seeking a determination whether staff would 

recommend enforcement action against the requestor if it pursued particular transactions or 

practices. The “No-Action Letter” can be a useful tool for entities subject to the Commission’s 

authority to reduce the risk of failing to comply with the statutes the Commission administers, 

the orders, rules or regulations thereunder, or Commission-approved tariffs.11 FERC staff is 

generally available to confer on a pre-filing basis for possible “No-Action” requests. During 

FY2015, one such request was acted upon and another one was submitted, but has not yet been 

acted upon. 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. DOI assisted DAS staff in the drafting of a notice of proposed 

rulemaking on the collection of connected entity data from RTOs and ISOs. The Commission 

issued that NOPR on September 17, 2015, in Docket No. RM15-23-000. Additional details 

regarding that notice are in the DAS section of this Annual Report. 

Compliance Desk. In 2008, the Commission established the “Compliance Help Desk Portal” for 

entities to submit questions regarding particular compliance areas.12 For various subjects, DOI 

and staff from other Commission offices are responsible for reviewing inquiries, and 

coordinating responses to the requestors. During FY2015, DOI staff assisted in seven 

Compliance Desk inquiries. 

Requests for Waivers of Standards of Conduct under Order No. 717 and Coordination on 

Standards of Conduct-Related rulemaking. OGC and OEMR staff assigned to requests for 

waiver of the Standards of Conduct under Order No. 717 confer with DOI staff on the merits of 

the waivers. During FY2014, DOI staff reviewed approximately 36 such requests for waivers. 

In addition, DOI staff participated on the team in consideration of Standards of Conduct related 

issues during the preparation for the Commission’s March 19, 2015 issuance of Order No. 807, 

Open Access and Priority Rights on Interconnection Customer’s Interconnection Facilities and 

consideration of rehearing requests. 

 

11 See Interpretive Order Modifying No-Action Letter Process and Reviewing Other Mechanisms for Obtaining 

Guidance, 123 FERC ¶ 61,157 (2008). 

12

 See id. at P 30 (2008). 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 33 

DIVISION OF AUDITS AND ACCOUNTING 

A. Overview 

The Division of Audits and Accounting (DAA) administers the Commission’s audit and 

accounting programs to aid in the efficient, effective, and appropriate oversight of jurisdictional 

entities and establishment and review of just and reasonable rates. DAA’s audits are public, riskbased, and cover a variety of audit scope areas. It consults with other divisions within OE and 

other program offices to inform its risk-based methodology in the selection of audit scope areas 

and audit candidates. DAA also works with the other program offices to inform Commission 

actions addressing rates, tariffs, financial and operational transparency, policy initiatives, law, 

reliability, and other areas in the electric, natural gas, and oil industries. In conducting its public 

audit and accounting activities, DAA’s primary goal is to enable the Commission to achieve its 

strategic objectives by ensuring compliance, accountability, and transparency. 

All audits completed in FY2015 were initiated without any allegation of wrongdoing through 

a comprehensive risk assessment process. The first step in this process is to identify the most 

relevant risks the Commission faces in the electric, natural gas, and oil industries, using internal 

and external sources of information. Second, DAA publicly issues its commencement letters and 

audit reports, providing audited entities and the Commission’s regulated industries insight into 

the areas of emphasis and concern, and giving the industries a rich source of guidance. DAA’s 

public audit reports provide great detail on the audit scope, methodology, and any findings of 

noncompliance with the expectation that all jurisdictional entities will be better informed, avoid 

noncompliance, and improve operational performance. Finally, DAA expects timely 

implementation of all audit recommendations. Such timeliness demonstrates an entity’s 

commitment to carry out enhancements to improve compliance with FERC rules and precedents 

and reduces the risk of future noncompliance. 

DAA further enhances transparency by reaching out to industry and providing proactive 

guidance. DAA actively engages in industry outreach in many forums, including: participating 

in periodic scheduled meetings with trade associations, such as the Interstate Natural Gas 

Association of America, the Edison Electric Institute, and the Association of Oil Pipe Lines; by 

attending and participating in industry workshops, conferences, and other public trade 

gatherings; and by encouraging interested parties to contact DAA senior management with any 

inquiries or concerns. These points of contact inform the industry, public, and others about what 

constitutes effective compliance, accountability, and transparency. In addition, the Commission 

and DAA have several means by which jurisdictional entities may formally and informally seek 

guidance on all compliance matters.13 DAA’s goal through these efforts and resources is to 

provide jurisdictional entities with ample opportunity to achieve compliance and avoid 

noncompliance that may result in harm to ratepayers and energy markets. 

 

13 DAA provides formal accounting guidance through accounting requests filed with the Commission. Informal 

accounting guidance may be obtained via email (accountinginquiries@ferc.gov) and phone (202-502-8877). 

Informal guidance on all other compliance matters may be obtained at www.ferc.gov/contact-us/compliance-helpdesk.asp. 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 34 

B. Compliance Reviews and Alerts 

1. Compliance Reviews 

An assessment of internal compliance programs remains a key activity in DAA’s audit 

program. Such an assessment helps to identify the level of risk that internal compliance efforts 

may fail to detect or to prevent noncompliance, and this assessment factors into audit planning, 

e.g., the amount of substantive testing that DAA undertakes. Assessing compliance programs 

generally entails a review of a jurisdictional entity’s compliance culture related to specific audit 

scope areas. The results of this assessment are communicated to the entity under audit to help it 

achieve a more robust compliance program. Providing such feedback is consistent with the 

Commission’s strategic plan and enables jurisdictional entities to quickly implement corrective 

actions, reducing the risk of future noncompliance. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

Strategic Plan FY2014-2018 continues to encourage strong compliance programs and places 

strong emphasis on timely implementation of corrective actions within six months of audit 

completion. In FY2015, DAA ensured that 96 percent of audit recommendations were 

implemented within six months. DAA is encouraged by the fact that many audited entities took 

proactive measures to address corrective actions identified from a compliance review prior to, or 

a few months after, the audit being completed. 

DAA will continue reviewing compliance programs during its audits and will focus on some 

key features to increase the likelihood of abiding by and following the letter and spirit of rules 

and regulations to comply with statutes, Commission rules, orders, regulations, and tariff 

provisions. These features include: 

 A proactive compliance program that: (1) equips staff and management with 

sufficient training, education, tools, and other resources to self-detect issues in a 

timely manner to prevent noncompliance, and (2) stays abreast of trends through 

Commission orders and audit reports. 

 The active involvement of senior management to provide a tangible demonstration of 

appropriate “tone-from-the-top” as well as the allocation of funds necessary for 

successful compliance programs. 

 The active involvement of an internal audit function to routinely assess compliance 

with Commission rules, orders, regulations, and tariff provisions, and foster a strong 

and sustainable culture of commitment to compliance on an enterprise-wide basis. 

2. Compliance Alerts 

DAA continues to observe certain areas in which compliance has been problematic for some 

entities. DAA believes that highlighting these areas for jurisdictional entities and their corporate 

officials will heighten awareness of these concerns and facilitate compliance efforts. The topics 

presented below are not the only areas in which compliance has been at issue, but they 

specifically relate to areas where DAA has found consistent compliance concerns or 

noncompliance. DAA believes that greater attention in these areas will enable jurisdictional 

entities to prevent noncompliance and avoid enforcement actions. 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 35 

Oil Pipeline (Form 6, Page 700). An essential part of oil pipeline audits is an examination of the 

accounting and operating data included on page 700 of the FERC Form No. 6, Annual Cost of 

Service Based Analysis Schedule.14 The information reported on page 700 is used by the 

Commission and interested parties to evaluate interstate pipeline rates, among other uses. Recent 

oil pipeline audits have identified some accounting errors that impact the accuracy of amounts 

reported on page 700 of the FERC Form No. 6, including: failure to use Commission-approved 

depreciation rates; failure to reflect net salvage in depreciation rates; failure to account for 

subsidiaries under the equity method; and misclassification of carrier property, charitable 

donations, fines/penalties, and lobbying activities. DAA also identified a company that did not 

use and charge correct rates for intermediate points in billings to customers and another company 

that incorrectly included intrastate amounts as interstate on page 700.

 

Formula Rate Matters. DAA continues to ensure compliance with the Commission’s accounting 

and the FERC Form No. 1 requirements for costs that are included in formula rate recovery 

mechanisms used to determine billings to wholesale customers. Formula rate audits in recent 

years have observed certain patterns of noncompliance in the following areas: 

 Internal Merger Costs – Utilities have included merger-related costs in rates without 

Commission approval. Such unapproved costs typically relate to internal labor, 

severance, and integration costs. In these cases, utilities are subject to hold-harmless 

commitments to exclude merger-related costs from rates unless the Commission approves 

recovery of such costs, and they must have appropriate controls and procedures to ensure 

that merger-related costs are tracked and excluded from formula rates. 

 Tax Prepayments – Utilities have incorrectly recorded income tax overpayments for 

which they will elect to receive a refund (in lieu of a credit being applied to a future tax 

year’s obligation) as a prepayment in Account 165, Prepayments. Including these 

overpayments in Account 165 has led to excess recoveries through formula rate billings. 

These overpayments are properly recorded in Account 146, Accounts Receivable, from 

Associated Companies, or Account 143, Other Accounts Receivable, as appropriate. 

 Asset Retirement Obligation (ARO) – Utilities have included ARO amounts in formula 

rates without explicit Commission approval. This includes the asset component that 

increases rate base, the depreciation expense related to the asset, the accretion expense 

related to the liability, and associated deferred taxes. 

 Depreciation Rates – Utilities have used state-approved depreciation rates or a blended 

depreciation rate in their formula rate recovery mechanisms, rather than the depreciation 

rates approved by the Commission. 

 Merger Goodwill – Utilities have included goodwill in the equity component of the 

capital structure, absent Commission approval. It is the Commission’s long-standing 

policy that goodwill should be excluded from rates. 

 Distribution Plant – Utilities have included plant balances related to their distribution 

function in transmission formula rates. This has occurred when a distribution capital 

project is placed in service without the appropriate policies and controls being utilized to 

ensure that those project costs are classified as distribution plant and the related 

depreciation is appropriately classified. 

 

14 The schedule requires each oil pipeline company to report its Total Annual Cost of Service (as calculated under 

the Order No. 154-B methodology), operating revenues, and throughput in barrels and barrel-miles for the current 

and previous reporting year. The amounts reflected on page 700 represent interstate service (i.e., FERCjurisdictional) amounts, while the rest of the FERC Form No. 6 includes both interstate and intrastate amounts. 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 36 

 Unused Inventory and Equipment – Utilities have included the cost of materials, supplies, 

and equipment purchased for construction projects without removing the cost of items 

unused in whole or in part from the cost of a project. 

