On January 13, 2026, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit) in FERC v. PJM Interconnection, LLC., et al., held that FERC erred in concluding that a prior decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (Third Circuit) foreclosed its authority under Section 206 of the Federal Power Act (FPA) to review and potentially modify PJM’s 2024/2025 capacity auction results. The court ruled that the Third Circuit’s application of the filed‑rate doctrine to PJM’s tariff amendment under Section 205 did not decide whether FERC could, in a separate proceeding, determine that the re‑run auction’s outcome was unjust and unreasonable and grant relief under Section 206.
FERC Upholds Application of SFV Rate Design to NGPA Section 311 Service
On December 18, 2025, FERC maintained that gas pipelines offering service under section 311 of the Natural Gas Policy Act (NGPA) that base their section 311 rates on state-approved rates must nonetheless comply with Straight-Fixed Variable (SFV) rate design or justify a departure from SFV. Specifically, FERC denied Matterhorn Express
FERC Stabilizes Oil Pipeline Price Index Levels for 2021-2026 Period
On November 20, 2025, FERC took several steps aimed at finalizing oil pipeline price index levels for the July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2026, time period (“2021-2026 Period”). First, FERC set the oil pipeline index level for the 2021-2026 Period at PP-FG+0.78% (“Initial Index”), consistent with the index level it originally set in December 2020. FERC also issued remedial relief through a rehearing order to applicable oil pipelines for the March 1, 2022, to September 17, 2024, time period in which an index level of PPI-FG-0.21% (“Rehearing Index”) was in effect. The relief ordered by FERC will allow qualifying pipeline to recover amounts they would have otherwise charged under the Initial Index while the Rehearing Index prices were in effect. Finally, FERC withdrew a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“Supplemental NOPR”) in which FERC sought to proactively set the Rehearing Index as the index level for the remainder of the 2021-2026 Period.
FERC Grants ISO-NE Waiver in Capacity Scarcity Penalty Case
On October 31, 2025, FERC granted ISO New England’s (ISO-NE) request for a limited waiver of its Tariff and Billing Policy to refund, approximately $68,000 in Capacity Performance charges to Brookfield White Pine Hydro LLC (Brookfield). The waiver relates to six five-minute intervals during a June 24, 2025 Capacity Scarcity Condition in which Harris Hydro Station’s Unit 2 (Harris 2) was manually held below its EcoMax[1] because ISO-NE allowed a non-commercial Large Generating Facility to operate on a constrained transmission line, thereby limiting Harris 2’s output and triggering an underperformance assessment.
Senate Confirms Commissioners Swett and LaCerte to Fill Remaining FERC Seats
On October 7, 2025, the U.S. Senate confirmed the nominations of Laura V. Swett and David A. LaCerte as FERC Commissioners. Once they are sworn in as Commissioners, they will fill the remaining two seats on the five-member Commission. Commissioner Swett’s term ends on June 30, 2030, and she will
FERC Sunsets 53 Regulations in Response to April Executive Order
On October 1, 2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a final rule revising 53 regulations to include conditional sunset provision in response to the April 2025 Executive Order titled “Zero-Based Regulatory Budgeting to Unleash American Energy.” FERC, along with nine other agencies, was required to establish one-year
Divided Panel of the D.C. Circuit Upholds FERC’s Interpretation of PURPA Size Limitations Based on “Send Out” Capacity
On September 9, 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (“D.C. Circuit”) on remand from the U.S. Supreme Court upheld FERC’s order granting Broadview Solar, LLC’s (“Broadview”) hybrid solar and battery project qualifying facility (“QF”) status based on FERC’s interpretation of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (“PURPA”). Specifically, even without the benefit of Chevron deference (discussed below), the D.C. Circuit reaffirmed FERC’s interpretation that PURPA’s 80 MW statutory size limitation should be applied using the capacity a QF can “send out” to the grid, even if the facilities have a higher aggregate generating capacity.
FERC Launches FPA 206 Investigation to Assess Necessity of the WECC Soft Price Cap
On July 15, 2025, FERC initiated an investigation, pursuant to section 206 of the Federal Power Act (“FPA”), to assess whether the Western Electricity Coordinating Council’s (“WECC”) soft price cap on spot market energy sales should be eliminated. FERC preliminarily concluded that the WECC soft price cap is no longer just and reasonable because of changes in the circumstances in the WECC market, and thus proposed its elimination pending the results of the investigation. FERC requested that interested parties submit comments within 30 days of its order (i.e., by August 14, 2025). FERC expects to issue an order on the results of its investigation by December 30, 2025.
On Rehearing, FERC Upholds Approval of PJM’s Proposed Offer Cap Tariff Revisions
On June 26, 2025, FERC upheld PJM Interconnection, L.L.C.’s (PJM) proposal to revise its Capacity Performance Quantifiable Risk (CPQR) Offer Cap. Several public interest organizations and PJM’s Independent Market Monitor (Market Monitor) filed requests for rehearing, arguing that PJM’s tariff changes did not adequately differentiate between costs directly related to capacity commitments and those incurred for other reasons, potentially leading to unfair rates. FERC disagreed, stating that PJM’s definition of CPQR provides a clear principle for identifying relevant costs and prevents sellers from inflating offer caps with unrelated expenses. The Commission emphasized that the review process by PJM and the Market Monitor ensures adherence to this principle, maintaining fair and competitive market practices.
FERC Reaffirms MISO Interconnection Queue Cap on Rehearing
On May 27, 2025, FERC addressed arguments raised on rehearing of a January 30, 2025 order, which accepted the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc.’s (“MISO”) proposal to modify its generator interconnection study process by implementing a queue cap and exemptions to that cap (the “Queue Cap Order”). In doing so, FERC reaffirmed that MISO’s proposed queue cap and exemptions align with Order No. 2003’s independent entity variations for regional transmission organizations and independent system operators.