The Dodd–Frank Act and its Impact on the Energy Industry

Marc Merrill and Daniel A Mullen

When the prior edition of this book went to press in 2003, deregulation of the energy markets was new, the second western energy crisis in as many years and its fallout were just beginning, and the financial crisis had yet to arrive. The subsequent decade brought significant regulatory change to the energy markets. From Dodd–Frank to EPAct, to the continuing effort to promulgate regulations, to increasingly robust enforcement regimes, and to the nascent evolution of precedent, the winds of change still swirl. This chapter seeks to provide an overview of these major changes and alert the reader to some areas in which change continues. Given their profound impact on market structure and market participant behaviour, the main areas of focus of this chapter are the reforms instituted by the Dodd–Frank Act and EPAct.

DODD–FRANK INTRODUCTION

On July 21, 2010, President Barack Obama signed into law the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (referred to here as “Dodd–Frank” or the “Act”).¹¹Pub. L. No. 111-203, 124 Stat. 1376 (2010). The Act is considered by some to be the most significant financial reform legislation since the Great Depression. A major component of