 Allocated Labor – Utilities have charged labor costs to transmission projects without 

using an appropriate cost allocation method or time tracking. Specifically, DAA 

observed that controls were not sufficient to ensure that labor costs charged were 

appropriately allocated between transmission and distribution capital projects when 

employees worked on both, resulting in an inappropriate or unsupported allocation of 

labor costs charged to transmission projects. 

 Administrative and General (A&G) Expenses – Utilities have recorded nonoperating 

expenses and functional operating and maintenance expenses in A&G expense accounts, 

leading to an inappropriate inclusion of such costs in their formula rates. 

Natural Gas Accounting and Tariff Matters. DAA continues to evaluate natural gas pipelines’ 

compliance with the Commission’s accounting, the FERC Form No. 2, and tariff requirements to 

ensure transparency and accuracy of data reported to the Commission. In recent comprehensive 

natural gas audits, DAA has observed patterns of noncompliance in the following areas: 

 Tariff Issues – Natural gas pipelines have failed to comply with the FERC gas tariff 

valuation method for system gas activities, Operational Balancing Agreement stipulations 

to manage and monitor imbalance activity, and North American Energy Standards Board 

requirements related to reporting Operational Available Capacity data. 

 Pipeline Integrity Management Costs – DAA has discovered that some natural gas 

pipelines have misclassified integrity management costs that should have been recorded 

as maintenance expenses. The Commission’s accounting requirements, including 

accounting guidance in Docket No. AI05-1-000, provide that costs to develop integrity 

management programs, prepare pipelines for inspection, conduct pipeline assessments, 

and make repairs are to be charged to maintenance expense in the period the costs are 

incurred. 

 Erroneous Accounting and Reporting – Natural gas pipelines have failed to comply with 

the Commission’s accounting requirements for penalty revenues assessed to 

noncompliant shippers, transmission mains and compression station expenses, line pack 

inventory changes, shipper imbalances and cash-outs, lost and unaccounted-for gas, gains 

from the sale of cushion gas, and penalties assessed by the U.S. Department of 

Transportation. DAA discovered misclassification issues among the categories of costs 

representing operational transmission expenses, other gas supply expenses, and 

underground storage expenses. 

Consolidation. Commission accounting regulations require the equity method of accounting for 

all investments in subsidiaries. Recent audit activity has found jurisdictional companies 

incorrectly using the consolidation method for accounting for subsidiaries instead of the equity 

method as required by the Commission. As a result, improper amounts were included in formula 

rate billings. Entities must seek a waiver from the Commission to use the consolidation method 

for an investment in a subsidiary. 

Nuclear Decommissioning Trust Funds. The Commission’s regulations concerning nuclear 

decommissioning trust funds require utilities owning nuclear power plants to file annual trust 

fund reports, among other requirements. Recent audit activity has identified utilities that have 

not satisfied the Commission’s regulations by failing to: submit annual decommissioning trust 

fund reports, clearly distinguish Commission-jurisdictional monies from nonjurisdictional 

monies held in the trust funds, and accurately report the amount of Commission-jurisdictional 

money in the trusts. 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 37 

Price Index Reporting and FERC Form No. 552 Reporting. DAA’s recent energy-reporting 

audits have revealed common deficiencies that have led to transactions that are not reported to 

price indexes. Transactions that are unreported in price indexes lead to less robust price indexes 

and can impact prices published by indexes, particularly at illiquid hubs. Common deficiencies 

revealed during audits of the FERC Form No. 552 include: failures to disclose affiliate 

companies, improper transaction categorization, and inclusion of nonreportable transactions. 

These reporting errors on the FERC Form No. 552 hinder the usefulness and transparency of the 

form’s contents. 

Allowance for Funds Used During Construction (AFUDC). Recent audit activity has shown 

deficiencies in how jurisdictional entities have calculated AFUDC, resulting in excessive 

accruals of AFUDC. Common findings during audits include: failure to exclude goodwillrelated equity from the equity component of the AFUDC rate, failure to include short-term debt 

in computing the AFUDC rate, computing AFUDC on contract retention and other noncash 

accruals, compounding AFUDC more frequently than semi-annually, inclusion of unrealized 

gains and losses from other comprehensive income, and use of an AFUDC methodology not 

prescribed by the Commission in Order No. 561. 

Capacity Transparency and Allocation. Interstate natural gas pipelines are required to post 

available pipeline capacity on their websites. These postings promote transparency of available 

pipeline capacity and enable greater competitive and efficient use of such capacity; however, 

recent audits have identified common deficiencies in reported available pipeline capacity where 

quantities were either omitted or incorrectly reported. The result is that some shippers may not 

have been able to avail themselves of available pipeline capacity. 

Open Access Transmission Tariffs (OATT). An essential goal of open access is to support 

efficient and competitive markets, and DAA recently has noted instances in which company 

actions did not support this goal. Specifically, the companies billed customers using incorrect 

rates, posted inaccurate available transfer capacity data, failed to release transmission capacity in 

accordance with Commission-approved tariffs, and failed to follow scheduling protocols to 

ensure appropriate transmission reservations over constrained interfaces. 

Untimely Filing of Commission Reports. DAA identified instances where companies have failed 

to timely file various reports with the Commission. These instances included reports such as 

decommissioning trust fund reports and required filings and reports related to mergers. Failure 

to timely file these reports limits the Commission and industry’s ability to use this data. It also 

undermines the transparency of information and creates doubt regarding the effectiveness of 

these companies’ compliance programs. 

Record Retention. DAA has identified instances where records are not retained in accordance 

with Commission regulations. In some cases, DAA determined that records associated with 

assets acquired through acquisitions had not been obtained from the original owner. Failure to 

maintain adequate records can impair the Commission’s ratemaking and enforcement activities 

and ultimately impact an entity’s ability to recover costs associated with those assets. 

Capacity Markets. DAA audits have pointed out that jurisdictional companies need to strengthen 

controls over the reporting of capacity additions to bid into and otherwise participate in capacity 

markets. 

C. Audit Matters 

In FY2015, DAA completed 22 audits of oil pipeline, public utility, and natural gas 

companies covering a wide array of topics. The audits resulted in 360 recommendations for 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 38 

corrective action, all of which were accepted by the audited companies, and directed over 

$26.3 million in refunds and recoveries. Specifically, DAA directed over $16.8 million to be 

refunded to ratepayers and prevented over $9.5 million from being inappropriately included in 

transmission plant and wholesale formula rates. DAA also directed improvements to the audited 

companies’ internal processes and procedures, financial reporting for accuracy and transparency, 

website postings, and efficiency and cost-effectiveness of operations. Collectively, these 

refunds, recommendations, and prevented charges (i.e., savings) benefit ratepayers and market 

participants. 

The following audit activities reflect the issues and priorities identified and discussed above. 

1. Oil 

Colonial Pipeline Company (Colonial), FA14-4-000. DAA evaluated whether Colonial had 

complied with the Commission’s regulations for oil pipeline companies and the FERC Form No. 

6 financial reporting requirements.15 The audit report identified five findings of noncompliance 

and made 14 recommendations for corrective action. The audit findings involved the improper 

reporting of $7.6 million in intrastate amounts on certain line items of page 700 on the 2013 

FERC Form No. 6, the improper reporting of investment in various subsidiaries under the 

consolidated method of accounting instead of using the equity method of accounting, 

nonoperating expenses improperly recorded as operating expenses, and accounting 

misclassifications related to interest during construction and regulatory fees payable to Federal 

agencies. As a result of DAA’s findings, Colonial will properly reflect page 700 amounts in its 

2014 FERC Form No. 6 and strengthen its policies related to the identified findings. 

Enterprises Product Partners, L.P. (Enterprise), FA14-1-000. DAA evaluated whether Enterprise 

had complied with the Commission’s regulations for oil pipeline companies and the FERC Form 

 

15

 Colonial Pipeline Company, Docket No. FA14-4-000 (June 17, 2015) (delegated letter order). 

FY2015 Audits by Topic MBR & EQR

Formula Rates

Transmission Incentives

Natural Gas Tariff & Accounting

Mergers & Acquisitions

Oil Tariff & Accounting

Form No. 552

Nuclear Decommissioning Trust

Funds

Capacity Markets & Demand

Response
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 39 

No. 6 financial reporting requirement.16 The audit identified 10 findings of noncompliance and 

made 25 recommendations for corrective action. This includes findings related to a 

misapplication of tariff rates to intermediate points involving an affiliate resulting in the underbilling of $1.7 million and eight findings related to improperly recorded expenses. These 

findings included accounting misclassifications of $1.2 million in leases and a misapplication of 

depreciation rates, which resulted in a higher depreciation expense and accumulated reserve 

totaling $2.3 million. As a result of DAA’s findings, Enterprise restated its 2011-2013 FERC 

Form No. 6 and strengthened its policies related to the identified findings. 

2. Formula Rates 

PPL Corporation (PPL), FA12-12-000. DAA evaluated the wholesale formula rates for PPL’s 

three franchised public utilities: Kentucky Utilities Company (KU), Louisville Gas and Electric 

Company (LG&E), and PPL Electric Utilities Corporation (PPL Electric).17 The audit also 

evaluated whether PPL complied with the Commission’s cross-subsidization restrictions on 

affiliate transactions, accounting requirements for centralized service companies, preservation of 

records requirements for holding and service companies, and the FERC Form No. 60 

requirements. The audit report identified 10 findings of noncompliance and made 33 

recommendations for corrective action. Most significantly, PPL Electric improperly accounted 

for its investment in a subsidiary under the consolidation method of accounting instead of using 

the equity method of accounting; PPL Electric improperly accounted for overpayments of 

income taxes in Account 165, Prepayments; PPL Electric improperly accounted for 

manufactured gas plant remediation expenses in Account 930.2, Miscellaneous General 

Expenses; KU and LG&E recovered asset retirement obligation costs in their wholesale formula 

rates without Commission approval; and KU did not remove all amounts from its formula rate 

calculations associated with distribution utility plant facilities. As a result of DAA’s findings, 

PPL refunded $5.7 million to wholesale customers. 

