Department of Energy February 2024 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On December 21, 2022, the U.S. Department of Energy (``DOE'') published a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking that proposed energy performance standards for certain new Federal buildings and Federal buildings undergoing major renovations. This document corrects errors in the proposed regulatory text published with the supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking. These errors do not affect the substance of the rulemaking or any conclusions reached in support of the proposed rule.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission revises its process for resolving by settlement investigations pursuant to the Commission's regulations. Pursuant to this policy statement, the Commission grants the Director of Enforcement the discretion to authorize Office of Enforcement staff to engage in settlement negotiations without first seeking settlement authority from the Commission. When Office of Enforcement staff receives a viable offer of settlement from the subject of an investigation, it will present that offer to the Commission for voting, as is the case now. While the new process grants Office of Enforcement staff new discretion to commence settlement negotiations, it does not change the fact that it is the Commission that ultimately determines whether any proposed settlement of an investigation is in the public interest.