PacifiCorp Receives $4.4M Civil Penalty for Violation of Facility Ratings Standard Requirement (Inconsistent with Facility Rating Methodology)

On December 30, 2022, the Commission approved a settlement agreement (Agreement) between FERC’s Office of Enforcement (Enforcement) and PacifiCorp resolving Enforcement’s investigation into PacifiCorp’s lack of compliance with the Reliability Standards that regulate transmission line clearances and the resulting Order to Show Cause proceeding. PacifiCorp stipulates to the facts in the Agreement and neither admits nor denies Enforcement’s determination that PacifiCorp violated Federal Power Act section 215(b)(1) and 18 C.F.R. § 39.2(b) (2022) between August 31, 2009 and August 2017, by failing to comply with FAC-009-1 R1, which requires a transmission owner, such as PacifiCorp, to establish and have facility ratings that are consistent with its Facilities Rating Methodology. FERC stipulated that the Civil Penalty of $4.4 million, of which (i) $1.9 million will be paid to the United States, and (ii) as an offset to the remaining $2.5 million in civil penalty, $2.5 million will be invested, subject to Enforcement’s approval, in reliability enhancement measures identified in the Agreement that go above and beyond what the Reliability Standards require, and (b) be subject to compliance monitoring.