Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustments
Published Date: 1/14/2025
Rule
Summary
Starting January 14, 2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is raising the maximum fines it can charge for breaking its rules to keep up with inflation. This means companies and individuals under the Commission’s watch should expect bigger penalties if they don’t follow the law. These updates happen every year to make sure fines stay fair and effective.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 3 costs, 0 mixed.
FERC raises maximum civil fines
Starting January 14, 2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission raised the maximum civil monetary penalties it can assess under statutes in its jurisdiction. Key new amounts include: $1,584,648 per violation, per day (16 U.S.C. 825o-1(b); 15 U.S.C. 717t-1; 15 U.S.C. 3414(b)(6)(A)(i)); $28,618 per violation, per day (16 U.S.C. 823b(c)); $3,738 per violation (16 U.S.C. 825n(a)); Interstate Commerce Act penalties including $1,659 per offense and $78 per day after the first day, and $16,590 per violation, per day.
Penalty amount set at assessment time
The rule follows the statutory requirement that the Commission must use the maximum civil monetary penalty in effect at the time the penalty is assessed, regardless of when the violation occurred. That means a later assessment date can expose a violator to the higher, inflation-adjusted maximums that are in effect when the enforcement action is taken.
Penalties adjusted annually for inflation
The Commission will adjust civil monetary penalty maximums each year using the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers (CPI-U). The rule notes the CPI-U increase from October 2023 to October 2024 was 2.598 percent and that agencies make further inflation adjustments annually each January 15 (statutory schedule).
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Key Dates
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