On June 22, 2012, FERC issued its long-awaited rule to encourage
the integration of Variable Energy Resources1 (VERs)
onto the grid, Integration of Variable Energy Resources (Order
No. 746). The concepts ultimately approved in Order No. 746
were, for the most part, strongly supported by the renewable energy
industry, which argued that reform was needed because the existing
market rules were designed to reflect the characteristics of more
traditional generating resources, such as coal, natural gas and
nuclear generation, and created market and operational barriers to
VER integration.
However, traditional public utilities tended to oppose the
changes, questioning, inter alia, whether FERC had
articulated a sufficient basis (1) to require the changes under the
Federal Power Act (FPA) and (2) to find that the current rules were
"unduly discriminatory," one of the legal standards that
FERC relies on under the FPA. Ultimately, FERC held, "in light
of the increasing
