FERC enforcement cases spur concerns agency is overstepping boundaries

摘要

The recent spate of high-profile enforcement actions by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has industry observers worried that regulators may be overstepping their boundaries in a way that threatens energy trading. Regulatory uncertainty is another growing concern in this area, according to several industry sources, who maintain that FERC has the regulated industries guessing about exactly what constitutes market manipulation. FERC appears to be "becoming more aggressive and sort of expanding the scope of what they perceive to be potentially actionable and that's what's creating uncertainty as to ... what's acceptable behavior," said David Perlman, a partner in the energy practice of Bracewell and Guiliani's Washington office.