A major California ISO (CAISO) tariff revision that would -- for the first time -- allow the ISO to approve transmission assets to meet policy goals, such as expanded use of renewable energy, was the target of questions by federal and industry officials at a recent FERC technical conference. A key point of discussion was how to separate categories for public policy and economic benefits from those of reliability and other grid benefits when determining who should have access to build the transmission assets, a debate that will likely shape similar transmission reforms being considered by FERC.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) in a broad Senate energy tax bill that is expected to be taken up later this year by the Finance Committee will seek to include tax credits and bonds for coal-fired power plants and coal-to-liquid (CTL) fuel production facilities that capture and sequester carbon dioxide, according to sources with the senator's office.