Ameren Illinois Company (Ameren Illinois), FA13-1-000. DAA evaluated Ameren Illinois’s 

compliance with its wholesale formula rate tariff and the Commission’s accounting requirements 

for public utilities, the FERC Form Nos. 1 and 3-Q reporting requirements, and record-retention 

regulations.18 The audit identified 10 findings of noncompliance and made 24 recommendations 

for corrective action. The findings involved improper accounting and rate treatment for income 

tax overpayments, improper recovery of merger-related internal labor costs, accounting 

misclassifications in administrative and general expense accounts, improper AFUDC accruals, 

improper inclusion of asset retirement obligation amounts in formula rates, failure to use 

Commission-approved depreciation rates for transmission and general utility plant included in 

formula rates, improper accounting for the underfunded status of its pension fund, and improper 

record retention practices. As a result of DAA’s findings, Ameren Illinois refunded over $2.8 

million to wholesale customers and will exclude significant amounts from being improperly 

included in future wholesale formula rate calculations. 

 

16

 Enterprises Product Partners, LP, Docket No. FA14-1-000 (June 17, 2015) (delegated letter order). 17

 PPL Corporation, Docket No. FA12-12-000 (Oct. 9, 2014) (delegated letter order). 18

 Ameren Illinois Company, Docket No. FA13-1-000 (Apr. 4, 2015) (delegated letter order). 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 40 

Duquesne Light Company (Duquesne), FA13-3-000. DAA evaluated compliance with 

Duquesne’s wholesale formula rate tariff and the Commission’s accounting and FERC Form No. 

1 reporting requirements.19 The audit also evaluated whether Duquesne complied with the 

conditions established in Commission orders granting transmission rate incentives, Commission 

rules for incentive-based rate treatment for transmission infrastructure investment, and market 

rules governing PJM’s demand-response program. The audit report identified nine areas of 

noncompliance and made 45 recommendations for corrective action. The findings involved 

improper accounting for costs associated with utility plant construction, inappropriate recovery 

of (and a return on) costs, and record retention and reporting deficiencies. As a result of DAA’s 

findings, Duquesne refunded approximately $4.4 million to wholesale formula rate customers 

and it also removed $9.5 million in costs from the transmission plant in its rate base that would 

have continued to have been inappropriately included in wholesale formula rate determinations.

Union Electric Company (Union Electric), FA13-2-000. DAA evaluated compliance with Union 

Electric’s wholesale formula rate tariff and the Commission’s regulations governing nuclear 

plant decommissioning trust funds, accounting requirements for public utilities, the FERC Form 

Nos. 1 and 3-Q reporting requirements, and record-retention requirements.20 The audit identified 

10 findings of noncompliance and made 27 recommendations for corrective action. The findings 

involved improper accounting and rate treatment for income tax overpayments Union Electric 

made to its parent company for its applicable Federal and state income tax liabilities in Account 

165, Prepayments; improper recovery of nonsafety-related advertising expenses in formula rate 

billings; misclassified power production costs in A&G accounts; improper inclusion of asset 

retirement obligation amounts in formula rates; improper inclusion of the premium and discount 

of preferred stock in preferred stock and common equity components of the AFUDC rate 

computation; and failure to use Commission-approved depreciation rates for transmission and 

general utility plant included in formula rate determinations. As a result of DAA’s findings, 

Union Electric refunded over $970,000 through its wholesale formula rate and excluded 

significant amounts from being improperly included in future wholesale formula rate 

calculations. 

Southwestern Public Service Company (Southwestern), FA13-4-000. DAA evaluated 

compliance with Southwestern’s wholesale formula rate tariff, the Commission’s accounting 

requirements, and the FERC Form Nos. 1 and 3-Q reporting requirements.21 The audit report 

identified seven areas of noncompliance and made 25 recommendations. These findings 

involved the improper recovery of land held for future use related to distribution plant, improper 

recovery of A&G expenses previously reimbursed, failure to use Commission-approved 

depreciation rates for transmission and general plant included in formula rate determinations, 

misclassification of regulatory fees and expenses, air pollution emissions fees, and asset 

retirement costs, and failure to make a required accounting filing for disposition of utility plant. 

As a result of DAA’s findings, Southwestern refunded $85,872 (including interest) to its 

wholesale customers and excluded significant amounts from being improperly included in future 

wholesale formula rate calculations. 

Public Service Company of Colorado (PSCo), PA13-14-000. DAA evaluated PSCo’s 

compliance with its wholesale formula rate tariff, the Commission’s accounting requirements, 

 

19

 Duquesne Light Company, Docket No. FA13-3-000 (Nov. 13, 2014) (delegated letter order). 20

 Union Electric Company, Docket No. FA13-2-000 (Mar. 27, 2015) (delegated letter order). 21

 Southwestern Public Service Company, Docket No. FA13-4-000 (Nov. 17, 2014) (delegated letter order). 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 41 

and FERC Form Nos. 1 and 3-Q reporting requirements.22 The audit report identified 13 areas of 

noncompliance and made 32 recommendations for corrective action. These findings involved 

computational errors for common plant depreciation and amortization expenses in the wholesale 

formula rate, failure to credit revenues for the transmission of electricity of others against the 

transmission revenue requirement, misclassification of compromise settlements and donations as 

an operating expense, improper inclusion of generator interconnection assets in the formula rate 

mechanism, misallocation of service company costs to PSCo, and premature recovery of a 

transmission plant acquisition adjustment prior to Commission approval. DAA also identified 

PSCo’s failure to have adequate procedures to identify acts of discretion that may have required 

a posting to OASIS under Order No. 717, failure to post complete system impact and facilities 

study metrics on its public OASIS web site, failure to release nonfirm available transmission 

capability, inconsistent customer creditworthiness reviews, and inadequate record-retention 

procedures. As a result of DAA’s findings, PSCo refunded approximately $700,000 (including 

interest) to its wholesale customers and excluded significant amounts from being improperly 

included in future wholesale formula rate calculations. 

Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE), FA13-13-000. DAA evaluated BGE’s compliance 

with its wholesale formula rate tariff, the conditions included in the Commission order granting 

BGE’s transmission rate incentives, and PJM’s OATT (under which BGE is a market participant 

in PJM’s capacity market and other demand-response programs).23 The audit also evaluated 

whether accounts included in the determination of recoveries under BGE’s wholesale formula 

rate tariff complied with the Commission’s accounting requirements. The audit identified four 

findings of noncompliance and made 11 recommendations for corrective action. Most 

significantly, BGE improperly had included merger-related costs in its wholesale formula rate. 

Audit staff also took issue with BGE’s accounting for costs related to political action 

committees, the misclassification of a prepaid pension asset, and insufficient explanations in its 

FERC Form No. 1. As a result of DAA’s findings, BGE refunded $155,083 (including interest) 

to its wholesale customers and excluded significant amounts from being improperly included in 

future wholesale formula rate calculations. 

3. Nuclear Decommissioning 

Kansas Gas and Electric Company (KGE), FA14-3-000. DAA evaluated KGE’s compliance 

with the Commission’s regulations governing nuclear plant decommissioning trust funds.24 It 

also evaluated KGE’s books of account, accounting practices, and controls over its nuclear plant 

decommissioning trust funds for consistency with established accounting and reporting 

requirements applicable to nuclear decommissioning. The audit report identified two areas of 

noncompliance and made six recommendations for corrective action. The findings involved 

KGE’s lack of clear separation of wholesale from retail monies in its trust fund and its failure to 

file annual financial reports for its trust fund activities with the Commission. As a result of 

DAA’s findings, KGE adjusted the structure of the trust fund to properly reflect monies collected 

from customers through wholesale rates. KGE also developed new procedures and controls to 

ensure it files the annual trust fund report timely, completely, and accurately with the 

Commission. 

 

22

 Public Service Company of Colorado, Docket No. PA13-14-000 (July 21, 2015) (delegated letter order). 23

 Baltimore Gas and Electric Company, Docket No. FA13-13-000 (June 4, 2015) (delegated letter order). 24

 Kansas Gas and Electric Company, Docket No. FA14-3-000 (March 27, 2015) (delegated letter order). 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 42 

Entergy Corporation (Entergy), FA14-2-000. DAA evaluated Entergy’s compliance with the 

Commission’s regulations governing nuclear plant decommissioning trust funds.25 It also 

evaluated Entergy’s books of account, accounting practices, and controls over its nuclear plant 

decommissioning trust funds for consistency with established accounting and reporting 

requirements applicable to nuclear decommissioning. The audit report identified one finding of 

noncompliance and made four recommendations for corrective action. DAA concluded that 

Entergy’s trust fund financial reports did not include some trust funds containing wholesale 

monies that it had acquired from previous nuclear plant owners and did not include all required 

information for the trust funds reported. As a result of the audit, Entergy will strengthen its 

policies to ensure it submits all required information. 

4. Mergers and Acquisitions 

Kinder Morgan, Inc. (Kinder Morgan), FA14-10-000. At Kinder Morgan, DAA focused on 

examining the transactions associated with the Kinder Morgan and El Paso Corporation merger 

to evaluate compliance with the Commission’s accounting regulations and the FERC Form No. 2 

requirements.26 DAA identified four areas of noncompliance and made nine recommendations 

for Kinder Morgan’s jurisdictional interstate natural gas pipelines. The audit found that 

accounting classification procedures adopted after the merger for pipeline assessment expenses 

and other maintenance costs were inappropriate, certain merger-related labor costs were 

misclassified to operating expense accounts instead of the appropriate nonoperating expense 

account, merger-related software development costs were misclassified to administrative and 

general expense accounts instead of appropriate operating expense accounts, and certain costs 

were recorded inconsistent with the Commission’s accounting requirements. As a result of 

DAA’s findings, Kinder Morgan will strengthen its accounting procedures for pipeline 

assessment costs and other areas of noncompliance identified. 

5. Natural Gas Tariff, Accounting, and Reporting 

Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC (Columbia), FA13-5-000. DAA evaluated whether Columbia 

had complied with Commission accounting and reporting requirements, and its adherence to the 

approved terms and rates of its gas tariff.27 The audit identified eight areas of noncompliance and 

made 29 recommendations related to Columbia’s operations under the tariff and its accounting 

and financial reporting to the Commission. As a result of DAA’s findings, Columbia refunded 

$949,039 to customers through its capital cost recovery mechanism for pipeline safety costs. 

Further, in response to audit findings, Columbia is monitoring capacity on its operating 

balancing agreements, accurately reporting available capacity on its electronic bulletin board, 

and utilizing appropriate FERC accounts to accurately capture and report financial information to 

stakeholders, shareholders, and users of FERC information. 

