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Energy Policy Act (EPAct) of 2005
Signed into law on August 8, 2005
This page helps you keep track of and participate in the activities surrounding our implementation of some of the Act’s requirements.
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How can you participate? Once a docket number has been assigned, you can:
eSubscribe to receive docketed correspondence, issuances and News Releases electronically.
eFile to electronically submit your documents and comments to FERC.
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Contact Information
Office of the General Counsel
Telephone: 202-502-6000
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| Click the tabs below to track FERC's status, actions taken and timeframe. |
| Mandatory within 60 days after date of enactment |
Within 60 days after enactment, FERC shall promulgate regulations on the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) pre-filing process for liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects. (sec. 311)
Docket No. RM05-31-000 Order No. 665
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| Mandatory within one year of enactment |
Not later than one year, DOE will conduct not less than three LNG forums in cooperation and consultation with other agencies including FERC. (sec. 317)
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| Mandatory actions with no deadline |
FERC must complete an MOU with the Secretary of Defense to ensure coordination of LNG facilities that may affect an active military installation. (sec. 311)
| Status: Completed |
| Actions Taken |
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MOU  |
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| Mandatory by December 31, 2005 |
FERC shall submit to Congress by December 31, 2005, a report describing actions taken by the Commission to conclude its investigation of unreasonable charges incurred by California during electricity crisis and to ensure that refunds to California are paid. The report shall include timetables for further actions. (sec.1824)
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| Mandatory within 180 days after enactment |
Within 180 days, FERC shall issue a final rule implementing the new reliability provisions. (sec. 1211)
Docket No. RM05-30-000 – Order No. 672 and 672A (Electric Reliability)
Within 180 days, FERC shall issue a rule revising its criteria for the useful thermal output of qualifying facilities (QFs) under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) (sec. 1253)
Docket No. RM05-36-000 – Order No. 671 and 671A (Qualifying Facilities)
Within 180 days, the Department of Energy (DOE) and FERC shall issue a report to Congress on Transmission System Monitoring, i.e., the steps which must be taken to establish a system to make available to all transmission owners and regional transmission organizations (RTOs) in the Eastern and Western interconnections real-time information on the functional status of all transmission lines within the interconnections. (sec. 1839)
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| Mandatory within one year of enactment |
Within one year, by rule or order, FERC shall implement the subsection which requires FERC to exercise its authority under the FPA in a manner that facilitates planning and expansion of transmission facilities to meet the reasonable needs of load-serving entities (LSEs) to satisfy their native load obligations and enables LSEs to secure firm transmission rights on a long-term basis for long-term power supply to meet their service needs. (sec. 1233)
Docket Nos. RM06-8-000 & AD05-7-000 – Order No. 681 (Long-Term Transmission Rights)
Not later than one year, FERC shall establish rules for incentive-based rate treatments for transmission in interstate commerce by public utilities for the purpose of ensuring reliability, and reducing cost of delivered energy by reducing transmission congestion. (sec. 1241)
Docket No. RM06-4-000 - Order No. 679 (Promoting Transmission Investment)
Within one year, FERC shall convene regional joint boards under sec. 209 of the FPA to study security constrained dispatch in various market regions and submit to Congress a report on the recommendations of the joint boards. A member of the Commission will chair each board and participate. (sec. 1298)
Docket No. AD05-13-000 (Regional Joint Boards)
Not later than one year, FERC shall publish an annual report, by appropriate region, that assesses demand response resources. (sec. 1252)
Docket No. AD06-2-000 (Demand Response and Advanced Metering Survey)
Within one year, a five-member inter-agency task force ("Electric Energy Market Competition Task Force"), of employees from DOJ, FERC, FTC, DOE, Ag shall submit to Congress a final report on competition within wholesale and retail markets for electric energy in the U.S. (sec. 1815)
Docket No. AD05-17-000 (Electric Energy Market Competition)
Not later than one year, DOE and heads of all federal agencies with authority to issue federal authorizations for electric transmission facilities shall enter into an Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to ensure timely and coordinated review and permitting of electric transmission facilities. (sec. 1221)
| Status: Completed |
| Actions Taken |
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MOU |
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| Mandatory within 18 months after enactment |
Not later than 18 months after enactment, DOE, in consultation with FERC, shall complete a study on the benefits of cogeneration and small power production and submit a report to the President and the Congress. (sec. 1817)
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| Mandatory actions with no deadline |
FERC shall issue rules for applications for national transmission corridor permits. (sec. 1221(a))
Docket No. RM06-12-000; Order No. 689 (Siting of Electric Transmission)
FERC shall adopt rules providing expedited procedures for processing section 203 applications within 180 days (with 180-day extensions for good cause). (sec. 1289)
Docket No. RM05-34-000 – Order No. 669 (Merger Reform)
FERC shall carefully consider the New England States’ objections to the locational installed capacity mechanism currently pending before the Commission.
