By Mike Moyer, PMCS Specialist
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has been actively enforcing the new laws and regulations authorized by Congress in the 2005 amendments to the Federal Power Act (FPA). One of the key areas of FERC’s enforcement program is centered around fraud and market manipulation. FERC’s Office of Enforcement is staffed with approximately 45 attorneys who investigate and prosecute potential violations of the federal laws and regulations under their jurisdiction. FERC can now impose civil penalties under the FPA of up to $1.2 million per violation per day. Since the 2005 changes the agency has assessed $641 million in civil penalties and ordered $402 million in disgorgement.
FERC works with sources outside the agency to investigate possible manipulation by participants. Each of the Regional Transmission Operators (RTOs) and Independent System Operators (ISOs) works with their market monitors to ensure that markets function properly and that market participants comply with all regulations. FERC requires the market monitors to refer all potential violations to their Office of Enforcement. The Agency also strongly encourages self-reporting of violations, and many companies use this option to report failures to file required forms or misinterpretations of market rules. Most of the time these self-reports are resolved without any penalty or other action by the Commission.
In order to avoid major violations and further penalties, it is important to have a good understanding of what Market Manipulation is and how to circumvent these situations. The NAES Power Market Compliance Services group is now offering a training program which covers Market Manipulation. The training provides a solid understanding of the basic application of the rules and standards of the FERC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as they relate to energy market manipulation and collusion.
The training is Web-Based, Self-Paced and User-Friendly. It requires approximately 2 to 2.5 hours to complete. There is an unlimited number of Users at each site and Completion records are provided. If interested in participating in this training, please reach out to Mike Moyer at mike.moyer@naes.com.