Since 1992, TAPS had been active in most FERC transmission and market power (e.g., merger) rulemakings, notices of inquiry, and the like. As a general rule, TAPS does not participate in individual contested cases, such as individual mergers or rate filings, for budgetary and other reasons. Individual members are responsible for intervening in contested cases that directly affect them.

TAPS filed voluminous comments in the FERC's Order 888 proceeding and achieved a number of victories for transmission-dependent utilities, including comparable treatment of network and other service to native load (e.g., load growth, network resource designations); interface use based on total network resources using the interface (not load ratio share); network customer rights to insist on the filing of unexecuted network service and operating agreements; credits for customer contributed reactive power; increased minimum deviation band.  The Commission also relied heavily on TAPS comments in developing the factual case and legal authority to support issuance of Order 888.

TAPS appealed portions of Order 888 to the Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia and was successful in moving the case to the DC Circuit from the 2nd Circuit Court in New York, where the state commissions and some private utilities filed their appeals and felt they had a better chance of victory. The cases were consolidated in the DC Circuit Court under the caption TAPS v. FERC. In that appeal, TAPS strongly supported FERC's assertion of jurisdiction to require transmission service on a nation -wide basis, rather than in individual complaint proceedings, against attacks by state commissions, private utilities, some public systems and others. TAPS also sought to expand FERC's authority over bundled, as well as unbundled, retail transmission service in order to achieve true comparability. The D.C. Circuit rebuffed the state commissions’ efforts to roll back FERC’s assertion of authority over unbundled retail transmission and low voltage wholesale transmission, while opening the door to revisit what the Court termed FERC’s policy choice not to assert jurisdiction over the transmission component of bundled retail sales.  After the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari on the jurisdictional issues, TAPS participated by filing briefs and assisting allied parties.  The United States Supreme Court affirmed the D.C. Circuit Court decision in New York v. FERC.

TAPS also was instrumental in obtaining an important correction to the Court of Appeals decision after it was issued. In the decision, the Court mistakenly stated that FERC no longer has authority under Sections 211 and 212 to order the provision of transmission service. At TAPS' request, this portion of the decision has been deleted by the Court. FERC agreed with our effort to correct the decision, but, for some reason, was unwilling to ask the Court to act itself.

TAPS has participated in all major FERC rulemakings dealing with transmission and market power issues, including the recent rulemakings to implement the Energy Policy Act of 2005.   In addition to filing comments, TAPS representatives have been selected from among many applicants to testify before FERC in these proceedings.  FERC staff recognizes TAPS as one of a handful of entities that can be expected to file detailed and knowledgeable comments in major electric policy dockets.

TAPS' attorneys provide TAPS members with regular memoranda that summarize and analyze significant FERC decisions on transmission and market power issues.