On August 28, 2026, FERC granted Hillsboro Solar, LLC’s (Hillsboro) authorization to make wholesale sales of electric energy, capacity, and ancillary services at market-based rates (MBR) on the condition that Hillsboro adopt the same market power mitigation as Hillsboro’s affiliate, Duke Energy Florida, LLC (Duke Energy Florida) in certain balancing authority areas (BAAs). In doing so, FERC emphasized that long-standing Commission precedent requires an MBR seller to include the same market power mitigation as any mitigated affiliate in its tariff in order to obtain MBR authority.
FERC Directs NERC to Submit Rules Addressing Risks Associated with Integration of Computational Loads into Bulk Power System
On July 16, 2026, FERC directed the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) to file new or modified Reliability Standards to address reliability risks to the Bulk Power System associated with the integration of computational loads, revise its Rules of Procedure necessary for registration of computational load entities, and submit
FERC Addresses Arguments on Rehearing and Requires Additional PJM Tariff Revisions to Accommodate Co-Located Load
On June 18, 2026, FERC accepted in part and rejected in part requests for rehearing of its December 18, 2025, order (December Order) directing PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (PJM) to revise its Open Access Transmission Tariff (Tariff) to clarify and establish certain rates, terms, and conditions of service applicable to Interconnection
FERC Sets Oil Pipeline Price Index for July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2031
On April 24, 2026, FERC issued a Final Rule establishing a Producer Price Index for Finished Goods (PPI-FG) minus 0.55% for oil pipelines. The Commission set the revised PPI-FG for a five-year period, July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2031. In setting the revised index, FERC “trimmed” the utilized cost data to the middle 80% of cost changes, declined to incorporate certain Form 6 cost data that was resubmitted in 2025, and adjusted the page 700 data set to reflect the Commission’s return on equity (ROE) policy changes based on the 2020 index review. The Final Rule is effective June 29, 2026.
FERC Approves Tariff Revisions for ISO-NE Prompt Capacity Market
On March 30, 2026, FERC accepted to ISO New England Inc.’s (ISO-NE) Transmission, Markets and Services Tariff (Tariff) that primarily replaces the existing Forward Capacity Market (FCM) with a prompt capacity market in which an Annual Capacity Auction (ACA) would be held approximately one month before the applicable period for
Senators Introduce REWIRE Act of 2026 to Address Electric Grid Capacity and Planning
On March 2, 2026, U.S. Senators Dave McCormick (R‑PA) and Peter Welch (D‑VT) introduced the Reconductoring Existing Wires for Infrastructure Reliability and Expansion (REWIRE) Act of 2026, a bipartisan bill that would modify federal permitting rules and address upgrades to the existing U.S. electric transmission system. The legislation proposes, among other things, to create a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) categorical exclusion for certain grid capacity projects in existing rights-of-way, direct FERC to revise its rules on return on equity for advanced transmission conductors, authorize additional uses of the Department of Energy (DOE) State Energy Program funds, and establish new DOE programs for grid modeling and technical assistance.
FERC Issues CPCN for Transco Southeast Supply Enhancement Project
On January 29, 2025, FERC issued a certificate of public convenience and necessity (CPCN) to Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC (Transco) to construct and operate its Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (Project).
The Project expands Transco’s existing natural gas transmission system in Virginia and North Carolina and will add approximately
D.C. Circuit Declines to Reconsider its Prior Order Restoring an Emergency Affirmative Defense for Emissions Violations Under the Clean Air Act
On January 2, 2026, the D.C. Circuit declined to rehear en banc its prior order restoring the Clean Air Act’s (CAA) Title V affirmative defense to liability for excess emissions caused by emergency events. A group of environmental organizations had petitioned for rehearing en banc, arguing that the court’s reasoning violated D.C. Circuit precedent.