On July 2, 2026, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) denied a waiver request filed by Chestnut Run Energy LLC (Chestnut Run) seeking a one-time limited waiver of certain requirements under PJM Interconnection, L.L.C.’s (PJM) Open Access Transmission Tariff (Tariff) to allow Chestnut Run to implement an equipment change to its proposed combined cycle gas turbine electric generating facility’s (Facility) configuration.  Chestnut Run sought waiver because of availability issues with certain equipment outlined in its interconnection application.  In denying the request, FERC found Chestnut Run did not demonstrate that the requested waiver would not result in undesirable consequences and noted that the requested waiver would undermine the expeditious nature of PJM’s Reliability Resource Initiative (RRI) process.

Chestnut Run is developing a combined gas turbine facility with a Maximum Facility Output (MFO) of 1,300 MW in Carroll County, Ohio.  The Facility was accepted into PJM’s RRI, a fast-track interconnection program designed to address near-term resource adequacy concerns in the PJM region.  Because of equipment availability issues, Chestnut Run sought waiver of certain PJM Tariff provisions to implement an equipment change, which would reduce the MFO to 1,245 MW, to avoid a delay to the Facility’s commercial operation date.  Chestnut Run contended that procuring the alternative equipment would allow it to meet the Facility’s targeted 2030 commercial operation date, and provide PJM with firm dispatchable capacity, notwithstanding the diminished MFO.

In arguing against waiver, PJM asserted that Chestnut Run’s waiver request did not satisfy the Commission’s waiver criteria and that granting the waiver request could cause delays to other developers.  

FERC denied Chestnut Run’s waiver request, finding that Chestnut Run failed to demonstrate that the requested waiver would not result in undesirable consequences, such as harm to third parties.  FERC credited PJM’s argument that the proposed equipment change would require modeling updates across multiple bodies of analysis, disrupt PJM’s administration of its interconnection process, and introduce substantial delays to Transition Cycle #2 with ripple effects on other developers in the cycle.  FERC also noted that the waiver request would undermine the expedited nature of the RRI process, which was designed to ensure project readiness and preclude developers from changing the nature and size of its RRI project at this stage of the interconnection process. 

FERC’s order, issued in Docket No. ER26-2771-000, is available here.