Southern Natural Gas Company (SNG), FA13-7-000. DAA evaluated whether SNG had 

complied with Commission accounting and reporting requirements, proper accrual of AFUDC, 

and record-retention regulations.28 The audit report identified seven findings of noncompliance 

and made 20 recommendations for corrective action. Most significantly, SNG improperly had 

recorded more than $75 million in pipeline integrity management program costs as operating 

 

25 Entergy Corporation, Docket No. FA14-2-000 (July 30, 2015) (delegated letter order). 26

 Kinder Morgan, Inc., Docket No. FA14-10-000 (June 4, 2015) (delegated letter order). 27

 Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC, Docket No. FA13-5-000 (Dec. 30, 2014) (delegated letter order). 28

 Southern Natural Gas Company, Docket No. FA13-7-000 (Apr. 14, 2015) (delegated letter order). 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 43 

expenses instead of maintenance expenses from 2012-2014. DAA also detected areas of 

incorrect accounting, including incorrect accounting for civil penalties. Finally, the audit team 

uncovered an inappropriate treatment of unamortized debt expense totaling over $8.8 million, 

which resulted in SNG overstating its AFUDC. As a result of DAA’s findings, SNG and its 

jurisdictional affiliates updated their accounting practices, resulting in the reclassification of 

pipeline integrity management program costs from operating expenses to maintenance expenses. 

Furthermore, SNG implemented accounting procedures to ensure that civil penalty expenses and 

similar transactions are properly classified. 

Ruby Pipeline, LLC (Ruby), FA13-12-000. DAA evaluated whether Ruby had complied with 

Commission accounting and reporting requirements and proper accrual of AFUDC.29 The audit 

report identified five areas of noncompliance and made 14 recommendations for corrective 

action. The audit found that Ruby had overstated interest expense recorded in Account 427, 

Interest on Long-term Debt, and had inappropriately subtracted the balance of Account 181, 

Unamortized Debt Expense, from the long-term debt balance in computing AFUDC rates. Ruby 

also had included ineligible costs, such as contract retention, unpaid use tax accruals, and 

expenditures from a canceled project in its construction cost component and had over-accrued 

AFUDC. As a result of DAA’s finding, Ruby recalculated its AFUDC rate and made journal 

entries to correct all related accounts. 

6. Market-Based Rates, Electric Quarterly Reports, and Other Reporting 

Public Service Enterprise Group, Inc. (PSEG), PA13-13-000. DAA evaluated whether PSEG 

and its subsidiaries had complied with the requirements of their respective MBR authorizations, 

EQR filing requirements, and the market rules governing uplift payments received under PJM’s 

Amended and Restated Operating Agreement.30 The audit report identified two areas of 

noncompliance and made seven recommendations related to PSEG companies’ EQR filing 

requirements. Specifically, audit staff found that PSEG) had misreported data in EQR filings 

and had failed to report in EQR filings demand-response and energy-efficiency transactions and 

associated contracts from 2010 through 2012. As a result of DAA’s findings, PSEG corrected 

and refiled its EQR filings, strengthened controls over EQR filing, revised written procedures 

that guide its EQR filing processes and procedures, and implemented a formal staff training 

program related to EQR filing requirements. 

Tenaska Energy, Inc., and Tenaska Energy Holdings, LLC (Tenaska), PA13-18-000. DAA 

evaluated whether Tenaska had complied with the requirements of: (1) its MBR authorizations 

and EQR filing regulations, and (2) the FERC Form No. 552 reporting requirements.31 The audit 

identified six findings of noncompliance, made 19 recommendations for corrective action, and 

presented suggestions to strengthen Tenaska’s internal controls over training and trading. The 

findings focused on compliance issues with Tenaska’s FERC Form No. 552s, EQRs, and price 

index reporting. The issues concerned timeliness of filing, accuracy and completeness of 

information filed, and controls in place to ensure compliance. As a result of DAA’s findings, 

Tenaska committed to correct and refile the necessary filings, strengthen its controls surrounding 

the filing of complete and accurate information with the Commission, and enhance its internal 

controls regarding compliance training and trading activities. 

 

29

 Ruby Pipeline, LLC, Docket No. FA13-12-000 (Nov. 10, 2014) (delegated letter order). 30

 Public Service Enterprise Group, Inc., Docket No PA13-13-000 (Oct. 16, 2014) (delegated letter order). 31

 Tenaska Energy, Inc., Docket No. PA13-18-000 (Feb. 11, 2015) (delegated letter order). 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 44 

American Electric Power, Inc. (AEP), PA13-17-000. DAA evaluated AEP’s compliance with 

the requirements of: (1) its MBR authorizations and EQR filing regulations and (2) the FERC 

Form No. 552 reporting requirements.32 The audit also examined AEP’s wholesale electric and 

natural gas market activity, including compliance with applicable tariff provisions and 

Commission regulations for natural gas transportation and sales transactions under 18 C.F.R. 

Part 284. DAA found that AEP’s subsidiary, AEP Energy Partners, had overstated its energy 

sales transactions reported in seven EQR filings made from May 2012 through December 2013 

by 46,593,821 megawatt-hours and approximately $1.8 billion. As a result of DAA’s findings, 

AEP will refile its May 2012 through December 2013 EQR filings and strengthen its controls 

surrounding the filing of accurate EQR filings. 

Cargill Incorporated (Cargill), FA14-6-000. DAA evaluated whether Cargill had complied with 

Commission Form No. 552 reporting requirements.33 The audit report identified one area of 

noncompliance in Cargill’s FERC Form No. 552 report filed with the Commission. Cargill had 

incorrectly reported certain non-reportable purchase and sales volumes as transactions contracted 

at fixed prices, at prices that refer to published daily and monthly indexes, and at prices set upon 

a physical basis transaction value. This resulted in Cargill over-reporting purchase and sales 

volumes in its 2012 FERC Form No. 552. As a result of DAA’s finding, Cargill will refile its 

2012 FERC Form No. 552 and strengthen its controls and procedures to submit complete and 

accurate information to the Commission. 

ConocoPhillips Company (ConocoPhillips), FA14-5-000. DAA evaluated whether 

ConocoPhillips had complied with Commission regulations surrounding the reporting of energy 

transactions, including: (1) reporting on the FERC Form No. 552, Annual Report of Natural Gas 

Transactions and (2) standards for reporting transaction data to indexes.34 The audit identified 

two areas of noncompliance and made four recommendations for corrective action. The areas of 

noncompliance concerned ConocoPhillips’s failure to report all reportable transactions to price 

index publishers and its failure to disclose all affiliate companies on its FERC Form No. 552 

filings. As a result of DAA’s findings, ConocoPhillips must strengthen its processes and 

procedures to ensure that all reportable natural gas transactions are reported to price index 

publishers. 

7. Capacity Markets and Demand Response 

NRG Energy, Inc., (NRG), PA14-1-000. DAA evaluated whether NRG had complied with the 

various tariffs governing the markets in which its resources operate.35 DAA focused on tariff 

provisions relevant to NRG’s participation as a generation resource in wholesale capacity 

markets and evaluated whether NRG has sufficient procedures, practices, and resources to carry 

out its programmatic responsibilities. The audit report included two findings of noncompliance 

and five recommendations for corrective action. The findings concerned NRG’s failure to report 

plant outage data and the destruction of plant outage log records. As a result of DAA’s findings, 

NRG updated its standard operating system policies for each of the three Eastern RTO/ISOs and 

its records management policies. 

 

32 American Electric Power, Inc., Docket No. PA13-17-000 (July 30, 2015) (delegated letter order). 33

 Cargill Incorporated, Docket No. FA14-6-000 (Oct. 24, 2014) (delegated letter order). 34

 ConocoPhilips Company, Docket No. FA14-5-000 (June 17, 2015) (delegated letter order). 35

 NRG Energy, Inc., Docket No. PA14-1-000 (July 2, 2015) (delegated letter order). 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 45 

8. No Audit Findings 

Occidental Energy Marketing, Inc. (Occidental), FA14-8-000. DAA evaluated whether 

Occidental had complied with Commission filing requirements for the annual reporting of 

natural gas transactions and the FERC Form No. 552 instructions.36 The audit resulted in no 

findings or recommendations that require Occidental to take corrective action at this time. Audit 

staff based its conclusion on the review of material Occidental provided in response to audit 

staff’s data requests, interviews with Occidental employees, and a review of publicly available 

documents. 

D. Accounting Matters 

DAA administers the Commission’s accounting programs, which were established for the 

electric, natural gas, and oil industries as a vital component of the Commission’s authority for 

establishing just and reasonable rates. In support of this strategic goal, DAA provides 

accounting advice that considers the Commission’s ratemaking policies, ensures the transparency 

of financial information affecting rate design, and identifies accounting outcomes that best 

reflect the economic results of an entity’s operations. It does so through extensive coordination 

with other Commission program offices. Further, DAA provides accounting expertise to 

Commission program offices as they develop Commission policies and proposed rulemakings to 

ensure that these initiatives properly consider and evaluate accounting and financial issues 

affecting jurisdictional entities. To better serve the Commission in these capacities, DAA 

monitors and participates in projects initiated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, 

Securities and Exchange Commission, and International Accounting Standards Board. 

DAA also receives accounting inquiries and provides informal feedback on the 

Commission’s accounting and financial reporting regulations. These inquiries come directly 

from jurisdictional entities, industry trade groups, consultants, and other industry stakeholders, as 

well as through the Commission’s Compliance Help Desk, Office of External Affairs, 

Enforcement Hotline, and other Commission offices. Similarly, DAA responds to various 

accounting and financial reporting matters during pre-filing, accounting liaison, and other 

meetings with jurisdictional entities. While DAA’s informal advice does not constitute a formal 

Commission action, DAA staff works diligently to aid jurisdictional entities in complying with 

the Commission’s accounting and financial reporting regulations when requests are made. DAA 

encourages jurisdictional entities to also seek formal guidance on accounting issues of doubtful 

interpretation to enhance compliance with the Commission’s accounting and financial reporting 

regulations. 

1. Filings Reviewed by DAA 

DAA has advised the Commission and has acted on filings submitted to the Commission 

covering various accounting matters with cost-of-service rate implications, such as accounting 

for mergers, asset dispositions, depreciation, AFUDC, post-retirement benefits, income taxes, 

and prior-period corrections. While DAA focused on accounting matters within the filings, some 

of the filings came from jurisdictional entities seeking Commission approval primarily for 

matters other than accounting, such as requests for certificates, merger and acquisition approvals, 

rate filings, and securities and debt applications. In these cases, DAA served in an advisory role 

to other program offices. Over the past five years, DAA has reviewed 1,395 Commission filings 

 

36

 Occidental Energy Marketing, Inc., Docket No. FA14-8-000 (Oct. 24, 2014) (delegated letter order). 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 46 

to ensure proper accounting is followed and to advise the Commission on potential rate effects. 