Docket No. ER03-563-030
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| Other Rulemakings/Actions |
FERC may by rule or order require comparable open access to be provided by non-regulated (FPA sec. 201(f)) transmission utilities. (sec. 1231)
Docket No. RM05-25-000 (Order 888 Reform)
Termination of mandatory purchase and sale requirements for QFs. (sec. 1253)
Docket No. RM06-10-000 – Order No. 688 (PURPA Small Power Production)
FERC may issue rules to increase transparency in electric and gas markets. (sec. 316 and 1281)
Docket No. AD06-11-000 (Price Transparency)
FERC “may prescribe such rules as it determines necessary and appropriate” under the electric and gas market manipulation provisions which make unlawful any manipulative device or contrivance (as those terms are used in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. (sec. 315 and 1283)
Docket No. RM06-3-000 – Order No. 670 (Anti-Manipulation/Anti-fraud)
Docket No. PL06-1-000 (Policy Statement On Enforcement)
Docket No. AD07-4-000 (Process for Assessing Civil Penalties)
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| Mandatory within 180 days after enactment |
Within 180 days, and every 180 days thereafter, FERC shall submit to Congress a report on progress made in licensing and constructing the Alaska natural gas pipeline. (sec.1810)
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| Mandatory actions with no deadline |
Section 15 of the NGA is amended to provide that the Commission shall act as the lead agency for coordinating all applicable Federal authorizations related to jurisdictional natural gas facilities, and for purposes of complying with NEPA. The Commission is authorized to establish a schedule for all Federal authorizations. The applicant may pursue remedies in Federal court if an agency does not complete a proceeding in accordance with the Commission’s. (sec. 313)
Docket Nos. RM06-1-000, PL05-13-000, CP01-384-000 – Order No. 687 (Coordinating Processing and Consolidate Record)
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| Other Rulemakings/Actions |
FERC may issue rules to increase transparency in electric and gas markets. (sec. 316 and 1281)
Docket Nos. RM07-10-000 - Order No. 704 (Price Transparency)
FERC “may prescribe such rules as it determines necessary and appropriate” under the electric and gas market manipulation provisions which make unlawful any manipulative device or contrivance (as those terms are used in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. (sec. 315 and 1283)
Docket No. RM06-3-000 – Order No. 670 (Anti-Manipulation/Anti-fraud)
Docket No. PL06-1-000 (Policy Statement On Enforcement)
Docket No. AD07-4-000 (Process for Assessing Civil Penalties)
The Commission may authorize natural gas companies to provide storage and storage-related services at market-based rates for new storage capacity (placed into service after the date of enactment of the Act), even though the company can’t demonstrate it lacks market power. (sec. 312).
Docket Nos. RM05-23 and AD04-11- Order No. 678 (New Gas Storage)
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| Mandatory within 90 days after date of enactment |
Within 90 days after enactment, Departments of Interior, Commerce, and Agriculture, in consultation with FERC, shall establish by rule procedures for trial-type expedited proceedings for mandatory conditions and fishways. (sec. 241(a)-(b)) Resource Agency Procedures
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| Mandatory actions with no deadline |
FERC shall extend the preliminary permit for the Flint Creek Hydro Project for a period of 3 years beginning on the date the preliminary permit expires, or if it has already expired before enactment of the energy act, reinstate the preliminary permit for an additional 3 years beginning on the date of enactment. (sec. 245)
Project No. 12107
FERC to certify, for tax credit purposes, the extent to which qualified hydropower production is increased by efficiency improvements, as compared to historic baseline hydropower production. (sec. 1301(c))
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| Mandatory within 180 days after enactment |
Within 180 days, the FERC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) shall conclude a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on information under both the electric and gas market transparency provisions. (sec. 316 and 1281)
| Status: Completed |
| Actions Taken |
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MOU |
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| Mandatory within two years of enactment |
Not later than two years after enactment, Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy and Interior, in consultation with FERC, States, tribal or local units of government as appropriate, affected utility industries, and other interested persons, shall consult with each other and shall jointly designate corridors for oil, gas, and hydrogen pipelines and electricity transmission and distribution facilities on federal land in the eleven contiguous Western States, perform environmental reviews for such designations and incorporate the designated corridors into the relevant agency land use and resource management plans. (sec. 368(a))
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| Mandatory within four years after enactment |
| Not later than four years after enactment, Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy and Interior, in consultation with FERC, affected utility industries, and other interested persons, shall jointly identify corridors for oil, gas, and hydrogen pipelines and electricity transmission and distribution facilities on federal land in States other than the eleven contiguous Western States, schedule prompt action to identify, designate, and incorporate the corridors into the applicable land use plans. (sec. 368(b))
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| Mandatory actions with no deadline |
| Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy and Interior, in consultation with FERC, affected utility industries, and other interested persons, shall establish procedures to ensure that additional corridors for oil, gas, and hydrogen pipelines and electricity transmission facilities and distribution facilities on federal land are promptly identified and designated as necessary; and expedite applications to construct or modify such pipelines and facilities within such corridors. (sec.368(c))
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| Mandatory within four months after date of enactment |
Within four months after enactment, FERC shall issue rules to exempt from section 1275 (FERC review and authorization of costs of non-power goods or services provided by an associate company to a public utility in the same holding company system) any holding company whose public utility operations are confined to a single state and any other class of transactions the Commission finds not relevant to jurisdictional public utility rates.
Docket No. RM05-32-000 – Order No. 667
Within four months after enactment, FERC shall issue such rules as may be necessary to implement new Public Utility Holding Company Act (PUHCA) provisions. (secs. 1263 and 1272)
Docket No. RM05-32-000 and Order No. 667
Docket No. RM06-11-000 and Order No. 684
Within four months after enactment, FERC shall submit to Congress detailed recommendations and conforming amendments to federal law necessary to carry out the PUHCA subtitle. (sec. 1272)
Docket No. RM05-32-000 – Order No. 667
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| Mandatory within nine months after enactment |
Within 90 days after the effective date of the PUHCA subtitle (which is 6 months after date of enactment), the Commission shall issue a final rule exempting from the new PUHCA federal books and records access requirements persons that are holding companies solely with respect to one or more exempt wholesale generators (EWGs), QFs or foreign utility companies. (sec. 1266)
Docket No. RM05-32-000 – Order No. 667
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