FERC Enforcement In 2021: A Year Of Change
By: Ruta Skučas, Kimberly Frank, and Maeve Tibbetts
Originally posted on Law360 on January 3, 2022
2021 was a pivotal year for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission‘s Office of Enforcement. Under the direction of Chairman Richard Glick, the office gained a new director, Janel Burdick, added threats to infrastructure as a new priority, and increased its pace of opening and closing investigations and reaching settlements.
Most significantly, Glick asserted at the presentation of the 2021 enforcement report that “the cop is back on the street,” and that he intends to ensure “vigorous oversight and enforcement” of jurisdictional markets.
Increased Investigations Under Chairman Glick
During the commission’s November 2020 open meeting, when the Office of Enforcement presented its 2020 annual report, then-Commissioner Glick criticized the commission’s enforcement efforts, which he perceived as lacking. In 2020, the commission opened only six new investigations, and reached three settlements totaling $553,376.