In FY2015 alone, DAA reviewed a total of 376 filings. 

2. Requests for Approval of the Chief Accountant 

In FY2015, the Chief Accountant responded to 90 accounting filings requesting approval of a 

proposed accounting treatment or financial reporting. The matters covered in these accounting 

requests related to various topics within the Commission’s accounting and financial reporting 

requirements for electric, natural gas, and oil entities. Notably in FY2015, there was an increase 

in filings related to mergers and divestitures, which included reorganizations between affiliated 

entities. In these, DAA focused on issues related to goodwill, acquisition adjustments, equity 

accounts, and capital structures. There also was an increase in filings during FY2015 to make 

changes in accounting policy and prior-period adjustments, which is an indicator that regulated 

entities are showing more prudence in reviewing and scrutinizing their compliance with the 

Commission’s accounting rules. 

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

Certificate Filings Merger and

Acquisition Filings

Securities Filings Rate Filings Accounting Filings

Types of Filings Reviewed by DAA

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 47 

The dockets below represent accounting filings approved by the Commission that presented 

noteworthy accounting issues or involved ratemaking consequences. These accounting orders 

serve as guidance for future DAA action on similar accounting issues. 

 In Docket No. AC11-46-000, et al., the Commission found that Ameren Illinois 

inappropriately, and without Commission approval, had included goodwill recorded in 

Account 211, Miscellaneous Paid-in Capital, in the equity component of its capital 

structure used in its transmission formula rate calculation. As a result, Ameren Illinois 

had collected an excessive return through transmission formula rates. On July 20, 2015, 

the Commission approved a settlement whereby Ameren Illinois agreed to correct this 

error by adjusting its formula rate billings and refunding $7,138,799 to wholesale 

customers. 

 In Docket No. AC14-126-000, Ohio Power Company (OPCo) and AEP Generation 

Resources Inc. (AGR) proposed journal entries relating to an internal reorganization 

whereby OPCo’s generation and power marketing businesses were transferred to AGR. 

DAA discovered certain transaction costs that were inappropriately recorded in operating 

expense accounts by OPCo and included in rates to wholesale generation customers. 

Costs incurred to consummate mergers and internal reorganizations are typically 

nonoperating in nature and properly recorded in Account 426.5, Other Deductions. 

3. Certificate Proceedings 

In FY2015, DAA reviewed 82 natural gas pipeline certificate application filings seeking 

Commission authorization to construct, own, and operate new pipeline facilities; abandon or 

acquire pipeline facilities; and establish rates for new pipeline facilities in service. DAA works 

with other Commission program offices to assist development of just and reasonable rates in the 

public interest by reviewing construction costs and all items used to determine initial rates 

(including operation and maintenance expenses), depreciation, amortization, taxes, AFUDC, and 

return on investment. DAA also ensures that applicants follow Commission accounting rules 

and regulations related to asset abandonment, construction, AFUDC calculations, contributions 

in aid of construction, regulatory assets and liabilities, leases, and system gas. During FY2015, 

DAA continued to observe that several new and established pipeline companies had not fully 

adhered to the Commission’s accounting regulations and precedent when they submitted an 

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Other Miscellaneous

Deferred Income Taxes

Construction Period Costs

Prior Period Adjustment

Accounting Policy

Sale of Assets

Purchase of Assets

Mergers and Divestitures

Filings Submitted for Chief Accountant Approval

2013

2014

2015
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 48 

initial application pursuant to section 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act.37 Particularly, the timing of 

AFUDC accruals had not appropriately begun and ended, potentially leading to excess 

capitalization of AFUDC. DAA continues to remind natural gas pipeline companies to follow 

the Commission’s regulations and precedent in accruing and compounding AFUDC capitalized 

to construction projects. 

4. Merger and Acquisition Proceedings 

In FY2015, DAA reviewed six merger filings and approximately 171 acquisition filings from 

electric utilities. The accounting review for merger transactions entails examining proposed 

accounting for costs to execute the transaction, costs to achieve integration and synergies, fairvalue adjustments to assets and liabilities, and goodwill. DAA also ensures that the accounting 

is consistent with any hold-harmless or other rate requirements discussed in a merger order. In 

acquisition filings, DAA conducts an accounting review to ensure applicants properly account 

for the purchase and sale of plant assets consistent with Commission regulations. DAA ensures 

that jurisdictional entities maintain the appropriate original cost and historical accumulated 

depreciation of acquired utility plant and properly recorded acquisition premiums or discounts. 

DAA also reviewed merger and acquisition accounting entries to ensure they provide enough 

transparency to the Commission and all interested parties for evaluating the impact on rates. 

DAA also consistently reminded jurisdictional entities to file accounting entries timely, within 

six months of a finalized merger or acquisition transaction, in accordance with Electric Plant 

Instruction No. 5 and the requirements of Account 102, Electric Plant Purchased or Sold. 

5. Debt and Security Issuance Proceedings 

In FY2015, the Chief Accountant reviewed 49 electric utility security/debt applications. 

Section 204(a) of the FPA requires jurisdictional entities to receive Commission authorization 

before issuing securities or assuming liabilities as guarantor, endorser, surety, or otherwise in 

respect of any security of another person. In reviewing filings under section 204, the 

Commission evaluates an applicant’s viability based on a review of financial statements 

submitted with the application, interest coverage ratio, and debt maturities and cash-flow 

projections. DAA’s review of debt and security applications provides critical analysis that helps 

prevent public utilities from borrowing substantial amounts of money and using the proceeds to 

finance nonutility businesses. This review also ensures that future issuance of debt is consistent 

with the public interest. 

6. Rate Proceedings 

In FY2015, DAA participated in 62 rate filings that predominately involved electric formula 

rate proceedings, but also included natural gas and oil pipeline rate proceedings. DAA worked 

with other program offices to discuss many accounting and financial issues and their effects on 

rates. Since many electric and natural gas rates are derived from accounting information in the 

FERC Form Nos. 1 and 2, DAA ensured that all proposed accounting in the rate proceedings was 

consistent with the Commission’s accounting requirements and precedent. DAA also worked 

with other program offices to enhance the transparency of financial information affecting 

formula rates so that all stakeholders had an opportunity to review the costs included in rates. 

Particular items that DAA emphasized as critical information included plant assets’ historical 

 

37

 See 18 C.F.R. Part 201, Gas Plant Instruction (GPI) No. 3-17 (2015); and Accounting Release No. 5 (Revised), 

Capitalization of Interest During Construction, effective January 1, 1968, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 40,005. 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 49 

cost, merger-related costs, prior-period adjustments, affiliate cost allocations, and correction of 

errors, among other items. Accounting issues associated with each filing ranged in number and 

topic. Some of the more common accounting issues in FY2015 rate filings included mergerrelated costs, regulatory assets, post-retirement benefits, and prepayments. 

7. Accounting Inquiries 

In FY2015, DAA responded to 85 accounting inquiries from jurisdictional entities and other 

stakeholders in the Commission’s jurisdiction. Accounting inquiries are made through the 

Compliance Help Desk and the Accounting Inquiries phone line and email or are sent directly to 

DAA staff. The majority of those who had accounting inquiries sought accounting and financial 

reporting direction on topics such as capitalization and cost allocations. Those who had 

accounting inquiries also sought guidance on depreciation, the appropriate functional 

classification of costs, and record-retention requirements. Of particular interest in FY2015 were 

inquiries related to emission allowances and renewable generation, income taxes, and asset 

retirement obligations. DAA responded to these accounting inquiries by providing informal 

accounting and financial reporting guidance based on Commission precedent and regulations, in 

addition to instructing individuals how to find documents and regulations using the Commission 

eLibrary system38 and the Code of Federal Regulations.39

 

8. International Financial Reporting Standards 

The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation, the International 

Accounting Standards Board (IASB), and their project on Rate-Regulated Activities (RRA) 

continue to be of special interest to the Commission and its regulated entities. The Chief 

Accountant, a Consultative Group member for the RRA Project, has worked with U.S.-regulated 

entities, state commissions, and international regulators to promote the development of an IFRS 

accounting standard that provides for regulatory assets and liabilities in IFRS financial 

statements. In December 2014, DAA participated in an outreach meeting attended by financial 

statement users, preparers of financial statements, auditing firms, rate regulators, and three IASB 

members to discuss the RRA Project and potential accounting approaches to recognize the 

economic effects of rate regulation in IFRS financial statements. Also, the Chief Accountant 

sent a comment letter in January 2015 to the IASB in response to a discussion paper to provide a 

more in-depth look into the mechanisms and policy framework supporting the accounting of 

these economic effects. The Chief Accountant participated in a Consultative Group meeting on 

March 4, 2015 and provided expert advice on the regulatory mechanisms in the United States. In 

FY2016, the Chief Accountant expects to continue providing expert advice to IASB staff to 

develop permanent standards on rate-regulated activities. 

9. Hydropower Licensee Requirements under Part 1 of the FPA 

DAA has identified compliance issues resulting from the Commission’s waiver of certain 

accounting requirements in previous orders granting MBR authority to hydropower licensees. 

Part 1 of the FPA requires hydropower licensees to maintain records that may be used in 

determining the actual legitimate original cost of and net investment in a licensed project in the 

event that the Commission opts to take over a hydropower project or another entity wants to take 

 

38 The Commission’s eLibrary system can be accessed at www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/elibrary.asp. 39 The Commission’s regulations in 18 C.F.R. can be found at www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/textidx?SID=03cdba1b6c896b3bd9734aab926c7b88&c=ecfr&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title18/18cfrv1_02.tpl 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 50 

over the license. Accordingly, DAA worked with other program offices to include language in 

orders granting market-based rate authority stating that hydropower licensees are required to 

comply with the requirements of the Commission’s Uniform System of Accounts to the extent 

necessary to carry out their responsibilities under Part 1 of the FPA.40 

 

 

40

 All Dams Generation, LLC, 150 FERC ¶ 62,103 (Feb. 12, 2015); Fortis US Energy Corporation, 151 FERC ¶ 

62,109 (May 15, 2015); and Balko Wind, LLC, 151 FERC ¶ 61,162 (May 20, 2015). 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 51 

DIVISION OF ENERGY MARKET OVERSIGHT 

A. Overview 

The Division of Energy Market Oversight (Market Oversight) within the Office of 

Enforcement is responsible for monitoring and overseeing the nation’s wholesale natural gas and 

electric power markets. To carry out this responsibility, Market Oversight continuously 

examines the structure and operation of the markets to identify anomalies, flawed market rules, 

tariff and rule violations, and other unusual market behavior as well as significant market events 

and trends. It also analyzes market-based rate transactions to determine whether entities are 

exercising market power and reports its various analyses and observations to the Commission 

and, as appropriate, to the public. Beyond these examinations, Market Oversight also 

collaborates with other Commission offices to develop regulatory strategies, focusing on the 

competitiveness, fairness, and efficiency of wholesale energy markets. In addition, Market 

Oversight administers, analyzes, and ensures compliance with the filing requirements of EQRs 

and various financial forms. Finally, Market Oversight advises the Commission on the efficacy 

of regulatory policies in light of evolving energy markets and ensures the Commission has the 

information needed to effectively administer and monitor those markets. 

