FERC Rescinds Controversial Enforcement Policy

On May 16, 2019, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or "the Commission") rescinded its 2009 Notice of Alleged Violations policy. The policy provided for the Director of the Office of Enforcement ("Enforcement") to issue a Staff Notice of Alleged Violations (NAV) publicly identifying the subject of an Enforcement investigation and the alleged violation once the subject had the opportunity to respond to Enforcement staff's preliminary findings—but prior to Enforcement staff finalizing its findings or FERC itself formally considering the case. The NAV policy was controversial from the outset as it upset longstanding policy that Enforcement investigations, including the identities of investigation subjects, were kept nonpublic unless and until the Commission approved a settlement or initiated an enforcement action. The Commission recognized that the policy could cause reputational harm but thought the policy was justified because NAVs would allow third-party