On January 9, 2017, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a Final Rule—following an Interim Final Rule issued June 29, 2016, as described here—amending its regulations governing the maximum civil monetary penalties assessable for violations of statutes, rules and orders within its jurisdiction. Like the Interim Final Rule, the Final Rule is a result of the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (the "2015 Adjustment Act"), which required each federal agency to issue an interim final rule by July 1, 2016, adjusting for inflation each civil monetary penalty provided by law within the agency's jurisdiction, and which requires an annual adjustment for inflation by each January 15. Under the 2015 Adjustment Act, increases resulting from the first adjustment were limited to 150 percent of the maximum penalty in effect as of November 2, 2015. The adjustments in the Final Rule represent an additional increase of 1.636 percent for each covered maximum penalty. FERC's adjusted maximum penalty amounts, which will apply at the time of assessment of a civil penalty regardless of the date on which the violation occurred, are set forth here and will become effective upon publication in the Federal Register.
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