B. Market-Based Rate Ex Post Analysis 

Market Oversight develops tools, conducts surveillance, and analyses transactional and other 

market data to detect the presence of market power and ensure that jurisdictional rates remain 

just and reasonable and not unduly discriminatory or preferential. This ex post analysis uses a 

risk-based approach that identifies higher risk markets and participants to prioritize for screening 

and implements a number of screens to evaluate market structure and outcomes. It then 

evaluates transactions in the context of the market fundamentals at the time of execution with the 

primary goal of identifying outcomes that may be inconsistent with expectations of a competitive 

market, and thus may be indicative of an exercise of market power. Once such outcomes are 

identified, Market Oversight coordinates with other Commission program offices on its findings, 

which may result in actions taken by the Commission to remedy market power concerns. 

C. Market Monitoring 

Market Oversight staff examines data from a variety of sources to review market 

fundamentals and emerging trends and to examine the structure, operation, and interaction of 

natural gas and electric markets. As developments warrant, Market Oversight staff initiates 

projects designed to evaluate market trends and to assess participant behavior. Staff also 

presents analyses at Commission meetings. During FY2015, such presentations included the 

following: 

1. 2014 State of the Markets Report 

Market Oversight annually presents to the Commission and makes public its State of the 

Markets report, which assesses the significant events in the energy markets during the prior year. 

Presented on March 19, 2015, the report for 2014 observed that extreme cold temperatures 

during the early winter months stressed the country’s natural gas infrastructure and power 

markets. Natural gas prices reached record levels during the winter, resulting in electricity price 

spikes. However, the report explained that after a dramatic start to 2014, natural gas and 

electricity prices were relatively low and stable for the remainder of the year. Moreover, despite 

low commodity prices throughout most of the year, natural gas production continued to break 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 52 

records, attributed to increased shale production. During the second half of the year oil prices 

plunged, which highlighted long-term implications for oil and gas industry activity. The report 

also discussed significant developments in the organized wholesale electricity markets, with 

major changes occurring in CAISO and SPP, as well the expansion of MISO’s footprint. 

Additionally, the report recognized that physical and financial trading had fallen significantly in 

2014 as a result of companies, particularly large banks, reducing or eliminating their trading 

exposure. 

2. Seasonal Market Assessments 

Market Oversight prepares seasonal assessments that it presents at Commission meetings and 

makes available to the public on the Commission website. In FY2015, Market Oversight staff’s 

seasonal assessments included the following: 

Winter 2014/2015 Energy Market Assessment, October 16, 2014. Market Oversight staff 

presented the outlook for natural gas markets and noted that conditions going into the winter 

were mixed for natural gas and electricity markets. The U.S. natural gas market was amply 

supplied, with production continuing to break records. Following the 2013-2014 winter polar 

vortex, natural gas pipelines, electric utilities, RTO/ISOs, and the Commission took a number of 

measures to improve system reliability. 

While spot market natural gas prices were in the $4.00/MMBtu range over most of the 

country, winter futures were significantly higher. Natural gas storage was below average and 

coal stockpiles were also lower than usual. Although new pipeline capacity had been added 

since the previous winter, there were still restrictions in New England. In some regions, there 

was an increased reliance upon natural gas for electricity generation. 

Summer 2015 Energy Market and Reliability Assessment, May 14, 2015. This assessment 

reviewed the outlook for the electric market for summer 2015. Key takeaways from the 

assessment included plentiful fuel supplies with low natural gas prices and recovering coal 

stockpiles. Additionally, the economy continued to recover and contributed to increased 

industrial demand, yet reserve margins remained adequate. The drought in California and the 

West entered its fourth year and may have led to elevated energy prices, but both the NERC and 

the California ISO concluded that the situation was not a threat to reliability. 

Market conditions going into the summer reflected the continued low natural gas prices that 

resulted from robust production, as well as the recovery of fuel stockpiles at coal-fired power 

plants. Regional electric system reserve margins were adequate, despite modest growth in load, 

which was primarily attributable to increased industrial activity. 

D. Outreach and Communication 

Market Oversight makes available to the public its analyses by posting reports on its website 

and in monthly and periodic snapshot presentations. Staff also briefs visiting industry 

participants, state and federal officials, and foreign delegations. 

1. Website 

Market Oversight publishes data and analyses on its website (http://www.ferc.gov/marketoversight/market-oversight.asp), which is organized into pages for: (1) national overviews of 

natural gas and electricity markets; and (2) ten regional electricity and five regional natural gas 

markets. The regional market pages provide charts, tables, and maps displaying market 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 53 

characteristics and outcomes. The Market Oversight website also has information on other 

relevant markets, including LNG, coal, and emissions markets. 

2. Snapshot Calls 

Market Oversight held several conference calls with representatives of public utility 

commissions and state agencies in the eastern, central, and western states. These calls provide a 

current “snapshot” of energy markets. Regional Snapshot Reports serve as the basis for 

discussion on the calls. The reports include data on natural gas, electricity, LNG, weather, and 

other market developments. Additionally, the Snapshot Report incorporates reports on special 

topics. Snapshot Reports are available on the Market Oversight website at 

http://www.ferc.gov/market-oversight/mkt-snp-sht/mkt-snp-sht.asp, and are archived back to 

2007. 

3. Domestic and Foreign Delegation Briefings 

Market Oversight periodically hosts visitors, including foreign and domestic delegations of 

regulators and industry participants, interested in energy markets and in staff’s market 

monitoring activities. In FY2015, Market Oversight conducted seven briefings in the Market 

Monitoring Center, including briefings to Congressional delegations, groups of delegates from 

federal and state agencies, delegations from industry, and foreign delegations. 

Market Oversight also briefs new Commission employees and others on its ongoing 

monitoring of market trends and events and briefs the management of the Market Monitoring 

Center to support its oversight function. 

4. 2015 Energy Primer 

FERC’s 2015 Energy Primer reflects changes in energy markets since the 2012 edition. 

Market Oversight developed and issued an updated version of its resource manual, Energy 

Primer: A Handbook of Energy Market Basics. This manual provides the public with a broad 

overview of the physical wholesale markets for natural gas and electricity and energy-related 

financial markets. The new manual reflects the many changes that have occurred in the industry 

since Market Oversight developed the first edition of the Energy Primer in 2012. These changes 

include the growth in natural gas supplies and the expansion of organized electric markets under 

ISOs and RTOs. 

Highlights of the 2015 Energy Primer include: (1) updated figures and recent trends in U.S. 

natural gas and electricity markets; (2) new maps of ISO and RTO regions to reflect physical 

changes in market areas and updated descriptions of key features for these markets; (3) updated 

discussion on electronic trading platforms and exchanges, and the financial instruments used for 

hedging and arbitrage in natural gas and electricity trading and markets; and (4) expanded 

discussion of the anti-manipulation provisions of the Federal Power Act and the Natural Gas Act. 

The 2015 Energy Primer is available on the Current Highlights section of the Market 

Oversight website at http://www.ferc.gov/market-oversight/market-oversight.asp. 

E. Forms Administration and Compliance 

Market Oversight staff administers and ensures compliance with the Commission’s forms 

filing requirements. The Commission requires companies subject to its jurisdiction to submit 

annual and quarterly reports regarding jurisdictional sales, financial statements, and operational 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 54 

data. It uses these reports for analyses, including evaluations of whether existing rates continue 

to be just and reasonable. Other government agencies and industry participants use them for a 

variety of business purposes. Accordingly, accurate reporting is a critical aspect of monitoring 

markets. During FY2015, companies completed and submitted over 10,000 FERC forms. 

Market Oversight performs a series of data validation checks for the various FERC forms to 

ensure that submissions comply with filing requirements and to improve the accuracy and quality 

of the filed information. Additionally, staff reviewed the various forms and data submitted to the 

Commission to assess whether to recommend that the Commission take remedial action. 

1. Electric Quarterly Reports 

Section 205 of the FPA, 16 U.S.C. § 824d (2012), and Part 35 of the Commission’s 

regulations, 18 C.F.R. Part 35 (2015), require, among other things, that all rates, terms, and 

conditions of jurisdictional service be filed with the Commission. In Order No. 2001, the 

Commission revised its public utility filing requirements requiring public utilities, including 

power marketers, to file EQRs 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 provide transaction information (including rates) for shortterm and long-term power sales during the most recent calendar quarter.41 

In FY2015, Market Oversight staff reviewed EQR submittals from over 2,000 individual 

respondents. Commission staff assesses whether sellers have timely complied with the 

requirements set forth in the multiple orders surrounding EQR filings, and whether the data is 

accurate and reliable. 

2. eForms Refresh Project 

On April 16, 2015, the Commission directed Commission staff to begin the process of 

replacing its electronic filing format for many of the forms submitted by the industry, as the 

developer no longer supports the current software, Visual FoxPro.42 The Commission noted that 

it believes the best electronic format for submission of these forms is the Extensible Mark-Up 

Language (XML) file format, which the industry is currently using for submission of other files 

and reports to the Commission, including electronic tariff filings.43 Market Oversight Staff led a 

technical conference on May 20, 2015, that brought the North American Energy Standards Board 

(NAESB) and interested members of the industry together to discuss the eForms Refresh Project 

and the transition to a new electronic submission format. 

