Law Commons^™

Net Neutrality Powers Energy And Forestalls Climate Change, Catherine J.K. Sandoval

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

Drawing on my experience as a Commissioner of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) from January 2011 to January 2017, this Article explores the interdependence of the electricity sector and the open and neutral internet. Section II of this Article discusses the evolution of critical infrastructure laws and policies. Section III examines California’s energy loading order adopted in 2003 to increase energy reliability and protect the environment. Section IV analyzes the evolution of federal and state Smart Grid policies to infuse communications and information technologies including the internet into the energy ecosystem. Section V discusses FERC’s authorization of demand response−the …

Net Legal Power, Steven Ferrey

San Diego Law Review

Law will determine the future of the planet. Net metering, the regulatory mechanism employed by 88% of U.S. states to promote renewable power and to reduce carbon emissions from electricity production, is now legally challenged. The legality of recent carbon control policies is expected to head to the Supreme Court.

The law governing electric power, and electric power itself, is distinct from everything else. The physics of electricity do not align with the law. Electric power, alone among all forms of energy, is the only energy which cannot be stored: The supply of power produced must instantaneously second-by-second exactly match …

A Critical Analysis Of Joint Board Policy At The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Frank P. Darr

San Diego Law Review

The Federal Power Act authorizes the use of joint boards to solve federal-state coordination problems. This Article is a critical analysis of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (Commission) refusal to incorporate regional state boards in decision-making policies. The author suggests that this policy of division between the federal and state authorities is not consistent with the Commission's legislative mandate from Congress. He recommends that the Commission accommodate state desires for participation in those matters in which the balance of political needs favors coordinated action. This Article critiques the rationales offered by the Commission for avoiding the use of joint boards, …