On March 19, 2026, FERC approved Southwest Power Pool, Inc.’s (SPP) System Support Resource (SSR) program to allow SPP, under specified conditions, to keep certain generating units that plan to retire temporarily online when they are needed to maintain reliability of the bulk electric system in the SPP region. In doing so, FERC found that SPP’s proposal appropriately balanced the need to maintain reliability with generator owners’ ability to implement their business plans.
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 Proposes NEPA Categorical Exclusion for Certain Hydropower Terminations and Revocations
On February 19, 2026, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that would expand an existing National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) categorical exclusion to cover certain terminations and revocations of hydropower licenses and exemptions. The proposal would allow FERC to rely on a categorical exclusion, rather than preparing an Environmental Assessment (EA) or Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), for license and exemption terminations or revocations that involve only minor or no ground-disturbing activity and minor or no changes in reservoir conditions and downstream flows.
FERC Approves 1,200‑MW Pumped Storage Project on Former Smelter Site
On January 22, 2026, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or FERC) issued a 40‑year original license to FFP Project 101, LLC (FFP) to construct and operate a 1,200‑megawatt pumped storage hydropower facility, the Goldendale Energy Storage Project, in Klickitat County, Washington. FERC found that, with conditions, the closed‑loop pumped storage project will add significant long‑duration capacity and flexibility to help integrate renewable resources in the Western grid.
D.C. Circuit Confirms FERC’s Section 206 Authority to Reprice PJM Capacity Auctions Despite Third Circuit Section 205 Ruling
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 Terminates Au Train Hydroelectric Project License by Implied Surrender
On December 29, 2025, FERC terminated the hydropower license for the 0.9-megawatt Au Train Hydroelectric Project (FERC Project No. 10856), located on the Au Train River in Alger County, Michigan (Termination Order). FERC concluded that termination of the license by “implied surrender” was warranted because the project’s licensee, UP Hydro, LLC (UP Hydro), had abandoned good-faith operation of the project through years of safety violations, loss of control over project lands, and financial collapse. The order ends more than two decades of federal oversight over the project and transfers regulatory authority to the State of Michigan to oversee the decommissioning of the dam.
FERC Approves SPP Tariff Revisions Allowing Real-Time Dispatchable Interchange Transactions
On December 10, 2025, FERC accepted Southwest Power Pool, Inc.’s (SPP) proposed tariff revision to extend its existing day-ahead market dispatchable transaction model into the real-time balancing market (RTBM). The Commission found the proposal to be just and reasonable and not unduly discriminatory or preferential, rejecting protests that raised concerns
Court Denies Injunction Seeking to Halt FERC Enforcement Proceedings
On November 24, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina denied American Efficient LLC’s (American Efficient) preliminary injunction seeking to halt FERC’s civil enforcement proceedings for alleged market manipulation and tariff violations. American Efficient argued that FERC’s process violated the Seventh Amendment and Article III of the U.S. Constitution by denying its right to a jury trial in an Article III court. The Court held that the Federal Power Act’s (FPA) scheme—allowing FERC to assess a penalty but requiring the government to obtain a de novo jury trial in federal court before any penalty can be enforced—satisfies requirements under the Constitution.
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.
NextEra Receives FERC Waiver to Facilitate Nuclear Plant Restart in Iowa
On August 25, 2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) granted NextEra Duane Arnold, LLC (“NEDA”) a waiver of certain sections of the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc.’s (“MISO”) tariff to use MISO’s generating facility replacement process for the recommissioning of the Duane Arnold nuclear power facility (“Project”) in Palo, Iowa. The order also extends the Project’s commercial operation date to December 31, 2029.