 

41

 Revised Public Utility Filing Requirements, Order No. 2001, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,127 (2002), reh’g denied, 

Order No. 2001-A, 100 FERC ¶ 61,074 (2002), reh’g denied, Order No. 2001-B, 100 FERC ¶ 61,342 (2002), order 

directing filing, Order No. 2001-C, 101 FERC ¶ 61,314 (2002), order directing filing, Order No. 2001-D, 102 FERC 

¶ 61,334 (2003), order refining filing requirements, Order No. 2001-E, 105 FERC ¶ 61,352 (2003), order on 

clarification, Order No. 2001-F, 106 FERC ¶ 61,060 (2004), order revising filing requirements, Order No. 2001-G, 

120 FERC ¶ 61,270 (2007), order on reh’g and clarification, Order No. 2001-H, 121 FERC ¶ 61,289 (2007), order 

revising filing requirements, Order No. 2001-I, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,282 (2008). 

42 Order Instituting Proceeding to Develop Electronic Filing Protocols for Commission Forms, 151 FERC ¶ 61,025 

(2015). 

43 Phase 1 of the eForms Refresh project is limited to Forms 1, 1-F, 2, 2-A, 3-Q electric, 3-Q gas, 6, 6-Q, FERC-60, 

and FERC-714. 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 55 

Market Oversight continues to oversee the transition of these forms in the eForms Refresh 

project, conducting internal meetings and gathering information gained on the concurrent 

NAESB-led conference calls. 

F. Agenda Items and Rulemakings 

Market Oversight assists the Commission in evaluating the efficacy of certain regulatory 

policies in light of evolving energy markets and ensures that the Commission has the information 

needed to administer and monitor the markets effectively. Market Oversight continuously 

reviews the monitoring program to ensure that it is comprehensive and systematic, and reviews 

reporting requirements to ensure that appropriate and accurate information is collected. Market 

Oversight seeks to enhance market transparency and efficiency while balancing the regulatory 

burden on market participants. 

The agenda items and rulemakings for which Market Oversight provided support included 

the Commission agenda item concerning coal delivery issues for electric generation in Winter 

2014-15. Early in the winter of 2014-2015, problems in receiving full coal deliveries in the midsection of the country became apparent to the Commission through staff oversight, letters to the 

Commission, and press reports. The Commission requested a panel of parties involved in the 

coal delivery issue appear for its December 18, 2014 Open Meeting, including representatives 

from ALLETE Minnesota Power, BNSF Railway, U.S. Surface Transportation Board, and 

MISO. Market Oversight staff, along with Office of Electric Reliability staff, presented its 

analysis of the coal delivery situation and an overview of the reliability and market implications. 

Staff’s analysis was informed by its oversight and monitoring efforts, as well as by outreach to 

industry participants. 

 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 56 

DIVISION OF ANALYTICS AND SURVEILLANCE 

A. Overview 

The Division of Analytics and Surveillance (DAS) develops surveillance tools, conducts 

surveillance, and analyzes transactional and market data to detect potential manipulation, 

anticompetitive behavior, and other anomalous activities in the energy markets. DAS focuses 

on: (1) natural gas surveillance, (2) electric surveillance, and (3) analytics for reviewing market 

participant behavior. The analysts and economists in DAS participate in investigations with 

attorneys from DOI, providing detailed transactional analysis, market event analysis, and subject 

matter expertise. As part of its surveillance function, DAS develops, refines, and implements 

surveillance tools and algorithmic screens to perform continuous surveillance and analysis of 

market participant behavior, economic incentives, operations, and price formation, in both the 

natural gas and electric markets, (1) to detect anomalous activities in the markets; and (2) to 

identify potential investigative subjects. 

In FY2015, the Commission continued its efforts to enhance its surveillance of the organized 

electric markets and to analyze individual market participant behavior by issuing a Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) for the Collection of Connected Entity Data from RTOs and 

ISOs. 

The Collection of Connected Entity Data from RTOs and ISOs NOPR. On September 17, 2015, 

the Commission issued a NOPR on the Collection of Connected Entity Data from RTOs and 

ISOs in Docket No. RM15-23-000.44 In that NOPR, the Commission proposed to amend its 

regulations to require each RTO and ISO to electronically deliver to the Commission, on an 

ongoing basis, data required from its market participants that would: (1) identify the market 

participants by means of a common alpha-numeric identifier; (2) list their “Connected Entities,” 

which includes entities that have certain ownership, employment, debt, or contractual 

relationships to the market participants, as specified in the NOPR; and (3) describe in brief the 

nature of the relationship of each Connected Entity. As explained in the NOPR, this information 

will assist the Commission’s screening and investigative efforts to detect market manipulation by 

providing it with a more complete view of the relationships between electric market participants 

and the incentives underlying their trading activities. More complete information about market 

participants’ Connected Entities will also reduce the number of informal inquiries that DAS 

would otherwise have to conduct in response to false positive surveillance screen trips that may 

result from an incomplete picture of market participants’ incentive structures. The information 

should also assist the market monitors for the RTOs and ISOs in their individual and joint 

investigations of cross-market manipulation. 

B. Natural Gas Surveillance 

DAS conducts surveillance and analysis of physical natural gas market behavior to detect 

potential manipulation and anti-competitive behavior. DAS created and uses analytical tools, 

known as screens, that detect anomalous activity by analyzing data relating to trade prices, 

volumes, times, and other transaction characteristics. In addition, DAS uses Large Trader Report 

(LTR) data from the CFTC to look for potential financial incentives that might cause a market 

 

44

 See Collection of Connected Entity Data from Regional Transmission Organizations and Independent System 

Operators, 152 FERC ¶ 61,219 (2015). 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 57 

participant to engage in a manipulative scheme. The automated screens cover the majority of 

physical and financial trading hubs in the United States. DAS also employs asset-based screens 

that monitor cash trading around infrastructure, including natural gas storage, pipeline capacity, 

and electric generation. The screens alert staff to a variety of market conditions and market 

participant actions. 

When a screen issues an alert, staff conducts a series of analyses to gain information about 

the activity that caused it. First, staff compares the trading to that at other hubs and determines 

whether there is a fundamentals-based explanation for the activity based on a review of supply, 

demand, pipeline utilization, operational notices, and physical and financial trading. Most often, 

staff finds such an explanation. However, when the follow-up analysis fails to explain the alert, 

staff performs a more in-depth analysis of the specific trading behavior underlying the alert. 

Under some circumstances, DAS staff will contact market participants for additional 

transactional details or explanations of trading activities to better understand the purpose of the 

transactions. If staff continues to have concerns that the market activities underlying the screen 

alert could constitute manipulation, DAS refers the matter to DOI and recommends opening an 

investigation. 

C. Electric Surveillance 

DAS regularly accesses data from a variety of sources to screen for anomalies and 

potentially-manipulative behavior in the RTO/ISO and bilateral electricity markets. During 

FY2015, staff ran monthly screens to identify patterns at the hourly level by monitoring the 

interactions between physical and virtual bidding strategies and potentially-benefiting payouts. 

In particular, these screens identify financial transmission rights and swap-futures that exist at 

nodes and constraints where market participants also trade virtuals, generate electricity, or move 

power between RTO/ISOs. Staff continued to refine its analytic tools and screens for: (1) 

determining uneconomic virtual transactions by node, zone, and constraint; (2) detecting dayahead market congestion manipulation that would benefit financial transmission rights and swapfutures positions; (3) identifying anomalies in physical offer patterns; and (4) identifying 

abnormal out-of-market payments. 

Throughout FY2015, DAS continued to develop and improve its surveillance capabilities. In 

particular, DAS increased its tools to view patterns of behavior on a portfolio basis and across 

RTO borders. DAS continues to use extensively the data from the RTO/ISOs under Order No. 

760,45 the e-Tag data from Order No. 771,46 and LTR data from the CFTC. In addition, staff 

continued to work closely with the Market Monitoring Units of each RTO and ISO. 

D. Analytics 

During FY2015, DAS worked on more than 30 investigations, some of which are discussed 

above in the DOI section. Many of these investigations involve allegations of manipulation in 

the Commission-jurisdictional natural gas and electric markets or violations of tariff provisions 

that are intended to foster open, competitive markets. DAS’s investigative activities generally 

include: (1) assessing market conditions during periods of suspected manipulation; (2) 

 

45 Enhancement of Electricity Market Surveillance and Analysis through Ongoing Electronic Delivery of Data from 

Regional Transmission Organizations and Independent System Operators, Order No. 760, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 

31,330 (2012). 

46

 Availability of E-Tag Information to Commission Staff, Order No. 771, 141 FERC ¶ 61,235 (2012). 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 58 

identifying patterns of market activity that could indicate market manipulation; (3) identifying 

time periods in which potentially manipulative activities occurred; (4) fully reconstructing and 

analyzing companies’ trading portfolios; (5) supporting DOI in taking investigative testimony; 

and, (6) calculating the amount of unjust profits and market harm resulting from violations to 

assist with determining a civil penalty recommendation under the Commission’s penalty 

guidelines. Upon completion of the analytical process, staff develops data-based explanations to 

inform the structure and substance of further investigation, settlement discussions, and 

Commission actions. Staff also coordinates to develop new screens to detect improper behavior 

that has been identified during prior investigations. 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 59 

CONCLUSION 

The information in this Report is provided to promote transparency and to encourage entities 

subject to Commission requirements to develop strong internal compliance programs. As 

discussed in this Report, Enforcement promotes compliance with the Commission’s statutes, 

rules, orders, regulations, and tariff provisions by investigating a wide variety of matters, 

auditing regulated entities for both compliance and performance issues, and actively overseeing 

the gas and electric markets to assist the Commission in ensuring reliable, efficient, and 

sustainable energy for consumers. DOI will continue to focus its efforts on keeping markets 

transparent and competitive and helping to ensure the reliability of the bulk power system. DAA 

will work closely with entities to improve compliance, while Market Oversight will examine and 

monitor the structure and operation of natural gas and electric markets. DAS will conduct 

surveillance and analyze transactional and market data to detect potential manipulation, 

anticompetitive behavior, and other anomalous activities in the energy markets. 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 

APPENDIX A: OFFICE OF ENFORCEMENT ORGANIZATION C

Division of Audits and Accounting

Bryan Craig, Dir and Chief Accountant

Timothy Smith, Dep Dir

Steven Hunt, Dep Chief Accountant

Stephen Flanagan, Sr. Economist

Office of the Director

Larry Parkinson, Director 

Lee Ann Watson, Deputy Director

Roger Morie, Reliability Enforcement Counsel

A

Market Oversight Branch 1

Donald Callow, Chief

Investigations Branch 1

Demetra Anas, Chief

Audits Branch 2

Christopher Handy, Chief 

Investigations Branch 2

Jay Matson, Chief

Investigations Branch 3

Geof Hobday, Chief

Audits Branch 1

Nicholas Coughlin, Chief

Audits Branch 3

Sylvia Anderson, Chief

Division of Investigations

David Applebaum, Director

Vacant, Dep Dir

Kathryn Kuhlen, Sr. Attorney

Division of Energy

Market Oversight

Jerome Pederson, Director

Deepak Ramlatchan, Dep Dir 

MaryBeth Tighe, Sr. Market Advisor

Laura Vallance, Legal Counsel to the Dir

Audits Branch 4

Brian Harrington, Chief

Investigations Branch 4

Gabriel Sterling, Chief

Regulatory Accounting Branch 

Gerald Williams, Chief

Market Oversight Branch 4 

Christopher Ellsworth, Chief

Market Oversight Branch 2 

Kelli Merwald, Chief

Market Oversight Branch 3

Jason Stanek, Chief

An

An

An

Div

a

Se

Jan

Jam

An

An

OFFICE OF ENFORCEMENT
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 61 

APPENDIX B: FY2015 CIVIL PENALTY ENFORCEMENT 

ACTIONS47 

Subject of Investigation 

and Order Date Total Payment Explanation of Violations 

Columbia Gas 

Transmission, LLC, 152 

FERC ¶ 61,089 (July 30, 

2015) 

$350,000 civil penalty. The Commission approved a settlement 

resolving findings that between January 1, 

2010 and May 1, 2013, Columbia Gas 

violated Part 4 of its tariff by failing to post 

the notices of the auctions of its available 

firm capacity on the public side of its 

Electronic Bulletin Board (EBB) 

(Navigates). Columbia Gas admits to the 

violation. 

City Power Marketing, 

LLC and K. Stephen 

Tsingas, Order to Show 

Cause and Notice of 

Proposed Penalty, 152 

FERC ¶ 61,012 (July 2, 

2015) 

$15 million civil 

penalty; $1,278,358 

disgorgement. 

The Commission issued an Order 

Assessing Civil Penalties for alleged 

violation of the Commission’s AntiManipulation Rule, 18 C.F.R. § 1c.2, 

section 222 of the Federal Power Act 

(FPA), 16 U.S.C. § 824v, and 18 C.F.R. § 

35.41(b) by engaging in: (i) a scheme to 

collect Marginal Loss Surplus Allocation 

payments through large volumes of sham 

Up To Congestion trades in PJM; and (ii) 

false statements under oath to staff 

designed to conceal important 

contemporaneous evidence (instant 

messages) discussing the trades. City 

Power and Tsingas elected, as part of their 

response to the Commission’s Order to 

Show Cause, the procedures of FPA 

section 31(d)(3), under which the 

Commission assessed a penalty and 

instituted an action in federal district court 

to affirm the assessment. FERC has filed a 

Petition for an Order Affirming the 

Commission’s Order Assessing Civil 

Penalties in the U.S. District Court, District 

of Columbia. 

 

47 A list of all EPAct 2005 civil penalty orders is available at http://www.ferc.gov/enforcement/civil-penalties/civilpenalty-action.asp. 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 62 

Houlian Chen; Powhatan 

Energy Fund, LLC; HEEP 

Fund, LLC; 

CU Fund, Inc., Order 

Assessing Civil Penalties, 

151 FERC ¶ 61,179 (May 

29, 2015), 

$29.8 million civil 

penalty; $4,718,784 

disgorgement; 

compliance measures 

and monitoring. 

The Commission issued an Order 

Assessing Civil Penalties finding a 

violation of section 222 of the FPA, 16 

U.S.C. § 824v, and the Commission’s AntiManipulation Rule, 18 C.F.R. § 1c.2, by 

engaging in fraudulent Up To Congestion 

transactions in order to collect Marginal 

Loss Surplus Allocation payments in PJM 

Interconnection L.L.C.’s energy markets. 

Western Electricity 

Coordinating Council, 151 

FERC ¶ 61,175 (May 26, 

2015) 

$16 million civil 

penalty offset by $13 

million in reliability 

enhancements; 

compliance monitoring.

The Commission approved a settlement 

resolving findings under nine 

Requirements of five Reliability Standards 

for failures to: establish valid system 

operating limits (SOLs) and 

interconnection reliability operating limits 

(IROLs), identify and prevent potential 

violations of SOLs and IROLs, be aware of 

the impact of protection systems, and to 

alert impacted Balancing Authorities and 

Transmission Operators regarding potential 

violations of SOLs and IROLs. 

Maxim Power 

Corporation, Maxim 

Power (USA), Inc.; Maxim 

Power (USA) Holding 

Company, Inc.; Pawtucket 

Power Holding Co., LLC; 

Pittsfield Generating 

Company, LP; and Kyle 

Mitton, 151 FERC ¶ 

61,094 (May 1, 2015) 

$5.05 million civil 

penalty. 

The Commission issued an Order 

Assessing Civil Penalties for violations of 

the Commission’s Anti-Manipulation Rule, 

18 C.F.R. § 1c.2, section 222 of the FPA, 

16 U.S.C. § 824v, and 18 C.F.R. § 35.41(b) 

through a scheme to mislead the ISO-New 

England market monitor in order to collect 

make-whole payments for reliability 

dispatches based on the price of oil when 

Maxim’s plant actually burned less costly 

gas. Maxim and the other named corporate 

respondents. including Mitton, elected the 

procedures of FPA section 31(d)(3), in 

which the Commission assesses a penalty 

and, if the penalty is not paid, then 

institutes an action in federal district court 

to affirm the assessment. 

MISO Cinergy Hub 

Transactions (Twin Cities 

Power – Canada, Ltd., 

Twin Cities Energy, LLC, 

Twin Cities Power, LLC, 

Jason F. Vaccaro, Allan 

Cho, Gaurav Sharma), 149 

FERC ¶ 61,278 

(December 30, 2014) 

$3.25 million civil 

penalty; $978,186 

disgorgement; 

compliance measures 

and monitoring. 

The Commission approved four settlements 

resolving findings that the entities and 

three former traders violated the 

Commission's Prohibition of Electric 

Energy Market Manipulation, 18 C.F.R. 

1c.2, by scheduling and trading physical 

power in MISO to benefit related swap 

positions that settle off of real-time MISO 

prices. 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 63 

California Independent 

System Operator, 149 

FERC ¶ 61,189 

(November 28, 2014) 

$6 million civil penalty, 

offset by $4 million in 

reliability 

enhancements; 

Compliance 

Monitoring. 

The Commission approved a settlement 

resolving findings under three 

Requirements of three Reliability 

Standards for failures to: monitor the 

current flow on Path 44 i by any method 

that would alert operators to the need for 

corrective action to avert operation of the 

separation scheme at the San Onofre 

switchyard, to operate so that instability, 

uncontrolled separation and cascading 

outages would not occur as the result of a 

single contingency, and establish valid 

system operating limits. 

Western Area Power 

Administration – Desert 

Southwest Region, 149 

FERC ¶ 61,157 

(November 24, 2014) 

Mitigation and 

compliance 

enhancement measures; 

compliance monitoring.

The Commission approved a settlement 

resolving findings under four Requirements 

of three Reliability Standards for failure to 

operate Western-DSW’s portion of the 

transmission system within voltage system 

operating limits and maintain sufficient 

situational awareness. 

Southern California Edison 

Company, 149 FERC ¶ 

61,061 (October 21, 2014) 

$650,000 civil penalty, 

offset by $400,000 in 

reliability 

enhancements; 

compliance monitoring.

The Commission approved a settlement 

resolving findings under one Requirement 

of one Reliability Standard for failure to 

coordinate SCE’s intertie separation 

scheme with other protection systems. 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 64 

APPENDIX C: FY2015 NOTICES OF ALLEGED VIOLATIONS48 

Issue Date Subject(s) of 

Investigation 

Description of Alleged Misconduct Dates of Alleged 

Misconduct 

September 21, 

2015 

Total Gas & Power, 

North America, Inc. 

(TGPNA) and 

individuals Therese 

Nguyen and Aaron 

Hall 

Violation by TGPNA, and West 

Desk supervisors Therese Nguyen 

and Aaron Hall, of section 4A of 

the Natural Gas Act and the 

Commission’s Anti-Manipulation 

Rule for devising and executing a 

scheme to manipulate the price of 

natural gas at price indexes in the 

southwest United States. Therese 

Nguyen and Aaron Hall are alleged 

to have each implemented the 

scheme and supervised and 

directed other traders in 

implementing the scheme. 

Between June 

2009 and June 

2012. 

September 11, 

2015 

Coaltrain Energy 

L.P. and individuals 

Peter Jones, Shawn 

Sheehan, Robert 

Jones, Jeff Miller, 

Jack Wells, and 

Adam Hugh 

Violation by Coaltrain and the 

named individuals of the 

Commission’s Anti-Manipulation 

Rule and 18 C.F.R. § 35.41(b) 

through Up-To Congestion 

transactions in PJM regional 

market designed to falsely appear 

to be spread trades but in fact 

aimed at collecting Marginal Loss 

Surplus Allocation payments. 

June-September 

2010 (violation of 

AntiManipulation 

Rule); October 

2010–December 

2012 (violation of 

18 C.F.R. § 

35.41(b)). 

July 27, 2015 Etracom LLC 

(Etracom) and 

Michael Rosenberg 

Violation by Etracom LLC 

(Etracom) and Michael Rosenberg 

of the Commission’s AntiManipulation Rule by engaging in 

manipulative virtual trading at the 

New Melones Intertie in the 

California Independent System 

Operator. 

May 2011.

 

48 A list of all notices of alleged violations is available at http://www.ferc.gov/enforcement/allegedviolation/notices.asp. 
2015 Staff Report on Enforcement 65 

July 16, 2015 Columbia Gas 

Transmission, LLC 

Violation by Columbia Gas 

Transmission, LLC of Part 4 of the 

General Terms and Conditions of 

its FERC Gas Tariff by failing to 

post the notices of the auctions of 

its available firm capacity on the 

public side of its Electronic 

Bulletin Board, Navigates. 

Between January 

1, 2010 and April 

30, 2013. 

November 3, 2014 Maxim Power 

Corporation, John 

Bobenic, and Kyle 

Mitton 

Violation by Maxim and the named 

individuals of Commission’s AntiManipulation Rule through gaming 

the ISO-NE mitigation tool, falsely 

offering its units on oil when it 

burned natural gas, and artificially 

inflating the capacity of its units 

for capacity tests. By offering its 

units on oil and then burning gas, 

as well as by artificially inflating 

the capacity of its units for 

capacity tests, Maxim also violated 

18 C.F.R. § 35.41(b). 

2010–2013.